Since the rise of social media in the mid to late 2000’s and rise of short form content in the 2010’s, there has been a mass focus on the idea of personal branding. Almost everyone in the world has a personal social media account and each and every person has the ability to form and create their online image.
In today’s day and age there are millions of people who have been able to leverage their personal social media accounts and create a sustainable living for themselves. Some are even fortunate enough to create generational wealth for themselves and their families.
Stretched out through several platforms such as Tik Tok, Youtube, Snapchat, Instagram, X, and even live streaming platforms such as Twitch and Kick the possibilities are now endless for creators.
Despite having access to so many different platforms and types of content consumers are growing tired of the way social media and influencers are trending. Engagement rates are dropping for a very specific reason, a lack of trust.
As time has passed people across the globe are starting to become more media literate. This has made the general population more skeptical of the authenticity of the content they’re consuming.
Over the last few years we have seen influencers, television personalities, and celebrities alike get exposed for lying on their platforms. Oftentimes these lies will come in the form of portraying themselves in a certain way to appeal to their audience, promoting faulty products, scamming their audience through online currencies, and even faking situations in order to generate engagement.
The common connection in these lies is that they are all rooted in greed. Influencers have lost track of their original purpose which is to entertain and inspire the masses. They have drifted into this money hungry mindset, which makes sense especially in a capitalist country like The United States.
It is only human nature to aspire to make or take everything you can for yourself. We have seen it all across history with the Romans, the Germans, the Rockefellers, and many more. On the flip side, it is also human nature to seek the truth and to have authentic interactions.
That is why I believe there is a big change on the horizon within the next few years in this space. As I stated before, consumers are growing skeptical of influencers and searching for authenticity amongst all of the lies and their masks.
I believe there is going to be a push within consumers of content to seek out those who are authentic in their personalities, their message, and the products that they promote. People are becoming more media literate, and are growing tired of the lies and inauthenticity of influencers.
There are many ways in which this can be seen. The main one I see is the transition from mindless entertainment to motivational and spiritual content across all platforms. This type of content has become very popular over the last few years, but even here we must be skeptical of the people producing it.
In this multi-billion dollar industry it is important that we give the right people a platform. Invest in people who share a beneficial message and are able to authentically be themselves without using their platform to manipulate their viewers into making them more money.
So ask yourself will you be a part of the change? Or will you continue to pour into these manipulative creators and their mindless content at the cost of your money, time, sanity, and intelligence?
