You Can Thank Social Media for the Birth of ‘Influencer Culture’

"Happy?" he answered.

"How can I be happy when all I see are people who have sexier life experiences than me, who are surrounded by beautiful people, who are travelling to places I will never see? Sometimes I think we use social media to make others feel bad about themselves."

Social media has exposed the fragility of truth. Misinformation on these platforms is frequently discussed in relation to politics and as a threat to our democracy. The more time I spend on social media as both a creator and consumer of content, the more the threat of misinformation feels personal—it threatens how I perceive myself consciously and subconsciously.

Social media platforms do not prioritize truth and facts. Garnering views (READ: eyeballs for their advertisers) are their priority; knowing truth and facts are often less attractive than compelling fiction. Financially, it does not make sense for algorithms to promote what is true. What makes financial sense for algorithms to promote what is entertaining and what will push emotional buttons. I am OK with this if social media users, which is essentially all of us, did not naively rely on it as a trustworthy source of information.

While the "back of our heads" knows most of what we see on social media is artificial and surface-level narcissism, we still love it, even though it does not love us back. Most social media content, even my own, is inflated.

Our society, culture, and happiness have been profoundly affected by social media and the 24/7 influencer culture it has created. Influencer culture, as its name implies, is fueled by individuals who have built a large social media following, using platforms to promote products, services, and brands to their followers.

I am not concerned about social media influencers using their "visibility" to endorse products. Since the dawn of mass media, a term coined in the 1920s, public figures have been making a few bucks peddling products or serving as a company spokesperson. Since 1477, when William Caxton, an English merchant, diplomat, writer, and printer, published the first print ad, we have been living with influencer culture for over 200 years. It is only now that we are calling it out. My concern is not with influencer marketing but rather the impact social media has, by design or default, influencing individuals and society.

More specifically, what is the impact of influencer culture on individual responsibility?

By Nick Kossovan

Thanks to social media, influencer culture has advanced to an unimaginable level, causing individuals, especially the young, to seek validation from external sources rather than themselves. As a result, individuals are comparing themselves to "influencers" to determine their self-worth, hence negatively impacting their healthy self-esteem development.

Influencers tend to have perfect bodies and lifestyles. Is it possible to be an influencer without having any physical appeal? For their followers, this creates unrealistic expectations, resulting in feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem, particularly among young people who are more susceptible to social media's influence. You can thank social media influencers for emitting unrealistic expectations 24/7 for all the mental angst surrounding us.

I follow several accounts on Instagram and TikTok dedicated to amplifying the idea that the Internet is not real. One account recently revealed how easy it is for creators to lengthen their legs, shrink their waists, smooth over textured skin, and re-sculpt their faces using editing software— a stark reminder that the people and things on the Internet, like in the movies or magazines, are mostlikely touched up and even altered.

It is easy—too easy—for people to simply make things up and present them as truths. Yet, strangely, even now, after years of being heavily active on social media, I still do not browse social media platforms expecting to be deceived, yet I am constantly deceived.

Is it the responsibility of social media platforms to protect their users from content that can negatively influence them? Unfortunately, upholding such responsibility directly conflicts with what generates growth and money for Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, et al. To censor and only allow 100% factual content does not serve a social media company's best interest.

I write all of this with low-grade guilt. Of course, I am aware of the hypocrisy of my words—calling for an industry from which I profit to regulate itself. On the other hand, seeing firsthand how social media companies make money is why I understand how crucial it is to understand that self-validation, self-worth, and self-esteem come from the self, not from social media.

Nick Kossovan, a self-described connoisseur of human psychology, writes about what's on his mind from Toronto. You can follow Nick on Twitter and Instagram @NKossovan