Venezuelan Artist Living Abroad in China: Creativity, Online Identity, and Expat Life: S4E2

Send us Fan MailLiving abroad can make WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media essential for staying connected to family, culture, work, and identity across countries. After 12 years in China, Venezuelan designer and Creativity Roots host Ronald Paredes explains how Chinese internet restrictions, expat life, online creativity, and social media changed the way he communicated, created, and stayed connected across borders.Ronald's website:https://mundosantoart.wordpress.com/Original publication date: September 4, 2018What You’ll Learn About Expat Social Media, China, and Online CreativityHow expats use WhatsApp and Facebook to stay connected across countriesHow living in China changes access to social mediaWhy Chinese social media can be difficult for foreignersHow Instagram and YouTube changed online creativityWhy creativity isn't limited to artistsHow failure affects creative confidenceWhy creativity doesn't require completely original ideasHow to use social media without letting it control youHow Expats Use WhatsApp and Facebook to Stay Connected Across CountriesParedes’s sister lived in Mexico, his brother in Peru, his mother in Caracas, and he was in Nanjing. Their WhatsApp family group, marked by four country flags, helped keep the Venezuelan family connected across continents.That connection became especially important when Paredes learned about his father’s death through Facebook and immediately turned to WhatsApp to reach family.How Living in China Changes Social Media Access for ForeignersParedes met the woman who became his first wife through High Five around 2005, and their relationship continued through Skype before bringing him to China. He lived in Nanjing for 12 years while continuing his work as a graphic designer and artist.He remembers using Facebook in China around the 2008 Beijing Olympics. As international platforms later became harder to access, VPNs and internet restrictions became part of staying connected outside China.How Instagram and YouTube Changed Online CreativityWorking on a social venture taught Paredes that Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram served different audiences and needed different strategies. As a visual artist, Twitter eventually stopped fitting his work, while Instagram did.He sees Instagram as doing for photography what YouTube did for video: opening creative publishing to far more people.Why Creativity Isn’t Limited to ArtistsParedes rejects the idea that only artists, musicians, writers, and designers are creative. An accountant can be creative, and so can someone cleaning a street.His distinction is simple: everyone is creative, while creators are people who produce creative work as part of what they do.How Fear of Failure Can Reduce CreativityParedes believes education can train people to distrust creativity by rewarding correct answers and punishing mistakes. He uses his son learning to walk as a reminder that falling wasn't proof he couldn't walk. It was part of learning.He also rejects the pressure to create something completely original. People build from existing ideas, experiences, culture, and other people's work.Why Chinese Social Media Is Difficult for ForeignersParedes used WeChat but found Chinese social media difficult for reasons beyond language. Memes, jokes, trends, cultural references, and website design reflected local habits that foreigners could miss even when they understood the words.For him, the challenge wasn't simply translation. It was culture.How to Use Social Media Without Letting It Control YouParedes jokes that he “lost my virginity to social media in China” because his online life and expat life developed together. The internet helped him meet his future wife, stay connected to Venezuela, reach family across continents, promote creative work, and build a podcast in English.His final warning is simple: “Don’t get used by it. You use it.” Social media can connect people and open creative opportunities, but only when the technology remains the tool.📬 Traveling abroad long-term? Traveling Mailbox gives you a permanent US mailing address you can access from anywhere: https://travelingmailbox.com/geopats/?ref=3422💰Need a global bank account: I use Wise for multiple currencies https://wise.com/invite/dic/debrad107📸 Instagram reels from my past and present life abroad: https://www.instagram.com/geopatsabroad/🎥 Daily video clips from my life abroad: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfWdoMjmqpcbULZw-hVgew🎙️Start your own podcast. The podcast host I recommend most often is Buzzsprout. Use this link and get a bonus when you upgrade:https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2022201📬 Weekly podcast discoverability tips to help your older episodes keep getting found:  https://podcaststeph.substack.com/