I recently finished a book by Ryan Holiday called, Trust Me, I’m Lying. It was a bit of a risk for me to read it, only because it falls outside of my usual realm of desired literature. The book centers around the journalistic blogging world and the dangers of media manipulation. In it, Ryan speaks at length about something called snark…
“You know you’re dealing with snark when you attempt to respond to a comment and you realize there is nothing you can say.”
He also uses this quote from David Denby to support his definition, “snark attempts to steal someone’s mojo, erase their cool…with nasty, insidious, rug-pulling.”
To make an attempt at my own, slightly more graphic definition, “Snark is cutting someone else down so the cutter can be better seen by standing on their carcass.”
In other words, snark is the enemy of vulnerability, which makes it the enemy of art. Snark says, “I’m not perfect, I’m scared, I’m weak, but let’s focus on your imperfections, fears, and weaknesses so I don’t have to deal with my own.”
Snark might be popular in certain sectors of the internet, but it’s also popular in most high school hallways, and it is most definitely not art.
Snark cuts others down to lift yourself up.
Vital creativity lifts other up even if it means exposing what makes you feel low.
We all have a choice to make…
Snark, teasing, pride, and destruction
Or
Vulnerability, openness, honesty, and value
I trust you’ll choose right.
“You know you’re dealing with snark when you attempt to respond to a comment and you realize there is nothing you can say.”
He also uses this quote from David Denby to support his definition, “snark attempts to steal someone’s mojo, erase their cool…with nasty, insidious, rug-pulling.”
To make an attempt at my own, slightly more graphic definition, “Snark is cutting someone else down so the cutter can be better seen by standing on their carcass.”
In other words, snark is the enemy of vulnerability, which makes it the enemy of art. Snark says, “I’m not perfect, I’m scared, I’m weak, but let’s focus on your imperfections, fears, and weaknesses so I don’t have to deal with my own.”
Snark might be popular in certain sectors of the internet, but it’s also popular in most high school hallways, and it is most definitely not art.
Snark cuts others down to lift yourself up.
Vital creativity lifts other up even if it means exposing what makes you feel low.
We all have a choice to make…
Snark, teasing, pride, and destruction
Or
Vulnerability, openness, honesty, and value
I trust you’ll choose right.
