A rant.
Some days I’m old, at least I feel old. Wrangling with social media the past few days has overwhelmed me and made me want to curl up in a ball and cry. Why is this so hard? And why do others have it so much easier? What’s the trick to it all?
And for the love of all that is holy, why do some people want to make this their career?
More than one of my teacher friends has lamented that too many of the students that they teach have one career goal; to be an Influencer. Like a lot of teens, that’s where their plans stop. A few have social media accounts, and a smaller percentage have a following, so they’re at least making steps in the right direction.
But these girls want to spend their lives being a Professional Make Up Put-er On-er?
And how is that different than the girl who helped me in Ulta last year?
And–ancient being that I am–I have to ask, what the heck is an Influencer anyway? They just go on social media and try to tell people what to buy? And when you peel away the labels, how is that any different than a person in a commercial or an advertiser in general?
Now before someone goes on a long diatribe about how the Influencer industry works. I know what they are. I get the ins and outs. I just don’t get the why. Are there that many people out there who need someone to tell them how to contour? Which brand of shoes to buy?
I think ultimately, that’s what baffles me the most: that people need Influencers to live their lives, that wear the same outfit as some wither want to man in Indiana who has a lot of views on TikTok.
Mostly I’m just sad for the kids who are wishing for a future that rests on a job that is capricious and ephemeral.
D. S. Dehel 