Influencer Culture
Associated with the ability to alter the beliefs of individuals, the nature of the influencer continues strong but in a very different vein than previously.
As a small subsection of society, influencers are now fundamental figures of the modern day marketing machine, in which they are effectively sage-like characters that hold considerable ability to steer online and offline discourse surrounding issues. By unique virtue of the community and following they have built, influencers possess a trustworthy following that brands have leeched onto, allowing the modern day corporation to dilute their true image as a company and outsource it to an influencers community for them in order to vouch for their reliability.
My issue lies with marketisation infiltrating practically any aspect of society. In both the online and offline realms of society, no one is safe from bullshit lifestyles being advertised to them. Coming to terms with the false narrative that consumption equates to an upward trend of utility and happiness with an infinite trajectory, is one which many influencers (Not all) dangerously depict if not meticulous with their projected image and brand associations. Once safe and communal like followings of influencers are now subject to monetary exchanges. Just know the second you see #AD its most likely bullshit.Thus, this creates a situation where society is hyper-comparative and competitive, acting as false helium for a soon to burst balloon. The exponential growth of influencing and influencer culture, signals a true absence of actual authenticity in a society in which influencers possess extreme amounts of social, cultural and economic capital effectively dictating trends and culture via social media. Satirically, true authenticity isn’t commodified nor leveraged as being authentic. As these individuals experience immense forms of cultural power, these filtered lifestyles of influencers who many younger generations ultimately look up to in extremely high regards, ironically demonstrate a real lack of ability to positively influence.
I do not really believe in any form of true objectivity, thus cannot truly dictate for you, the reader, what constitutes as positive but I can at least give my perspective. We now live in a culture which heavily relies on discourse and emulation of others in order to guide us into what we truly value and want to pursue. This signals a true decline in authentically minded individuals as, ironically those who are considerably unique and choose to publish their life in such a manner gain increasing levels of capital and followings, rotating as cogs in a well oiled machine that results in a society of sheep. Many of the most historical and influential figures for good or for worse, have all mainly been individuals that reject and redefine societal norms, conventions and assumptions and instead opt for their unapologetic versions of themself, often leading to considerable levels of creative influence and discovery. The metrics of our digital world represented via our engagement etc, dangerously inflate our egos. This represents a saddening decline in people seeking to self-define as part of a process, instead taking a short cut, seeking instantaneous validation from a fake digital filtered realm of oneself.
Charles Barkley, NBA hall of famer, mentioned that “I’m not a role model, just because I dunk a basketball doesnt mean I should raise your kids”. In conjunction with Charles, younger generations and people in general, should take placing “idols” and “role models” on pedestals with extreme caution, as we are human at the end of the day. Influencer culture has only further extended the pedestals to people, where a podium finish is now worryingly obtainable via algorithmic adherence, generating larger numberised followings within the digital realm. The race for maximising these numbers is like never before. We find ourselves in an attention based economy rather than the false notion of an information economy. A key fundamental of any economy is scarcity. Information is more abundant than ever. Attention is something that is somewhat scarce and thus acts arguably as a basis to formulate an economy.This, due to the nature of being an influencer, creates a reality where people blindly chase attention (Increasing numbers etc) than actual ‘influence” — Maybe a much needed reconsideration of the term “Influencer”is necessary.
In the information age, the prominence of an influencer class is understandable. Research conducted by Schaefer (2012) found that due to such information overload in this digital age people revert to primitive methods of sorting and deciding upon information, with one of these main methods being lying on people that we deem to be trustworthy — The influencer. This reverting to traditional methods in order to decipher such a vast bombardment of information is reinforced by Katz (1957–1962) sociological research which identified that the influence of other people and our peers was much more considerable than that of other forms such as the media. We are now at a point where the opinions and values of many are dependent on others, dangerously constituting a somewhat invisible government of reliance — governing our minds, values and opinions rather than our own intuitive analyzing and concluding of information.
The influencer(s) of today need to be aware of the responsibility such position entails. I do not inherently dislike the notion of an influencer. The use of influencers to further often unnecessary consumption already and the continuation of a culture which places value on others rather than one’s own formulated ideals signals an issue. Do not chase relevancy. Do not chase similarity.Do not idolise anyone — we are all humans. Spend your attention wisely.
