What’s The Point of Living Online If You Can’t Handle The Judgment?
“I’m going to be real with you guys. What you’re about to see is me in my actual habitat. I’m never going to lie to you. I have a big family, but now you are going to be my online family, and I am going to talk to you every day.”
This is the hook most influencers use to bait people into following them and making them believe that they hold such an important position in their lives.
The scarcity of funny videos and loneliness leads many to feel like they are part of the influencer’s life. After all, the influencer is as natural as ever with them. They show their true selves on camera. Not a speck of makeup on them, and the lighting is always perfect.
They eat instant cup foods…just like us. They reach out for junk food and never gain weight. They love to cook but aren’t good at it. Every single moment is perfectly captured with the right angle, background, and sound.
The influencer is living the perfect life, and they are so humble.
It is easy to be enraptured by their deception. Behind the scenes, they have already done ten takes of just getting out of bed. If they are using someone else to film them, that person is most definitely being abused for not getting the right side of their face. If they are filming themselves, it takes an hour just to set up the lighting and background, then slip into comfy clothes that are of course, branded and expensive.
But they have the charm, and they manage to get thousands to follow their journey.
Then one day, a trend goes horribly wrong. They film a viral prank only to receive backlash for their insensitivity. One mistake, and the influencer is labelled a fake and is immediately cancelled.
The influencer takes down the video, but someone has already made a copy of the video and posted it everywhere. The influencer is shamed, goes silent for a while, and writes up a post that is hardly an apology.
The followers drop out, others stick around to indulge in more mud-slinging. It wasn’t a prank but a direct attack on someone’s beliefs or culture.
The influencer finally decides to write up or film their next post. It’s not an apology post. It’s a “you didn’t understand what I wanted to say, and it’s your fault you are hurt.”
And then the usual seven words: I am stepping away from social media. This is supposed to shock their followers. Some come out in support, others call them a drama queen, and many bring out their popcorn to watch the drama unfold.
This is so much better than reality television.
The influencer isn’t really going away. There’s no way they would do anything to hinder their constant income stream. They are looking for sympathy and for those who insulted them to apologize.
They never do. The influencer never does.
A week later, new trends have gone viral, and that one faux pas is already forgotten.
The influencer makes a quiet comeback at first and then starts their regular schedule of videos.
For you see, it was all about taking a break to create a bank of content to post regularly again.
After a couple of days, you will find them crying again, about a breakup or coming down with a cold. There will be dozens of sympathetic comments, but someone will remember what they did and how the influencer made fun of someone else who had gone through a tough time.
The influencer gets all offended and takes another break from social media, unable to take all the negativity that comes with being online.
So…what is the point of living online if you can’t handle the judgment?
Whether you create content or a silent scroller, remember you are in the midst of millions of people from different cultural backgrounds and beliefs. Not everyone thinks exactly like you, remember?
If you decide to make social media part of your life, then understand that someone out there will say something that goes against your beliefs.
You cannot change the way people think, but you can change the way you react to them.
For example, how about treating social media drama as reality television and enjoying it, rather than a battle that asks for your involvement?
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