I am by no means a tech guru. But I, like practically everyone else, have noticed the increase of technology replacing everyday necessities, and even luxuries. When I ask my parents about life without the internet and smartphones as a commonality, I’m shocked that they functioned like normal kids, especially in their teenage years. It is undeniable that the last 20 years has been filled with numerous technologies that life has become dependent on. I loved reading this list: https://fee.org/articles/the-20-biggest-advances-in-tech-over-the-last-20-years/. Although, we have made seemingly infinite technological developments in the last century, we absolutely should not expect its speed to falter. As a matter of fact this brings me to a specific new appearance that I find especially intriguing: NFTs.
NFT stands for “non-fungible-token.” Unlike other currencies or goods, NFTs cannot be replaced with anything else. For example, you can trade an Apple Stock (I swear I’m not a basic finance bro) for another Apple Stock and they would be equal in worth (obviously if they are being bought and sold at the same time). The ability to trade something for the same thing is a simple way of explaining what a fungible good is. This is why stocks are considered fungible. For a more definite explanation: “Fungible things are items that can be easily replaced with another item that is practically the same.”3. Some examples would be dollar bills, crypto currency, pens, etc.
Examples of non-fungible things would be practically any form of art like music, literature, paintings, sculptures, etc. Another popular example is one of a kind baseball cards. All of these items cannot be traded or replaced with something the same as it; just think opposite of fungible. For an extreme example: although the Mona Lisa and The Starry Night are extraordinary pieces of art by renowned artists, they cannot be traded for each other as if they were the same.
OK, now that all of that boring clarification is over with, I would like to actually touch a little on NFTs and why I find them so interesting. NFTs allow people to acquire digital assets; they are like digital non-fungible items. The other day, I brought up NFTs with my mom and she was truly perplexed as to why people would want to buy millions of dollars worth of digital art/content instead of purchasing a painting. Although it might be difficult to understand the appeal of NFTs for the everyday person, with a little thought, their popularity can be explained with the slightest bit of practicality. It gives artists the opportunity to share their ideas and talent in an unconventional (at least for now) way and gives buyers the opportunity to support these artists while expanding their collections in a distinctive manner. I’m the epitome of an art armature so there are probably far more reasons to explain NFTs’ popularity than that.
A few examples of NFTs:
This piece called, ” The First 5000 days” sold for $69.3 million. Considering that the artist made a collage out of 5000 days worth of photos he took himself, I can understand the appeal of wanting to own this original piece. But, I do think paying millions of dollars for it is a bit of a stretch.
For a more controversial comparison…
This piece sold for $7.5 million. There’s a reason my Elementary school art grades were questionable, so I’m probably not the most qualified to judge this piece. I’ll let all of you take your own stance on whether this piece’s price tag is justified. But either way, it sold (not for a measly amount either), so there’s definitely something special about it.
Although, a $10,000 piece of art accessible and shareable with the click of a few buttons is a little boggling right now, it seems like something that is going to stick. Who knows? Maybe it will become just as common as hanging a painting in your house in the future.
PHEW! This is a longer post, so hopefully you found it somewhat interesting. Stay safe and continue embracing the exciting things our crazy world has to offer!