Donald Trump, Logan Paul & The War that is Social Media.
In today’s age we are essentially a society completely controlled by social media. Whether that be for the good or the bad, it is simply just a fact. I can’t remember the last time I turned my TV on and watched the actual news. Why would one take the time to watch a full news cast at a specific time, when you can just open up twitter and check the most recent political “moments” in a matter of minutes. The ease and freedom that comes with our continuously evolving technology also brings it’s threats. The growth and activity that social media platforms have experienced over the last few years , leave public figures in a very unique position, one of immense power and responsibility.
Demagogue Donald Trump is able to use this power to his ultimate advantage. Trump is known for his outrageous tweets, some of the most un-presidential content I have ever seen. Trump has tweeted out lines such as “Sorry losers and haters, but my I.Q. is one of the highest- and you all know it! Please don’t feel so stupid or insecure, it’s not your fault,” a tweet that sounds as if it were to come straight out of the mouth of a 13 year old school boy.
Many people are shocked by these tweets and the statements he makes about “fake news,” but none the less he continues to have a persistent group of followers who loves him. Beside the outrageous tweets to his nearly 50 million followers, social media as a whole played a very significant role in Trump’s election campaign. He used different platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, News outlets, Facebook and many others to communicate with the country, promising outrageous policies, but telling people exactly what they wanted to hear. This loyal following that social media allows Trump to reach, gives him a massive degree of power, possibly more so then just being the President does. Any message Trump wants to spread can be done so in a matter of seconds and a push of a few keys. This could be utilized in a very positive way in which he could spread positive and proactive message to a massive audience, however for the majority this power is used negatively. Trump has even decided to control what news he believes to be true or not, with his commentary on “fake news,” simply just not believing some of the news that is reported by very credible outlets.
The same “demagogue,” status can be seen by analyzing social media influencers such as Logan Paul. With over 16 million YouTube subscribers, and a combined following of over 50 million, Paul is able to reach a massive audience, any day any time, and he’s just a regular guy. Speaking from personal experience I have seen how this massive amount of power and influence can go to one’s head, developing into similar behaviour as shown by Donald Trump. Paul comes across as a crazy outgoing character on his YouTube channel, who believes that there are no rules and no shortage of income. His massive explosion in popularity on YouTube in the last year and a half has enabled him to travel the world, purchase a ten million dollar home and has essentially made him one of the most powerful influencers in the world. Paul post’s “vlog” videos to his 16 million subscribers every single day, giving him a large degree of control and influence over these followers lives. Most of his subscribers are young teens and even children, who are easily influenced by their idols such as Paul. Logan recently was involved in a massive scandal that was pretty much blasted on every single relevant news publication. Paul filmed a video in Japan’s notorious “suicide forest,” filming a man who had just committed suicide and reacting very inappropriately. The internet was outraged by this video, and over the last several weeks Logan Paul has been one of the most hated and talked about individuals in the news.
But with the bad of course comes the good. Because social media is so powerful it can be used in a very positive way on a huge scale. Philanthropists such as Oprah Winfrey are able to use there powers on social media to spread positive messages and make a huge difference in people’s lives. Over the last decade Oprah Winfrey has helped countless individuals on her talk show, through fundraising, her social media platforms and a variety of other ways. Without social media these positive messages would not be spread at the same degree, or impact such a large amount of people. Social media has been instrumental in hashtag campaigns such as yesterday’s #BellLetsTalk day which raised nearly seven million dollars, simply by individuals tweeting out the hashtag and discussing the topic of mental health on twitter. Over the course of the day there was a documented 138 million interactions with the campaign as individuals and influential voices joined in and spread the message. Examples such as this really do balance out the demagogues such as Donald Trump and Logan Paul. Social media controls us and everything we do, but it is just a part of modern day life. When used properly can really make a positive impact and better the lives of countless individuals.
