It cannot be denied that social media has become a crucial component of civic engagement, especially in the midst of a global pandemic where virtual communication has often been the only safe
way of human interaction for many of us. Everyone from politicians, celebrities and ordinary people have leveraged social media to further their message and increase the number of followers. The line between influencer and activist is becoming increasingly blurred.
The influencer-follower relationship is built on trust, a notion that the influencers are authentic individuals who are sharing parts of their lives and whose opinions and feelings are genuine. This gives them a unique political power and raises important questions.
The central issue is the focus on the individualism and their success is meas
ured by the number of followers and the level of engagement and not necessarily on the real-life impact of their
activism. This can have as a consequence simplifying complex problems which require deeper public discussions or watering down important theories and turning them into recycled catchy slogans.
However, this is not always a bad thing. Social media is a powerful tool for spreading information that reaches faster and farther than any communication method so far. If we look at the Body Positivity movement, we can see much more diversity in size, shape and ethnicity on our social media feeds which is a clear sign of progress and inclusion. Also, and this is probably the most important phenomena of influencer activism, the issues in question are usually covered by people who are in some way affected by it which personalizes the message that they are trying to convey which makes it more authentic and compelling to its ‘consumers’.
What we as individuals need and can do is to become more aware of the content we consume regardless of who is posting it and always approach important issues with a critical mind.
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