Social Media Influencers

 A social media influencer is a person who creates content online and gains a large following. In the past to become famous you used to have to be an actor, singer or dancer, ect. Now, anyone with a phone can become insanely famous and successful. The main difference being the creator to watcher connection, with access to comment sections, likes, and shares. 

The good of this is that people's dreams of becoming famous and pursuing what they love isn't so crazy anymore. Because of social media, these people are able to gain attention from brands and receive incredible opportunities. A great example of this is Emily Uubribe on Tik Tok. She began creating content in 2020 where she pretends to be a celebrity in interviews. Since blowing up, real events like the west side story premiere, and even the Oscars invited her to attend and walk the carpet. Another great thing about social media influencers is there are now so many options for different people to watch and relate to. It's so often now to be scrolling through social media and by the end feel like you've never had an original thought and experience in your life. Although to some this may make you spiral, but to many it's a great comfort and reminder that nobody is alone. 

However, Social media Influencers have many negatives. How easy it is to become popular online now creates an addictive component, as well as causing insecurities, and making people feel as if they have no self worth if they are not popular online. Also, this allows everyone to have a platform online, but not everyone deserves to have a platform online. For instance, some of you may know Shane Dawson. Despite him remaining popular through the early 2000’s to 2020, old controversies came back to bite him. In the past, he had created several racist videos including saying the N word while dressed up in racial stereotypes playing a person of color. He also made several jokes about being attracted to children, and even made very gross remarks about this to kids who are underaged. All of this occurring in his early 20’s, he later deleted all of this and swept it under the rug. He later went on to become one of the biggest youtubers, surpassing 20 million subscribers. When these videos resurfaced, he was immediately faced with millions and millions of comments and videos being made about him, canceling him permanently. Although it can certainly be debated that he does not deserve his platform and ability to create content, he was sent thousands of death threats and wishes for him to kill himself. The insane amount of hate led the youtuber to try to take his own life, which he opened up about when he decided to start making content again this year. Shane is not the only example of this, there are many cases of people being led to the edge by simply just existing, and having no serious controversies. 

This is drastically affecting society as a whole. Nearly everyone is striving to be a social media influencer, and it's causing kids to lack ambition. Because anyone can become an influencer, many people put all their eggs in one basket, hoping to pursue the famous lifestyle. Also, many children are being influenced by people just like them, who may not be the best role models. In the past it was easy to set apart actors and singers from yourself, but now, it's not as easy. I'm curious to see how this progresses over the years. If everyone is famous, will it lose appeal? 

Despite the negatives of this, the ability for anyone to become famous has its positives. In the past, the movie and music industries tended to shy away from anyone who was different. Looking back, it's very hard to find strong people of color role models, strong women, plus size models, people in the lgbtq+ community, and even on the autism spectrum. Now, anyone is able to find their representation on social media, and feel less alone. 

Personally, social media influencers are incredibly important to me. Throughout my life I've struggled to find people I felt connected to. Because of social media influencers and the ability to post whatever, I was able to gain the confidence from a young age to be able to post my own content. Although I am in no way shape or form famous, I was able to gain a small following. Ive been able to create a little community and space for people like me to be able to express how they are feeling and feel heard. This has helped me tremendously in not feeling so alone, and I've made hundreds of friends online. Despite all the negatives that may come along with it, I'm so thankful to live in the generation of social media influencers.

Diffusion Theory

Why did the idea of social media catch and spread so quickly? Simply put, we are nosy. Since the beginning of time, humans have always loved to be in everyone else's business all the time. Its just simple curiosity. So, the idea of being able to get attention from others and spread news quickly became incredibly appealing. Although, the idea of how fast your information can spread online can feel terrifying at first, leading some to be hesitant to hop on the social media train. 

Some may say if you are not on Twitter, Facebook, Tik Tok, and so on, you are living under a rock. However, Is it such a bad thing to be disconnected from the thing that's taken over everyones brains? Social Media is an incredible source for entertainment, communication, and a way of learning about the world. Although, its been proven to impact our attention span for the worst, and drastically effect our self esteem and mental health. There are many reasons people may stay clear of social media.

