Online spaces are not sacred anymore. This has been a long time coming, but the rapid change of technology and social media has destroyed itself from the inside out. There’s a lot to say about the deterioration of these spaces, but the main focus that has been on my mind is influencers. I think that at this point in the internet timeline, influencers are not all that they used to be. Even the word “influencer” has negative connotations about the online world, fame, wealth, and beauty. In the past, some of us strived for comfort from our favorite creators who were untouchable, yet down to earth. Now, the biggest influencers create spaces of drama, pretentious displays of wealth, and gossip.Â
I think in order to understand what’s wrong with influencers in this era, we have to understand what the internet was like before. I can only speak from the experience of someone who was on the internet way before they should have been, but it wasn’t always like this. See, if you were to reexamine the biggest creators of the 2010s, then you would find a bunch of losers. I know that seems harsh, but it’s what it was, and many of these creators would probably agree with this terminology themselves. If you look back at the most popular YouTube creators from the 2010s, the best of the best spawned from normal people who started making videos because they were lonely or needed some sort of creative outlet. In his “draw my life” video, creator Tyler Oakley discusses wanting to do something valuable with his career in social media, after experiencing some tough childhood experiences. Similarly, creator Lilly Singh says that her goal with her platform is to inspire hope into people after experiencing hard times in her life. These were massive creators at the time, and their journey into content creation started with wanting to share something with people like them.Â
With these creators being deemed as outcasts, those who strived to be in this position were of a similar category. Back then, it wasn’t cool to want to be online, make videos, and be a creator. People found it weird and were uncomfortable with it. These creators were able to create very large communities though, and these communities were drawn to some sort of message. Overall, the content was about creativity, humor, and finding some escapism. Of course, this is just my perspective from the content I used to watch, but I theorize that if you looked at the bigger picture of content creation during that time, then you would find the same patterns I am spotlighting.Â
When we compare that time period to today, it seems to be the opposite. The people that get the most attention are those who have the most to show. Whether it’s beauty, money, attention, or status, whoever has the most glitz and glamor is the one that prevails. The online landscape, specifically those geared towards children and young adults, is like a high school popularity contest from hell. It’s not only about who gets to be famous and who doesn’t, it’s about sustaining that power.Â
Influencers are out of touch, and that’s no big revelation. Just google “out of touch influencers” and you’ll be met with hundreds of thousands of results of complaints and examples. Probably the most viral example of this is Mikayla Nogueria’s comment in one of her videos about how much she has worked, “try being an influencer for a day,” but this is just one example of multiple incidents. Comments like these steer me away from watching the content of people with big followings.Â
Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. There are people with big followings today who do have a message to share and have worked for a following, and I appreciate those who can stick to their message while also growing a huge following. However, the people who are talked about the most, and those who tend to make their way into mainstream media, tend to be out of touch. I am not interested in watching content of people with millions of dollars, I am interested in people who I can be inspired by and learn from. I am interested in people who don’t seem like they’re living in their own bubble, but that seems to be what gets noticed.
There’s so much to touch on with this topic, and it’s hard to articulate all my thoughts about how much online spaces have changed in my eyes. I think the main thing I want to promote, the message I would like to share, is to be conscientious about the content you are consuming. Think about who you are supporting, and what they support. There is still a lot of great content out there and a lot of great people with something to say. Find these people, lift them up, and find positive corners on the internet.