The Hypnotic Influence of #Celebrities
I’m not going to lie, I’m one of those people who is easily influenced by celebrities and everything they post on social media. With celebrities, such as Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Eminem and even Kim Kardashian, I have always been invested in the lives of celebrities. It came to a point where Justin Bieber would do something, even if it involved disrespecting his fans…I would still try to defend him by saying “people make mistakes” because “hey I’ve been a belieber since I was 13, why would I go against someone who i’ve been supporting since God knows when?”.
However when I turned 18, I realized that I had negatively invested myself mentally and emotionally into someone who doesn’t even know who I am. With his huge influence on me, he was able to completely shift my perspective about negative behaviours. With my experience, I can attest that celebrities can shape public discourse through social media, however, I believe the amount of followers and the relevance of their advocacies are catalysts to this.
According to US Weekly “Social media has allowed celebrities to directly communicate with fans over the years. Platforms like Twitter and Instagram have given users a closer look at their favourite celebrities, granting them direct access into their world”. Social media has become a bridge between fans and their favourite celebrities and that’s why people are so invested in their lives. Fans feel much more intimate with their idols in every post they see and this is why people are updated with Kylie Jenner’s recent alleged pregnancy or who Taylor Swift dedicated her new ‘reputation’ album to. They have complete access to the lives of these influencers that completely rob their attention and change the way they think about certain things. Artists are able to shape public discourse through social media by allowing the public to see what is going on with their lives, which makes their followers think “they trust us with their private lives, I can trust them with their public opinions about social and political issues”. Fans have this certain thought process that they are “friends” with these celebrities because they always see what’s going on behind the spotlight. Artists don’t just have huge influences through social media, but also through music. Alessia Cara, who recently just garnered the Best New Artist award at the Grammy’s last Sunday, spiked up the suicide hotline prevention calls after performing her song “1–800–273–8455” with Logic at the VMAs.
I can’t even deny the fact that I was heavily impacted and amazed by the influence of one song to the lives of many people. This specific event raised so much awareness towards “suicide”. But in terms of political awareness, huge influencers such as Eminem who just rapped about Trump, created a huge buzz within the political atmosphere and the music industry.
As a 2009 O.G Belieber, I can certainly tell you that if Justin Bieber ran for president (or Prime Minister because he’s Canadian), I would have voted for him. Why would I do this when I know he did not even graduate high school nor apply to law school? Well, 2009 O.G belieber Alecza would have defended herself by telling you that “starting off on YouTube by posting covers and making it big in this world is already inspiring enough to inspire the rest of the world”. His own story is an echo chamber that allowed me to think that his artistic narrative is enough for him to make me think differently. However, Justin Bieber does not rap nor sing about politics or about making the world better.
Eminem released “The Storm” a rap that just blew off Trump’s presidential run, but was this able to shape public discourse? Certainly. He’s already an iconic rapper that has been rapping about social and personal issues. There were already pro-Trump and anti-Trump parties when he released the freestyle rap on YouTube and this just reinforced the anti-Trump idea to anti-Trump followers. I believe it was more of sole self-expression that increased the hate against Trump. He reminded people of his horrible presidency which people actually see on Twitter (let’s be honest, his tweets are absolutely ridiculous). Eminem blatantly spits out:
“When he attacks the NFL so we focus on that
Instead of talking Puerto Rico or gun reform for Nevada
All these horrible tragedies and he’s bored and would rather
Cause a Twitter storm with the Packers
Then says he wants to lower our taxes
Then who’s gonna pay for his extravagant trips
Back and forth with his fam to his golf resorts and his mansions?”
I was personally moved by this rap as it showed his anger towards the president (and I’m not even a huge Eminem fan).
On the other hand, is Taylor Swift able to burst filter bubbles? A BIG YES! Taylor has over 85.5 million followers on Twitter and 106 million followers on Instagram; and this just shows how many people are invested and interested in her personal life. Before the whole #METoo movement even came about, Taylor Swift has already raised awareness on Twitter about sexual assault based on her own personal experience and gave people the platform to speak up about this certain issue.
She was able to break down the taboo surrounding having to filter oneself. By standing up for herself, despite the negative allegations, she was one of the first few celebrities who initiated the movement; even as far as being the cover of TIME Magazine along with other feminism advocates, which she posted on her Instagram account to show her success in promoting this .
Now if you’re wondering if I would vote for Taylor Swift or Eminem because they actually had good narratives and positive influences to begin with, I will not. However, I believe that the number of followers they have and the way they present their private lives online, allow their fans to think that they are trustworthy. This certainly can influence the way people think and use social media.
