ARE INFLUENCERS LOSING TOUCH WITH REALITY?

Rust, to depict the deteriorating social media influencers. Image grab from FUZE

The internet, I'd say,  has to be one of the best human inventions. It has made information accessible to almost everyone, delivered not by a crow in ancient times or by snail mail in the 20th century, but through a complex series of 1s and 0s. Yes! Just 1s and 0s! It might not seem like much, but a single mistake can ruin everything!

Speaking of mistakes, in my opinion, it's also a mistake to grant these so-called influencers access to the internet. Not everyone though, we can probably sort them out. But only those who are comparable to the kind of scenes where we restrict kids from seeing or hearing during only-for-adults scenes in movies. But we are all kids on the internet because most of the time, we kid. *cringe*

Nevertheless, don't these influencers feel ashamed or have they lost touch with reality? Many people, including myself, have probably gone through that period in our lives, but for grown adults, some with kids, it's mindblowing. Growing up and growing old are definitely not the same and they don’t always align. There are funny, sarcastic, inspirational, motivational, and educational contents, but also content that makes you wonder how they aren’t embarrassed at all.

One example is what I call the "Diwata Pares Phenomena." Vloggers try to get unconsented collaborations, and when refused, they'd resort to playing the victim and slander the person. This can happen in real life, but airing it on social media is something I don't agree with. I firmly believe that personal issues should be handled privately. 

Then there's the "Battle of CEOs." I expected big businessmen with international brands, but then I found out they were CEOs of beauty products. Not that I belittle their business, I don't even have one, but having fought over the product effectiveness through TikTok entries and even hosted a concert, that was crazy! 

Lastly, some of these so-called influencers create content by breaking the law, and while we think justice is served, it’s actually part of their plan. As I've heard, to gain views and keep the money flowing in. That’s just pathetic, I mean it, in the true sense of the word. 

What’s their goal? Entertainment? Does it need to be so extreme that there's not a single portion of it which we can get a lesson from? Surely they've shown the consequences but we can also learn these outside social media where one can ponder and maybe, just maybe, consider living a life with moral integrity. If these influencers keep sprouting, we'll completely devalue human dignity, which is already happening. 

We hate perverts, yet we share adult content. We hate disrespect, yet we share hateful content. We hate narcissists, yet we share self-praising content. We hate disorder, yet we share anti-moral content. The worst part is, it’s not just the content creators who perpetuate obscenity, but also their naive followers.