'Instagram, YouTube videos are not apt for ECA admissions' – Is content creation capping creativity?

As social media increasingly becomes the outlet for creativity and content creators are sought out and rewarded by brands, many thought that these were sure shot indications of excellence in extra curriculum. But the feeling received a jolt when Delhi University informed applicants under the Extra Curricular Admissions quota that videos uploaded on Instagram, YouTube and any other non-peer reviewed site will not be eligible as public performance. Apart from rude shock for the social media-bred Gen Z, what implication does this have?

Under the DU admission procedure, candidates who opt for ECA admissions are scored on the basis of their physical trials (75 marks) and obtained certificates (15 marks). The certificates are divided into four categories: participation, prizes in competitions, training/examinations, workshops, public performance, published works and exhibition.

Deepti Taneja, Joint Dean, Cultural Council Office, told PTI, “YouTube uploads, Facebook and Instagram reels, vlogs, and other similar uploads on other non-peer reviewed video streaming sites will not be considered for marking as part of public performance for admission under ECA categories.”

Videos posted to the internet often fetch hundreds of thousands of views but do they merit being called a public performance? As far as DU ECA is concerned, no, but if one were to ponder on the future of the medium of artistic expression, could the stage move to social media?

In some ways, it already has. The pandemic forced an unprecedented adaptation to digital when artistes took to sharing their work – paintings, music and choreographies – with people online. When earlier video clips would be posted on the internet after a performance, now, full-fledged concerts took place online.

Often what constitutes a public performance is a concert/exhibition at any public venue like schools or temples or parks and even local community organised programmes during festivals. Some students may have had the opportunity to perform at places of repute – say before a dignitary or at an event for a ministry or a famous festival. Such programmes are usually offered to established instructors, often the ones with better connections. As a consequence it can be argued that the students who learn from well-known teachers have an advantage in securing the more lucrative opportunities. Also, students from an economically better-off background may book auditoriums and hold performances that others, perhaps equally talented, will not have access to.

Since not all members of audiences whether they be in a public venue or online are connoisseurs, whether the stage is physical or virtual should not matter.

However, this is not to say that social media validation necessarily indicates value. If the future of expression goes online where the barriers to entry are few, it would need checks and balances to ensure that serious practitioners of the art form are duly recognised.

The future of performing arts is already here. Scores of websites and apps offer services for artists to host virtual performances. There is space for online art curators and digital art education start ups who can support emerging artistes by sharing their work and holding online competitions and also be instrumental in educating the borderless audiences of social media about Indian art.

Despite being a popular medium of expression, Instagram and YouTube receive a lot of criticism for stifling creativity by forcing artists to follow the ‘trends’. The right music from Instagram’s suggestion library and the optimal hashtags can make anything go viral. There is no incentive to think outside the box and be original. But if there are social media channels that support credible and serious art work which is not performed with the desire to go viral, social networking sites could also be the public venue that gives everyone a more democratic access.

The question is how to judge credibility of such performance and therefore for institutions to acknowledge these as due extra curricular aptitude to offer extra credits while judging such applicants! Till that is adjudicated hopefuls for DU ECA nod need to wait.