Social Media influencers are on every platform you can think of. These are normal people who have built themselves into a brand and they make their livelihood off posts they make throughout the day.
There are mixed reviews on whether or not these “celebrities” do more harm than good to society as a whole.
Honestly, I think influencers aren’t as harmful as some people think. Of course every influencer isn’t a saint, but that doesn’t mean we should bash all of them.
Like most of my peers we watch the rise of social influencers and we were able to see how social media allowed normal people to become famous.
Sometimes, it feels like instagram became flooded with “Fashion Nova” and “Flat Tummy Tea” ads instantly because I can’t remember what it was in its earlier days.
The same goes for YouTube… one day, I looked up and funny skits weren’t the popular thing anymore. Instead Mukbangs, ASMR, and relationships videos were everything with hundreds and thousands of views.
Spending countless hours watching influencers dip a lobster tail in an unnecessary amount of cheese may not be the best use of our time, but it’s entertainment.
It’s also how people make their living and I don’t see a problem in building your own brand and being your own boss.
Being paid for your looks goes beyond getting paid for revealing pics on instagrams. OnlyFans is a company that has given sex workers more control of how their bodies are publicized to the masses and they have more control over their money.
I bring OnlyFans up because an influencer by the name of Kaylen Ward. known as her social media handle nakedphilantrophist, turned something that is looked sinful and degrading and instead invested in a great cause.
Along with other performers sold her nudes in exchange for donations.
According to Vox, they’ve raised more than one million dollars for the Australian charities and evacuation centers, such as the Australian Red Cross and WWF.
I thought this was one of the greatest use of a social media platform in a while. Not the greatest, but one of the greatest use.
In a time where everyone has access to a plethora of news outlets, personalities, and podcasts, I think it’s important we pay attention to the influencers that have millions of followers and figure out what makes them so entertaining.
Whether we like it or not, these influences have massive platforms and they are the best way to release information to the world.
People are glued to their phones from dusk till dawn and they do take what they see on social media and apply it to their lives.
This is the real problem, not the influencers themselves who decided to create a profile because they didn’t forever anyone to follow them.
Instead of trying to rid the world of these entrepreneurs that have captured the masses’ attention, we should do a better job of educating their audiences on the differences between social media and reality.