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I've been thinking about this a lot after watching something a few days ago. And I'm cross-posting this on most of my sites, with different levels of editing depending on who is reading it.
I've been thinking a lot lately about the concept of social media influencers. I tend to look unfavorably upon the whole concept, mostly just because it is a culture that I do not understand and am not part of. It feels like the modern day version of the popular kids in school who are popular just for being popular, or the reality TV stars who pretty much just get paid to exist. These people get sponsored and paid to hawk products on their social media because they're popular.
I think part of the negativity on my part is also because I'm intimidated by all of this, and I'm a bit jealous that they are part of a culture I don't understand, which makes me feel worse about myself. I would especially hate to be 17 years old in this world, trying to get up the courage to ask some girl from school to prom, knowing that she has thousands of followers on social media because she constantly posts pictures and videos of herself looking cute. How would I be able to compete with that?
As I was formulating this post in my mind over the last few days, I was planning to list everything I didn't like about social media influencers. But then I realized that whole line of thinking was a bunch of judgmental and hypocritical crap that I don't need to share. It's no business of mine that someone is or isn't popular on social media. If someone found a way to make money on social media, that isn't inherently wrong.
I have a lot of social media accounts. I have my Facebook that I mostly use for real life friends. I have five Instagrams: the personal one, the one tied to my creative writing project, one for Lego, one in character as my inanimate classroom pet, and one for a defunct creative project that I haven't updated in years. I have three active WordPress blogs and numerous inactive ones. And I'm semi-active on Spacehey, of course. Between that and my so-called day job, I can't post everywhere very often.
And that's ok.
Yes, I'm jealous that some people know how to live off of social media and get sponsored and make money from it. But that life is not for me.
I have at most a few hundred followers on any of my sites, and only a few people actually interact with me. But some of those people whom I don't know in real life, or barely do, have become true friends. I'm better off doing what I do now: posting every once in a while when I feel like it, or have something to share, and not stressing about being on these sites constantly and missing out on the world around me. I'd rather be on here to make friends (and, of course, stay in touch with existing ones) than to get thousands of followers and make money.
To the friends I've made through writing, Lego, random comments on the same post, or anywhere else on social media: thank you. I appreciate all of you.
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𝙄𝙉𝙂𝙍𝙄𝘿
I get the jealous part for sure, but then I remember how much they have to be in the limelight. Not for me. I just happy a handful of people read my work and I don’t have to turn into a salesman to make ends meet while doing something that’s just suppose to bring me a sliver of happiness. If that makes sense. I do cringe when creators have to put an ad on their video or in a post to generate revenue. It’s too bad that Patreon support isn’t enough for a lot of creators.
And also, awwww. I appreciate you too :)
DeryckEleven
My entry into social media was thefacebook, back when it was only for those with college email addresses and before they dropped the "the". You could add your class schedule and potentially set up study groups. It was a new and weird experience. To see it change from that to what it has become today is so strange when I stop and think about it. Seeing ads from traditional brands was one thing, but to see posts from a semi-known contestant from a cooking competition selling their own brand of knives is another.
I only started using Twitter as anything more than an account to try to win free things after publishing my ebook and hoping to get a bigger audience to hopefully buy my book. It hasn't gone super well, largely because I don't want to devote hours upon hours chasing the algorithm.
I am, on some level, jealous of the influencers for being able to make money off of what is ostensibly a diversion. But I know how much work my wife put into social media when she was trying to use it to sell her art.
Good point, about how Facebook has changed.
And yes, what you said there at the end, exactly... it sounds nice to make money off of a diversion, but doing that takes up so much work that it is no longer a diversion, and I suspect no longer fun. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
by DGS; ; Report