EOTO 2 Presentations - Online Influencers

One of the concepts I learned from others’ EOTO presentations was Online Influencers by Josie Stinson. An online influencer is a person who creates online content and gains a large following. It’s crazy to think about how different being “famous” is now in today’s digital world instead of back then. Even saying “back then” seems inaccurate because it’s not like we’re comparing today to a hundred years ago. Technology is continuously growing and influencing almost everything we do. Back then, or even ten years ago, being famous took more than just posting one picture or video that miraculously went viral. People used to be more talented with things like singing, dancing, cooking, etc., ever to get really noticed by others. Now, anyone can connect with others and grow a platform to produce content for an engaged audience. 

There are definite positives to being an online influencer and definite negatives of it. The positive, as stated earlier, is that anyone has the ability to access some form of fame. Creators can also reply, respond, and interact with their followers and other online influencers. With everyone having the ability to be an influencer, there’s a lot of communication and collaboration between creators. Social media enables people to find their kind of people, which can foster amazing connections. 

Unfortunately, there are many negatives to being an online influencer, specifically regarding the public. Influencers can receive harsh backlash and criticism from not only their particular following but outside users as well. Cancel culture can take a severe toll on an influencer’s mental health. It can be unpredictable when an influencer will be “canceled,” especially if they didn’t have some sort of recent public incident. There have been numerous occasions when an influencer's past is brought up - like Shane Dawson - and used to terminate their online influence or presence (depending on how far cancel culture goes). It’s arguable that Shane doesn’t deserve a platform, but the backlash he received drove him to try to end his own life. Whether it’s a solicited or unsolicited reaction,  it’s extremely important to remember how there’s an actual person behind the screen.