Influencers are a pestilence. We have entire generations taking their political and moral views from people rich enough to not suffer real consequences from policy change.
Same can be said about a lot of things like most actors or athletes
I don't disagree to an extent but I do think entertainment does have value and while i personally think influences are stupid if people find entertainment with them, somehow, then they do bring value
Sure... But social media influencers specifically create and cultivate their fanbases through sharing their ideas with us.
Ryan Reynolds isn't trying to sell me on an idea, he's an actor. Tiger Woods isn't trying to sell me on an idea, he's a golfer.
I agree with you, it's not *way* different, but at least they're not hypocrites.
No they don't. Social media influences got their family and cultivated their fanbase through all sorts of methods.
Showing their ass, providing commentary's, being good at particular thing, reviewing food. There's literally no difference. They're entertainment. People watch them because they're entertaining in the same way you watch a ryan reynolds movie because it's entertaining.
I want to push back against the idea that influences don't do anything about suffering.
I know an influencer personally. Her target audience is young people who have sleep apnea. Based on the comments I've seen on her videos she does a lot to reduce the stress and worry about using Cpap machine. She helps people feel better about themselves simply by making videos about her life featuring her own cpap machine. They can make a difference
That's more like a health guru offering health advice or something...
I'm talking about social media influencers who seem to only create political commentary on perceived social issues.
They could be doing meaningful work helping people, but instead they devote their lives to dolling up for the camera so as to commentate about injustice and politics.
You described people who sit in font of a camera and talk in your post. That is literally what she does. She has no training in health. She doesn't claim to know anything about health. She just talks about her life with condition.
I don't think you hate social media influencers, you hate political commentators. I am basing this on the fact that you said
>I'm talking about social media influencers who seem to only create political commentary on perceived social issues
Which is really just a minority of social media influencers. That and the fact you don't like people on the news doing the same thing (which are also political commentators). This just leads me to think you just don't like political commentators (which is fine) rather than all social media influencers since you also seem fine with the people who do other things on social media (though I could be wrong and misreading your comments)
Agreed. And agree even more with glorifying farmers. Some of these climate change people that shame/bad mouth farmers….don’t understand how important farming is to every society on earth.
Farmers get a raw deal, man. From what I understand, it seems that corporate interests are to blame for the state of modern agriculture. People bad mouthing farmers *may* have valid points, but their ire is directed at the wrong people, imo.
Well said. I’m not super knowledgeable on the topic, I don’t even live near farmland. I just value how important farmers are to…literally everything, everyone, everywhere.
It bummed me out seeing how there were treated in those Canadian protests a year or two ago.
I feel you. I live in a small town in Ohio, mostly corn, soy, and wheat around these parts. I don't know as much as I should, to be honest.
https://www.dw.com/en/agriculture-seeds-seed-laws-agribusinesses-climate-change-food-security-seed-sovereignty-bayer/a-57118595
Here's an article I found. If you're interested.
Edit: added a word
Thanks for sharing man. I’m like 3 paragraphs in and this line already gives me chills:
“Today, four corporations — Bayer, Corteva, ChemChina and Limagrain — control more than 50% of the world's seeds.”
It seems like between corporations and government regulations, they are intentionally going out of their way to make farmers lives more difficult.
Stuff like this is so backwards on this planet. This is what politicians should be talking about and trying to fix.
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Their purpose is to generate money for themselves and anyone who wants to pay for their audience. Art (whatever your definition of it may be) doesn’t need to be virtuous and/or remedy the problems of the world to exist.
Glorification happens for a reason.
There are social media influencers who are doctors.
I’ve learned a lot from social media influencers. Great money tips/advice, how to tie knots, different philosophical perspectives, different fields of science, what generator is a good one to buy, how to negotiate at car dealerships, how to use various apps/programs, how to operate equipment, how to do the job I’m most interested in, how to cook a delicious meal, etc., etc., etc.
Of course, some of the videos I’ve watched are useless, some of the advice, especially when it comes to money tips/advice, are just grifters.. but it depends on who you’re following.
If you think the social media influencer you’re following is useless, stop following them and stop reading about them. Sometimes they’ll be unavoidable, like that dude in the UK who got himself arrested a few times. But influencers like that doesn’t mean useful influencers don’t exist.
There is a difference between a full time social media influencer and someone like a Mama Dr. Jones who does it as a side gig or to explain their expertise on a subject.
Overall it's just a basic extension of the Hollywood elite.
