Shirley Yanez / 29 September 2024 / Categories: Opinions, Internet, Websites, Social Networks

Social Media Influencers

Online platforms where you are supposed to socialize and share your opinions, thoughts, experiences and life, not be conned or trolled.

The digital age! Once a gleaming bastion of connectivity and shared human experience, now often a sprawling marketplace and battleground for virtual personas and commercial conquests. It's as if the town square where philosophers and friends once met has been overtaken by a carnival of advertisements, each vying for our precious attention. The social media landscape has indeed shifted, evolving from a place of pure interaction into a complex ecosystem where authenticity can be as elusive as a unicorn.

Not only is the whole experience dull, but I no longer feel comfortable participating in it. The entire system is controlled by algorithms and chatbots that, for some reason, manage to figure out what you like and are searching for it before somehow promoting to you again. The issue with this insanity is that they frequently do so too late and sell back the items you have already bought.

Once upon a time, the digital frontier was a place of wonder. People flocked to social media platforms to share their daily joys and sorrows, to find their tribe, to laugh, to learn, and to be part of something larger than themselves. The air was electric with the promise of boundless connection, a place where our thoughts and stories could soar on the wings of Wi-Fi to touch hearts and minds across the globe.

However, when this utopian vision came to an end in the digital world, the horizon became increasingly filled with the silhouettes of shrewd brands and influencers. Eager to establish their presence on the unspoiled grasslands of our feeds, they arrived in town pulling waggons filled with sponsored content. They created entire empires out of likes, followers, and shares, transforming our once private chats into markets where attention and participation were valued more highly than compassion and understanding. They painted pictures of perfection and promised us the stars if we'd only click, like, and subscribe. And we, the innocent followers, were lured by the glitz and glamour, the allure of the latest trends, and the seductive whispers of "buy now, live happier!"

With great power comes great responsibility, and not all wielded it well. The trolls emerged from the shadowy alleyways, armed with the anonymity of the internet, ready to unleash a barrage of unkindness and bullying, hurling insults and cruelty without conscious thought. For the sake of our mental health and sanity, we must all take a back seat now for a while, until we are ready to share what is real. We should support small independent brands, call out the big boys and make services brands and people more transparent and accountable for what they are selling. I don't want to be influenced period, especially by someone who is being paid to sell me something they would not be seen dead wearing or using!