But I think she brings to light a good point- at least in terms of the culture of connectivity.
While I disagree with her whiny attitude and her generalization that everyone who uses social media is miserable, Essena's self-obsessed rant actually subverts the culture of connectivity as is discussed by Van Dijk.
Social media platforms rely on us to create content in order for them to make a profit. They encourage us to do this by seeking the approval of other users of the platform via likes, shares or followers. When we as users seek out likes from others and compare ourselves to each other based on likes and followers, we are engaging in the competitive behaviour that our neoliberal economy is built on. The more likes we receive, the more we are encouraged to post, which is why social media influencers are important, because someone who receives thousands of likes on a photo provides other users with a goal to achieve through their posts, giving the likes meaning.
When Essena called out social media "celebrities" as being fake and miserable, she alerted the public that aspiring to be a social media celebrity is not the dream come true the CEO's of these social media platforms want us to believe. Essena subverted the neoliberal model by admitting that the prize everyone on social media is competing for is not worth anything, and by discouraging people to compete.
That said, I don't think that she actually realized that she was corrupting the capitalist model of work surrounding social media. To me, her rant was still just someone coming to terms with the fact that working kind of sucks, even if your job is just having your picture taken.
Nicole I think your post is great, especially your title and opening line!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely when you state that she brings a good point in terms of the culture of connectivity but generalizations are inaccurate.
I know there are people out there who use Instagram mainly to "gain followers" and "gain likes" in their picture perfect images that must take hours to take, edit, caption and post. However, there are people out there who do not take these measure in their posts on Instagram which is important to remember which you imply.
Great post I loved reading what you had to say!
I concur with your statement of disagreeing with her whiny attitude and her generalization that everyone who uses social media is miserable, as I think her claims are stated with no merit as well as no data to back them up.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your notion that, although annoying, her claims can be related to Van Dijk's arguments. As Van Dijk states, "Platform tactics such as the popularity principle and ranking mechanisms [...] are firmly rooted in a ideology of that values hierarchy [and] competition," which directly correlates with Essena's assertion that Instagram 'celebrities' are addicted to gaining followers as well as 'likes' in comparison to their competition.
Loved the way you closed your post by humorously writing, "her rant was still just someone coming to terms with the fact that working kind of sucks, even if your job is just having your picture taken" as I felt the same way listening to her dramatic video!
Hi Nicole,
ReplyDeleteGreat post - I really enjoyed your title and especially your concluding statement. I think Essena's comment that all social media "stars" are miserable and fake is an unfair generalization, and I believe Essena's case might have been one of receiving too much fame too quickly. While her video and the stories that have come out following her big social media blow up will likely have a positive effect on the majority of her followers, I don't think she should be thought of as so revolutionary, and more agree with you that it was just a teen coming to terms with the fact that working sucks.
Great stuff!