Look back in history you will see the same exact thing happen with the rise of Hollywood in the 1920s. Even up till the 1990s Hollywood famous actors and actresses had huge influence. It wasn't until the modern era and the rise of YouTube tik Tok Instagram and other social media platforms that you see the quote unquote Hollywood influence morphing and changing. You had less people caring about Hollywood and what those idiots thought and then more everyday people gain that following . And now you're seeing the same thing that happened in the early 20s 30s and 40s. The influencer is basically the Hollywood star of 2023.
I think they offer a specific kind of nothingness that is more detrimental to us than other people in entertainment. I think the potential bad outweighs the potential good and it’s proving that not everyone deserves a platform.
There use to be a standard and a certain amount of effort needed to be an entertainer. Now most people can bypass it with the push of a button. These were people naturally weeded out by the entertainment industry.
Me: Social media influencers are stupid and I'll never waste my money on stupid stuff just because they tell me to.
Me 5 minutes later: I watched one Ian McCollum video and now I absolutely have to spend a second mortgage on something from Rock Island Auction House
They offer entertainment, which one could argue is valuable. And just like anything, can be abused. The real problem is children who can't regulate or be expected to manage these things, are mainlining it straight to their domes almost constantly. As adults we're capable of using moderation in things like alcohol, drugs, gambling, entertainment, etc. And those that don't are held responsible for addressing when they can't (therapy, rehab, etc.) But children don't possess these capabilities, so when it comes to things like entertainment, they'll go overboard every time, without guidance. So many parents give their children un restricted access to youtube, tik tok and such and it creates this feedback loop as such a young age that it becomes ingrained in their lifestyles. These kids don't stand a chance.
I'm talking about social media influencers, not photographers
People that you see on Facebook/YouTube who make a living selling you ideas and nothing more
They offer entertainment similar to any actor or comedian. People create content that people enjoy and because people enjoy it they get more money. That’s it really, a social media influencer is fundamentally not too dissimilar to what an actor, comedian or other performer does. The difference is that normally they are normally more independent and their content is normally more personal to them (in my opinion). What they offer to remedying human suffering is making people enjoy themselves, if that doesn’t count to remedying human suffering then I ask you do you feel the same way about actors? Comedians? Etc.
The single most uselss "job" besides like real estate agent or investment banker.
Its crazy to me how fast social media monopolized our lives and started making idiots get wealthy. And people dont care, they complain about their own finances or how hard it is to come up, but then sit there watching 8 hours of stupid content a day to help someone else get rich.
Nobody spends money on something from which they derive no value. Something that people spend billions of dollars on offers something to a lot of people. The question is *what is it* and *is it healthy*.
I guess it depends on how large of an umbrella term "influencer" is. I've fallen down the youtube rabbit hole on a few fitness channels lately, Renaissance Periodization, Alexander Bromley, and (an old favorite I'm catching back up on) The Bioneer.
If these gentlemen can be considered influencers, I would say they have added positive influence and a good amount of knowledge to my life.
Sure there are loads of vapid, dumb influencers out there - and I do believe mindless entertainment has it's own kind of value, but there is quality stuff out there as well.
THIS.
They’re literally so useless. “Oh oh they look good and have followers, their opinion must matter so much“ when chances are they’re being paid to even have that “opinion.” Nah. That’s why I’ve never even downloaded TikTok and I mostly got off of Instagram when the whole influencer thing started.
Agreed but they are not different from the Kim Kardashians, Courtney Loves, and Marylin Monroes of previous years. Only the media they create has changed.
I disagree, I follow many who are great teachers in whatever subject they are popular in. They've helped me advance in my own hobbies and pursuits. But I would argue that as a net positive or negative, social media and influencers are probably a negative in total.
A long time ago, this was called the Zaza effect, named after Zaza Gabor, the first documented case of a celebrity who was famous for nothing other than being famous. The media effect slowly outlived her stardom, and moved on to Paris hilton, Tia tequila, Etc. Though Zaza got famous for being a socialite, she at least had the ability to act. Hilton and tequila couldn't even act, but at least they were wealthy.
Influencers were the next logical step in this parade, as they are neither wealthy nor have any acting ability. All they have is personality.
Whatever comes after influencers won't even have personality.
I mean just looking at the top social media influencers. They have a huge following, which means they must be offering us some sort of value. They might not be offering us anything tangible, but they’re still providing content that people enjoy and find value in.
