#CREATE: Influencers or Artists?
With the use of electronics, social media has such a large impact on today’s society. Almost everyone has access to a form of social media, and they rely on it to properly function throughout the day. That being said, social media draws us [normal] people closer to celebrities we so largely look up to, maybe without even realizing it. Through social media, we are able to get to know these people as if they are one of your personal friends. Personally, I believe that the people we surround ourselves with have the greatest influence on us. That leads me to believe that the artists and celebrities we choose to follow on social media also have a large influence on us.
Artists use their personal social media accounts to give their fans access to their regular day life. Some artists may believe that their lives have no influence over people at all, but in my opinion, they largely do. Their art form is the initial thing that draws fans in, but then it is the way they choose to live their life that continues their popularity. For example, I figure skate and greatly look up to Tessa Virtue. Her skating skills are what initially drew me in, but now I also look at her social media for different lifestyle tips. Subconsciously I feel that I think if I eat and train like she does, I will one day be able to accomplish some of the things she has. This would not be possible if she did not share her lifestyle choices on her social medias.
Now the real question is, is this power that artists hold over us positive or negative?
I believe that artists can use their social media power positively and negatively, and that there is a fine line between the two. On one hand, artists can use this power to encourage activism on a certain matter. For example, on January 31 it was #BellLetsTalk day. Celebrities could use their power to encourage their followers to stand up for Mental Health simply by tweeting, posting, sharing, anything with that hashtag. On the other hand, being so closely connected to our favourite artists can also have a largely negative impact. If an artist were to post a picture or video of them consuming alcohol and then shortly after getting into a car it can encourage their cause their supporters to believe that, that is okay to do. These are just two very general examples to prove that artists have a great ability into molding their supporters into people similar to them.
The biggest things artists have the ability to do is share their opinion through their art form. After Trump was elected president, Eminem released a rap that portrayed his opinion on the matter. As much as it is believed he was rapping into an “echo chamber” (as seen in his music video through singing in an empty parking lot), I think he used his art to send out a powerful message through the thing he was best at — rapping. He created a way for people to understand where he was coming from and maybe entice people with similar beliefs to also start following him. By sending out his message through song, he stayed true to who he is while telling people what he thought. Personally, I support when artists share their opinion because they provide a voice for others that may not have one. Many other people may have had the same beliefs as Eminem, but they did not have the power to get the message out to millions of people. Eminem used his power to share his beliefs with the world. He did it in a fashionable and appropriate matter without disrespecting other people or himself. Everyone has a right to an opinion, and he shared his in an extremely powerful and influential way.
The question of whether or not Taylor Swift can burst filter bubbles is subjective. Personally, I am not one of her fans in any regard so I know she definitely would not be able to burst my bubble. However, as I have already stated artists hold an influence over their followers even if we do not realize it. So, in one way I definitely believe that artists are able to change our bubble. We choose what we want to see in that bubble, and one of those things are what artists are posting. If they post a picture on vacation we may start searching that destination and now that click is also in our bubble. Few celebrities that I know have burst my bubble are the Kardashian’s. I wouldn’t consider myself a fan of them as people, however few of the things that they endorse I am a fan of.
For example, I am really into fitness and recently the Kardashian’s have also been. That has caused their fitness postings to show up on my discovery feeds. Along with that, due to my interest in makeup I also find a lot of their makeup lines in my discovery feeds. Due to me constantly seeing their posts in other locations it in a way forced me to follow them just so I can have a direct connection to their makeup and to their workouts.
To contradict that though, I also think as we choose who influences us we can also choose who doesn’t influence us. What I mean by that is if an artist we follow starts to post things we do not agree with we can easily choose to unfollow them on social medias. This prevents artists from affecting our bubble.
I think artists are our biggest influences without even realizing it. People are constantly trying to dress the same way as them and do the same things as them. This can be positive as it can encourage people to work towards a certain goal and push them harder. It can also be negative because it can encourage people to do something they wouldn’t do if the artists didn’t promote it. So with all that being said, I think artists can have a great impact on our society if they use their power for good!
