Recently, it seems every time I open any kind of relevant social media app (ex. Instagram/TikTok) all I notice is the surge of comments hating on influencers. Saying things like, “Oh to have your life.” People seem to be either sick of influencers or envious of their lives. I think these comments are completely purposeless.
People need to stop taking things on these apps so seriously. How does Katie Fang (a popular social media influencer) posting a dancing video from her high-rise NYC apartment really affect you?
Sure, you might consider influencers like Fang or Charli D’Amelio (a TikTok sensation) to be talentless or undeserving, but even if true, where does the need to comment distasteful things under harmless posts come from? These commenters really need to chill. After all, they’re simply feeding into the fame and boosting the virality of these so-called “influencers.”
At the core, more users must realize they don’t know anything about these online figures. No matter the volume of content posted online, it may still say nothing about a person’s true personality. People need to wake up and realize the purpose of the entire app and algorithm in the first place has been to entertain, not to compare or complain.
In the end, most of the time viral influencers are simply lucky. The majority of these influencers may simply be attractive with no real substance or the algorithm may just have promoted their content randomly. The commenters expressing their wishes to live the same life or have a large platform may be valid but are not achieving anything.
As they say, “Envy is the thief of joy.” This rings true especially as once-relatable influencers reach a peak in their fame where they are no longer relatable. We’ve seen the cycle a million times (for example the case of famous YouTuber Emma Chamberlain): a person just like us goes viral and all the support turns to hate the moment we realize they aren’t just like us anymore. But why should the influencer suffer for what the public has done to them? After all, we’re the ones clicking, viewing, and liking.
All in all, content consumers need to examine the way they view social media posts and creators. They must take a look inward, examine why they feel envy or hate towards influencers, and get to work. Leaving a baseless comment won’t help you in any way (unless you’re seeking validation from like-minded people). Although it’s very easy to get caught up in comparisons on social media, we should change our perspective and take it as an opportunity to better ourselves and strive for our goals.