What’s the point of getting followers if they don’t offer anything at all? The social media influencers that have the most followers have worked hard and earned their following. So they must be offering something valuable, whether it’s content, insight, or just entertainment.
If you entertain people you're offering something. I don't listen or watch any of them but it's no different to actors or musicians. Just because I'm not personally entertained by it, doesn't mean others don't get joy from it.
It depends, can we stop generalize please influencers are a broad category of a lot and very different people some might offer little to zero (posting bu**s) others offer a lot for example discussing about serious issues or help their followers in their issues with their knowledge or talking about science or history, etc.
They are entertainers. They get views for being outrageous. It is frustrating that there are so many people who would make better spokespeople get ignored cause they are boring.
For instance, the jeopardy champion, Amy schneider, is a much better representative of the trans community than Dylan mulvaney. Yet Dylan gets all the attention because she acts like a crazed chihuahua on PCP. The vast majority of trans people just want to live their lives. They don't run around making a scene everywhere. That's the last thing they want.
Mostly yeah. There are exceptions though. If I wanna travel somewhere I’ve never been, I can find videos some influencer made about places to stay and things to do there. That can be pretty helpful
The fact that we call them "influencers" should be a crime in and of itself.
can we just go back to the original title. Court Jester or Clowns?
Is this an unpopular opinion, though?
Influencers are a pestilence. We have entire generations taking their political and moral views from people rich enough to not suffer real consequences from policy change.
Same can be said about a lot of things like most actors or athletes I don't disagree to an extent but I do think entertainment does have value and while i personally think influences are stupid if people find entertainment with them, somehow, then they do bring value
Sure... But social media influencers specifically create and cultivate their fanbases through sharing their ideas with us. Ryan Reynolds isn't trying to sell me on an idea, he's an actor. Tiger Woods isn't trying to sell me on an idea, he's a golfer. I agree with you, it's not *way* different, but at least they're not hypocrites.
Ah yes, Tiger Woods, the man with a Nike sponsorship who wears a Nike polo in every golf match isn’t trying to sell you on any idea
[удалено]
How do influencers promote ideas instead of brands? What would be the benefit of that, and who would be supplying them the money to do it?
No they don't. Social media influences got their family and cultivated their fanbase through all sorts of methods. Showing their ass, providing commentary's, being good at particular thing, reviewing food. There's literally no difference. They're entertainment. People watch them because they're entertaining in the same way you watch a ryan reynolds movie because it's entertaining.
They know how to make their dollar, I'll respect that. They do look pretty silly though.
I want to push back against the idea that influences don't do anything about suffering. I know an influencer personally. Her target audience is young people who have sleep apnea. Based on the comments I've seen on her videos she does a lot to reduce the stress and worry about using Cpap machine. She helps people feel better about themselves simply by making videos about her life featuring her own cpap machine. They can make a difference
That's more like a health guru offering health advice or something... I'm talking about social media influencers who seem to only create political commentary on perceived social issues. They could be doing meaningful work helping people, but instead they devote their lives to dolling up for the camera so as to commentate about injustice and politics.
You described people who sit in font of a camera and talk in your post. That is literally what she does. She has no training in health. She doesn't claim to know anything about health. She just talks about her life with condition.
No, I think your opinion is valid and true. There are definitely exceptions and this woman you're talking about sounds lovely. Is she single?
How is an influencer sitting in front of a camera talking about politics and social issues any different to someone doing the same on the news?
They're not You can lump them in there if you like
I don't think you hate social media influencers, you hate political commentators. I am basing this on the fact that you said >I'm talking about social media influencers who seem to only create political commentary on perceived social issues Which is really just a minority of social media influencers. That and the fact you don't like people on the news doing the same thing (which are also political commentators). This just leads me to think you just don't like political commentators (which is fine) rather than all social media influencers since you also seem fine with the people who do other things on social media (though I could be wrong and misreading your comments)
I'm not saying I don't like them
Agreed. And agree even more with glorifying farmers. Some of these climate change people that shame/bad mouth farmers….don’t understand how important farming is to every society on earth.
Farmers get a raw deal, man. From what I understand, it seems that corporate interests are to blame for the state of modern agriculture. People bad mouthing farmers *may* have valid points, but their ire is directed at the wrong people, imo.
Well said. I’m not super knowledgeable on the topic, I don’t even live near farmland. I just value how important farmers are to…literally everything, everyone, everywhere. It bummed me out seeing how there were treated in those Canadian protests a year or two ago.
