I've run into a problem lately and I'm not sure what to do. I've been trying to learn digital art and I've been using a tablet, but I realized that the nibs probably create microplastic dust as they wear down over time. I keep thinking about this whenever I want to draw and it stresses me out to the point where it’s been hard to get myself to draw. I know it’s impossible to avoid microplastics, but I don’t want to be inhaling microplastic dust either.
Does anyone know if the plastics are safer or more biodegradable? Or if you can buy safer nibs somewhere? Or is this fear entirely irrational and should I just try to power through it? Of course, some people have been using drawing tablets for 20 years now and haven’t experienced any ill effects (from what we know), so that gives me some hope.
But yeah any advice would be appreciated! Even if I don’t post much (I'm mostly a lurker), thank you all for being a great community :stalin-heart:
Take a deep breath, and try to recenter yourself because what I'm about to say is going to be a little stressful.
Basically, we're at a point where literally everything we use in the modern world produces microplastics, esp your clothes, the building materials in your house, daily household items, and vehicles, and it's even been recently found in rain in antarctica. It's just not something you can escape, like carcinogenic smoke particles or animal fiber particles in ancient people.
That's not to say we should excuse the people making this stuff as cheaply as possible, but we're not talking about production right now, just personal use. I think the best thing you can try to understand is that our world is a little bit fuzzy. There's a little bit of everything in everything. There's formaldehyde in my blood. My face is more than likely covered in demodex mites as is true with most people. If I touch any surface in the world I carry a little bit of it with me, even if microscopic.
The point is not to eliminate these things completely, but to minimize them. Imagine not being able to eat bread because it contains mild carcinogens. Imagine not keeping a cat (and you're not allergic) because some of their dander will fill the entire volume of your living space. Natural pollen from outside will always trigger your histamines to an extent. Compared to all this, a pen nib particle is just a single rice grain in a big silo.
To be alive is to interface with the world. It's a part of you and you're a part of it. It will necessarily imprint on you, and your body has mechanisms in place to prevent that imprint from becoming destructive.
I think the joy of learning art outweighs the minute probability of inhaling pen nib plastic. You will still live a full life that will be made even fuller with the art. Your body will continue to maintain homeostasis as best it can. You can face the threat of a pen nib because you were basically born to. Your body is strong and robust enough to withstand quite a lot of stress, and given the time and energy it will rebound from far stronger threats.
How frequently are the nibs wearing out? I wouldn't imagine they're shedding enough particulates to be of major concern. It's not like you're filing them off.
