In as we speak’s digital age, the ability of social media has given anybody with a smartphone the flexibility to share their lives with the world. Whereas this new-found connectivity is a blessing, it will also be a curse when wielded by people who prioritise clout-chasing over ethics and respect. In a world the place social media dominates our every day lives, we frequently discover ourselves grappling with its plain affect, each constructive and damaging. Social media platforms have linked us in methods we couldn’t have imagined just a few many years in the past. They permit us to precise ourselves, join with family and friends, and even construct careers. Nevertheless, this connectivity comes at a value – the relentless pursuit of validation and affirmation from our on-line friends. Give morons a smartphone and something and every thing turns into content material. To such individuals, clout-chasing is an finish in itself, and the smartphone simply makes it super-easy. That’s basically the inspiration for the explosion in vloggers and different content material creators, most of whom concentrate on issues on which they’re ignorant about however over which they insist on operating commentaries.
With the arrival of social media platforms, the will for consideration, followers, and likes has led some people down a questionable path. By the best way, clout-chasers are those that prioritise gaining consideration and notoriety over the accountable and moral use of social media. They usually resort to sensationalising and exploiting delicate conditions for the sake of gaining followers and likes. When clout-chasing of us see a drowning man, they don’t see a soul on the finish of hope however content material that may convey extra ‘like’ and ‘follows.’ To a moron with the smartphone, a toddler trapped in an accidented automotive, with solely a faint hope of surviving via assist arriving on time is even higher content material that ensures a great deal of shares and improves clout. And essentially the most potent and poisonous content material of all of them? Intercourse. Because of clout-chasers, even what was once a sacred intimate session between a person and a girl is quick turning into content material for ogling followers. The morons with smartphones annoy us all on many fronts however I’ll concentrate on simply three of them.
First, one regarding side of clout-chasing is the tendency to show tragedies into content material. As a substitute of providing assist or empathy to these in misery, some clout-chasers see a tragedy as a possibility to garner consideration. This contains recording accidents, emergencies, and even private crises, all within the pursuit of on-line recognition. Second, clout-chasers additionally profit from insensitive commentaries, typically bordering on the incendiary. Many clout-chasers are fast to offer commentary on topics about which they’ve little data or experience. This not solely misinforms their viewers but in addition perpetuates misinformation. Whether or not it’s providing medical recommendation with out {qualifications} or discussing complicated social points with out understanding, this behaviour can have real-world penalties.
The third and by far essentially the most annoying of all of them by a mile must be the invasion of privateness. The hunt for clout usually results in a disregard for private boundaries and privateness. Folks’s non-public moments, relationships, and even intimate encounters have turn out to be fodder for public consumption, eroding the idea of private boundaries. Unsurprisingly, the morons with smartphones have discovered the tribe of susceptible, insecure girls a vastly worthwhile looking floor, benefiting from the penchant of some Nigerian girls who assume it’s cool to document sexual acts on their smartphones or cell gadgets.
There isn’t a suggestion right here that this can be a drawback distinctive to girls. Properly-known Nigerian male artistes together with Oxlade, Small Physician, and Wande Cole, have additionally suffered the embarrassment of getting their most intimate movies leaked.
When the late politician and sociologist, Daniel Moynihan, coined the time period, ‘defining deviancy down’ to explain the best way societies responded to damaging behaviours by reducing the usual for what was permissible, he most likely had the social media period in thoughts. I imply nothing shocks us anymore. The alarming pattern of so-called micro-celebrities who’re being caught up in leaked intercourse tapes not solely highlights problems with consent and belief but in addition underscores the damaging impression of social media on people, notably girls, who search validation from their on-line followers. I do know the sentiment is to consider such girls as victims and I perceive. Nevertheless, should you have a look at the lengthy checklist of the Nigerian girls who’ve been concerned, you’ll battle together with your perception that they’re something however clout-chasers, a few of whom you will surely wager a guess that they orchestrated the leak. The response from the most recent Nigerian feminine superstar to endure the indignity of a intercourse video leak suggests she goals to revenue from the occasion. That’s cheap to imagine, as a result of for clout-chasers, dangerous publicity is nice publicity. I don’t even want the so-called assertion of her male companion that he was paid for the shoot as a result of the whole leak matches completely into the technique of a determined girl whose profession wanted a lift.
Going by physique language alone, and I exploit the phrase in its literal sense, you would inform that she needed it (no pun meant right here). No matter her intentions, and no matter she hopes to attain via this, I nonetheless see her as a poor soul who wants assist. The incident of a Nigerian feminine musician video leak at a time when she had an album scheduled for launch strengthens this line of thought. I do know many will object however let me clarify. Many poor girls really feel immense stress to current themselves in a selected mild on social media. This usually contains showcasing their our bodies, relationships, and even intimacy to realize likes, feedback, and followers. Like Kim Kardashian, and those that have copied her playbook, there’s little else they’ve to supply however their good our bodies. It’s a vicious cycle the place people really feel the necessity to regularly outdo themselves for validation. The unhappy factor is that these morons with smartphones don’t even know they’re harming themselves. Their eyes may be on the clicks and the cash it ensures however there are drawbacks, and I’ll begin with the obvious however usually ignored.
I’ve repeatedly warned the morons with smartphones that communication within the digital realm is totally different and that’s largely due to distinctive options that be certain that the Web by no means forgets. Communication within the digital realm is persistent, that means it’s robotically recorded; replicable, that means it may be duplicated; scalable, that means you lose management as a result of visibility will increase with every click on and share; then searchable, that means it may be accessed via search. In plain language, the morons with the smartphone would possibly assume they’re simply ‘catching cruise,’ however these items of content material have a shelf life that most likely will outlive them, they usually simply would possibly discover out solely when it’s too late. And that isn’t to say the fast uncomfortable side effects of a life lived recklessly chasing clout. The relentless pursuit of on-line validation can result in melancholy and nervousness, occasioned by emotions of inadequacy, jealousy when the specified response shouldn’t be achieved. That is along with relationship strains, insecurity, and, in some instances, betrayal, all, of that are seen. But, even when we ignore the hurt they’re doing to themselves, the rise of clout-chasing has broader implications for society. It fosters a tradition of voyeurism, the place the road between private life and public spectacle blurs. Discover the growing variety of instances of younger girls who’re prepared to push the boundaries of decency to succeed in the degrees of Kim Kardashian and also you get the purpose that deviants and different clout-chasers ought to be advised in clear phrases that they’ve a duty to the opposite morons with smartphone and ignorant Kardashian wannabes following them to wash up their acts.
Olaniyan is the Convener, Centre for Social Media Analysis