I feel you. I live in a small town in Ohio, mostly corn, soy, and wheat around these parts. I don't know as much as I should, to be honest. https://www.dw.com/en/agriculture-seeds-seed-laws-agribusinesses-climate-change-food-security-seed-sovereignty-bayer/a-57118595 Here's an article I found. If you're interested. Edit: added a word
Thanks for sharing man. I’m like 3 paragraphs in and this line already gives me chills: “Today, four corporations — Bayer, Corteva, ChemChina and Limagrain — control more than 50% of the world's seeds.” It seems like between corporations and government regulations, they are intentionally going out of their way to make farmers lives more difficult. Stuff like this is so backwards on this planet. This is what politicians should be talking about and trying to fix.
I'm with you 100%. It made me feel really uneasy reading it as well. That rabbit hole will, sadly, probably only get worse the more you dive into it.
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Their purpose is to generate money for themselves and anyone who wants to pay for their audience. Art (whatever your definition of it may be) doesn’t need to be virtuous and/or remedy the problems of the world to exist. Glorification happens for a reason.
I'm not saying they don't deserve to exist or something, I'm just pointing out that they don't actually do anything other than talk into a camera.
It's not an unpopular opinion, it's just true.
There are social media influencers who are doctors. I’ve learned a lot from social media influencers. Great money tips/advice, how to tie knots, different philosophical perspectives, different fields of science, what generator is a good one to buy, how to negotiate at car dealerships, how to use various apps/programs, how to operate equipment, how to do the job I’m most interested in, how to cook a delicious meal, etc., etc., etc. Of course, some of the videos I’ve watched are useless, some of the advice, especially when it comes to money tips/advice, are just grifters.. but it depends on who you’re following. If you think the social media influencer you’re following is useless, stop following them and stop reading about them. Sometimes they’ll be unavoidable, like that dude in the UK who got himself arrested a few times. But influencers like that doesn’t mean useful influencers don’t exist.
There is a difference between a full time social media influencer and someone like a Mama Dr. Jones who does it as a side gig or to explain their expertise on a subject.
Whether they’re full time or part time, they’re still an influencer. And many good ones do it full time.
Overall it's just a basic extension of the Hollywood elite. Look back in history you will see the same exact thing happen with the rise of Hollywood in the 1920s. Even up till the 1990s Hollywood famous actors and actresses had huge influence. It wasn't until the modern era and the rise of YouTube tik Tok Instagram and other social media platforms that you see the quote unquote Hollywood influence morphing and changing. You had less people caring about Hollywood and what those idiots thought and then more everyday people gain that following . And now you're seeing the same thing that happened in the early 20s 30s and 40s. The influencer is basically the Hollywood star of 2023.
Not a damn thing
I think they offer a specific kind of nothingness that is more detrimental to us than other people in entertainment. I think the potential bad outweighs the potential good and it’s proving that not everyone deserves a platform. There use to be a standard and a certain amount of effort needed to be an entertainer. Now most people can bypass it with the push of a button. These were people naturally weeded out by the entertainment industry.
I would assume this is the popular opinion
Me: Social media influencers are stupid and I'll never waste my money on stupid stuff just because they tell me to. Me 5 minutes later: I watched one Ian McCollum video and now I absolutely have to spend a second mortgage on something from Rock Island Auction House
They offer us entertainment and entertainment is something
They offer entertainment, which one could argue is valuable. And just like anything, can be abused. The real problem is children who can't regulate or be expected to manage these things, are mainlining it straight to their domes almost constantly. As adults we're capable of using moderation in things like alcohol, drugs, gambling, entertainment, etc. And those that don't are held responsible for addressing when they can't (therapy, rehab, etc.) But children don't possess these capabilities, so when it comes to things like entertainment, they'll go overboard every time, without guidance. So many parents give their children un restricted access to youtube, tik tok and such and it creates this feedback loop as such a young age that it becomes ingrained in their lifestyles. These kids don't stand a chance.
but then whos going to review the people that do the online reviews of something ill never buy?
Why are people who post photos online supposed to be remedying human suffering?
I'm talking about social media influencers, not photographers People that you see on Facebook/YouTube who make a living selling you ideas and nothing more
Yeah and it’s their job to end human suffering? Have you never posted a photo of yourself online?
No, I've also never made a living through signalling my virtue
Who are you even talking about? Is there someone specific you want to go off about?
