I GOT MY JOB BECAUSE APPARENTLY IM INSTAGRAM FAMOUS WTF (not clickbait)

#WOKE -*note the title of the article is a play on a popular way YouTubers name their videos*

“Omg I totally recognize you from Instagram”

“You don’t follow me back”

“Ohhhh you’re, like, basically Instagram famous”

“I’ve followed you on tumblr for years!”

First of all, no I am not Instagram famous.

I am in no way a catfish, but my Instagram is not an accurate representation of my actual life. It’s merely a portrayal of the parts of myself that I want you to see.

All of the aforementioned statements are comments that I receive on a regular basis. Some people may see this as bragging, but let’s be clear. I am not and that is exactly why I am writing this essay.

Before social media, back to the Legally Blonde days, people would tell “pretty girls” that they should be models (self explanatory), or nurses (a hot nurse, cliche to say the least), or waitresses (good tips), or really any job in which sex appeal could give you the upper hand… never an accountant or doctor or lawyer, “you’re too pretty for that” they would say, because obviously their good looks could be their only asset, right?

Clearly that is not right.
And society responded with outrage.

People, especially feminists, went nuts over comments like this, until finally Elle Woods became a lawyer, and suddenly “pretty people” were taken at more than just face value. It is no longer seen as a compliment, nor is it socially acceptable, to tell someone that they are “too pretty” to be a doctor, or construction worker, or whatever non-image based career they choose to purse. In the same way it is also socially recognized, for the most part, that is is unacceptable to tell someone they are too ugly or too fat or any negative attribute, for that matter, to do a certain job.

Elle Woods may have taken 10 steps forward for society, but Alexis Ren (literally famous because she is beautiful, no hate, just a fact) took 5 steps back.

Thanks to the social media apocalypse, society has found another way, sorry… two ways, to denote self worth.

Likes and followers.

Social media’s effect on our self worth is uncanny and a topic that does not lack research or speculation. Google it.

The more likes and followers you have, the more you’re worth. People literally pay for these likes and followers to inflate the perception (value) of their online presence, there are apps to do this that have thousands of downloads and even cost money, and people use the sh*t out of them…although they’ll never admit it, duh.

Social media has undisputedly disrupted the way society functions.

“Omg you work at _____?! Don’t you have to be, like, Instagram famous to work there?”

A girl who was serving me at the food court said to me innocently, as she was ringing through my $12 soup. Her intentions weren’t bad, but her comment made me think…

Did I only get this job because of my online presence, and not because of my skills, personality, or experience?

To be honest, she is probably somewhat right. Although businesses can’t explicitly say that, it’s no secret that there are secret biases and requirements that employers consider when hiring.

And it makes sense.

A good personal social media presence is an asset, especially in the eyes of companies that can use their employees followings to their advantage for promotional purposes.

But to be hired solely because of your social media presence, or not hired due to lack thereof, is exactly like being hired because you are pretty, or not hired because you’re not pretty enough.

It’s not right.

Or fair.

And guess what? The place where I work that she was referring to is a restaurant/bar.

I have no experience in the food service industry. I am a fashion stylist and have only in retail.

I was referred to the job through Instagram. And we are regularly encouraged to use our social media to promote the restaurant.

Don’t get me wrong, I am quite good at my job as a hostess. I am outgoing, friendly, and a quick learner, and therefore my lack of experience is not a deal breaker. But, I was probably not the most professionally qualified candidate for the job. I may have been qualified enough in other unspoken points of interest, however the fact I know how to make my Saturday night look like a lot of fun on Instagram does not mean I know how to host a busy Saturday night at a bar. It just doesn’t.

Now a hostess position at a bar isn’t that serious, but this is a slippery slope.
Hiring based off of social media metrics is not only dehumanizing and, to be honest, kind of offensive, it is also detrimental to the economy.

Even if we lived in a meritocracy, that merit shouldn’t be based on superficial measures of value, such as likes and followers. People shouldn’t miss out on job opportunities because they don’t get enough views on their stories.

I know this is a loaded statement, but mark my words this will eventually be a topic of conversation among society: hiring based off of social media metrics is discrimination (…in the context of unrelated industries, of course)

Not hiring someone because they only have 500 Instagram followers is the same as not hiring someone because they’re ugly. It’s really just a matter of semantics at this point.