A main reason people may stay clear of social media is because they do not want people to know where they are, or what they are up too. If you are more reserved, the idea of posting your ideas, or meals, or photos of yourself for the world to see may just feel unnecessary or uncomfortable. Also, sometimes, the less you know about people the better. Social media tends to push peoples accounts to your feed if they know you used to be close at one point, hoping to reconnect you. Although this feature may have been created to keep you in touch, it can ruin your day to see images of your ex boyfriends engagement announcement. Not only that, but in the past, body image issues stemmed from comparing yourself to a select amount of models on tv or in magazines, now, those models are your own friends on your phone, everywhere you go! It is not unreasonable for someone to not want to partake in any of this, despite what everyone else may think. 

So, what are the negatives of not being involved in social media? Well, nowadays everything is posted on social media. From party invites to pregnancy announcements. If you are not on any of these sites, you may be left out from major life events from the people around you. It can be argued that you would know the important things from the people close to you, but you would be behind. This can cause a huge sense of feeling left out. I know personally, I did not have social media for many years, way later then alot of my friends. At school, I constantly felt left out of the latest new joke or gossip. Although some may not care, in many instances, it may be crucial to be involved on social media in order to relate to the people around you. 

Anti-War Voices

 

Unfortunately, we do not hear from these strong antiwar voices because they are not the majority opinion. To be fully honest, I do not pay much attention to the news and what is going on because ignorance is bliss. However, I know I am not the only person like this. So, having all sorts of voices on mainstream media is incredibly important, to allow people who do not do much research to be able to form their own opinion. I believe they do not want people like us to hear these strong antiwar voices because they do not want us to go against what the government decides. Although we are meant to have our own opinions and ideas, that is simply not true or allowed anymore.

Personal Computers

Personal Computers have become an essential for everyone. Whether they are a student, a businessman, or a stay at home mom. As we know, computers weren't always like this. In the past, computers would take up a whole room. So, how did we go from that to the 5 pound machine we can take with us wherever we go?

Computers small and affordable enough to be purchased and used in homes first became available in the 1970s when large-scale integration allowed a microprocessor to be sufficient on a single semiconductor chip. A small firm known as MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) located in Albuquerque, New Mexico decided to use Intel's new 8080 chip to create a personal computer that could be used by anyone. The computer was created by MITS co-founder Ed Roberts in 1974. The first ever personal computer was created, and was named the Altair 8800. The Altair 8800 was sold for $297, or $395 if you wanted to purchase the computer with a case.

(The Altair 8800 Computer)

Obviously, this computer looks nothing like the ones we see today. But, it was the foundation for all computers we see now. Although at first this computer was only appealing to hobbyists, it introduced the idea of personal computers to people we know now, like Steve Jobs. Although it all began with the Altair 8800, the personal computer industry really began to blow up with the introduction of pre-assembled personal computers. In 1977, the Apple Computer, Inc. (now Apple Inc.), Apple II, the Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80, and the Commodore Business Machines Personal Electronic Transactor (PET). 

(The Apple II)

These computers could do much more than just calculations. These computers used eight-bit microprocessors which have the ability to process information in groups of 8 binary digits at a time. It also introduced the concept of computers being able to store (very limited) memory like we know today. These computers were small and affordable, all being under $500. Compared to the price of the larger scale computers used by large industries, which could sometimes go for over a million dollars. Obviously, these computers could carry out much more than these simple computers would be, but the average person would have no need for these systems. Although all of these computers were the beginning of personal computers, I know when I think of a personal computer, I think of portable computers. Portable computers weren't invented until 1981 by a man named Adam Osborne with his company, Osborne. This computer was able to fulfill almost all of the same capabilities as the other personal computers, but was able to be brought back and forth from the office and home. 

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It's hard to even explain the impact personal computers have had on our world. Personal Computers and laptops are now a necessity for every student and nearly every single job. Although these computers are incredibly helpful when it comes to typing, searching for information, and expanding our knowledge on thousands of topics, we have become incredibly reliant on these machines to get us through almost everything. Because we have these smart machines, we have no reason to be smart ourselves. There is little reason for anyone to remember or retain information, because we have access to the internet. We don't necessarily have to know anything, because we constantly have access to machines to tell us, and solve our problems. I believe the invention of personal computers have transformed the lives of everyone for good, and bad. This invention has allowed us to expand our knowledge and connect with others around the world.