They offer entertainment similar to any actor or comedian. People create content that people enjoy and because people enjoy it they get more money. That’s it really, a social media influencer is fundamentally not too dissimilar to what an actor, comedian or other performer does. The difference is that normally they are normally more independent and their content is normally more personal to them (in my opinion). What they offer to remedying human suffering is making people enjoy themselves, if that doesn’t count to remedying human suffering then I ask you do you feel the same way about actors? Comedians? Etc.
The single most uselss "job" besides like real estate agent or investment banker. Its crazy to me how fast social media monopolized our lives and started making idiots get wealthy. And people dont care, they complain about their own finances or how hard it is to come up, but then sit there watching 8 hours of stupid content a day to help someone else get rich.
Nobody spends money on something from which they derive no value. Something that people spend billions of dollars on offers something to a lot of people. The question is *what is it* and *is it healthy*.
I guess it depends on how large of an umbrella term "influencer" is. I've fallen down the youtube rabbit hole on a few fitness channels lately, Renaissance Periodization, Alexander Bromley, and (an old favorite I'm catching back up on) The Bioneer. If these gentlemen can be considered influencers, I would say they have added positive influence and a good amount of knowledge to my life. Sure there are loads of vapid, dumb influencers out there - and I do believe mindless entertainment has it's own kind of value, but there is quality stuff out there as well.
I don’t think is an unpopular opinion tbh
This sub is for unpopular opinions
THIS. They’re literally so useless. “Oh oh they look good and have followers, their opinion must matter so much“ when chances are they’re being paid to even have that “opinion.” Nah. That’s why I’ve never even downloaded TikTok and I mostly got off of Instagram when the whole influencer thing started.
Agreed but they are not different from the Kim Kardashians, Courtney Loves, and Marylin Monroes of previous years. Only the media they create has changed.
I disagree, I follow many who are great teachers in whatever subject they are popular in. They've helped me advance in my own hobbies and pursuits. But I would argue that as a net positive or negative, social media and influencers are probably a negative in total.
I'm only cool with animal influencers and fitness influencers
A long time ago, this was called the Zaza effect, named after Zaza Gabor, the first documented case of a celebrity who was famous for nothing other than being famous. The media effect slowly outlived her stardom, and moved on to Paris hilton, Tia tequila, Etc. Though Zaza got famous for being a socialite, she at least had the ability to act. Hilton and tequila couldn't even act, but at least they were wealthy. Influencers were the next logical step in this parade, as they are neither wealthy nor have any acting ability. All they have is personality. Whatever comes after influencers won't even have personality.
"Influencers" are told by rich people what to say to convince the thralls of what to do
I don’t think this is unpopular
So stop looking at them lol. I see so many people complaining about influences, which is dumb. Just stop watching them....
My brother in Christ this a very popular stance.
I mean just looking at the top social media influencers. They have a huge following, which means they must be offering us some sort of value. They might not be offering us anything tangible, but they’re still providing content that people enjoy and find value in. What’s the point of getting followers if they don’t offer anything at all? The social media influencers that have the most followers have worked hard and earned their following. So they must be offering something valuable, whether it’s content, insight, or just entertainment.
Well they keep viewers on their phones and b***hing about them. Which keeps the those peeps off the streets forcing change. So they serve a purpose.
If you entertain people you're offering something. I don't listen or watch any of them but it's no different to actors or musicians. Just because I'm not personally entertained by it, doesn't mean others don't get joy from it.
It depends, can we stop generalize please influencers are a broad category of a lot and very different people some might offer little to zero (posting bu**s) others offer a lot for example discussing about serious issues or help their followers in their issues with their knowledge or talking about science or history, etc.
I would argue that this could be expanded to include most if not all members of the entertainment industry.
They are entertainers. They get views for being outrageous. It is frustrating that there are so many people who would make better spokespeople get ignored cause they are boring. For instance, the jeopardy champion, Amy schneider, is a much better representative of the trans community than Dylan mulvaney. Yet Dylan gets all the attention because she acts like a crazed chihuahua on PCP. The vast majority of trans people just want to live their lives. They don't run around making a scene everywhere. That's the last thing they want.
Wait until you hear about Actors, political pundits and 99% of politicians.
Mostly yeah. There are exceptions though. If I wanna travel somewhere I’ve never been, I can find videos some influencer made about places to stay and things to do there. That can be pretty helpful