BuzzFeed, can you chill please?
Exploitation. This word has revolved around the world as a seamless term that has been hiding right in front of our eyes. Like many sources of news, BuzzFeed has remarkably captured the attention of many of its consumers to functionally communicate what is happening around the world, or so they think. Yes, indeed I like many others have been pulled into their forces and have spent several hours browsing though newsfeeds that interest my liking. But many don’t realize what they are actually doing or what in fact is being done to them. BuzzFeed has dedicated themselves in delivering the most gossip-worthy news, tips, top ten videos, and trending topics, but in reality what are they conveying? I like to refer to it as mental manipulation. Although they are delivering their consumers with material that they want to see, it is not necessarily content that they must or need to see. BuzzFeed has been in charge to use our weakness to their advantage by constructing a multimedia atmosphere around our most vulnerable habits and attitudes. In a sense, BuzzFeed is creating content, but it is up to the human mind how we interpret this information and realize if it is really necessary to live off of. Now back to the topic of exploitation, Most of BuzzFeed’s news source is based off of celebrity scandals or their most trending topic. We all have to admit that this information is what carries this company and without it they wouldn’t travel far with content.
People somehow feed out of this information and can almost be said that they can’t live without them. BuzzFeed in particular engages the audience with the content that they present, more specifically, this week Beyonce recently posted a pregnancy reveal picture that in a sense, broke the internet. Her picture is the most liked photo on Instagram to this moment and many worldwide have share their comments. Her influence on Social Media and mainly her and others’ influence on us speaks for itself.
Now don’t get me wrong, Beyonce is queen but celebrities and many idols get portrayed on social media almost too fast and too impactful. BuzzFeed and other channels have ‘exploited’ the lives of many celebs for views and brand recognition to create more influence on us whether the information is accurate or false. Since BuzzFeed has been gaining momentum and fame, they and others believe that they could possibly reign in the future. Hopefully I wont be present to see this disaster but if the case were to come true, their influence on our lives will grow to an incredible amount that they will end up taking over the way we look at the internet and social media. Social Media and News feed sites should decrease their impact on us and should focus on the world we would want to live in. If BuzzFeed continues to grow into the future, our world will result in a Big Brother point of view; monitored, altered, and controlled. Let the people decide, not BuzzFeed.