The rise of Instagram, YouTube, and other social media platforms brought star-power to the masses. Virtually over night, teenagers became founders of companies, photographers became “brand ambassadors,” and stay at home mothers became self-styled “lifestyle experts.” Anyone could gain thousands of followers to interact with, provided they were interesting or compelling. Anyone could be a star. Ironically, even celebrities began creating “personal connections” with their millions of followers through posts and comments. Anyone could wield influence over their audience.
These newly created so-called “influencers” partner with brands, promoting the company’s products directly to the “influencer’s” audience. The sky is the limit on products promoted this way; everything including tires, make-up palettes, hotel chains, clothing, fitness apps, food delivery services, and anything else which can be marketed and sold. The benefit is mutual; the influencer gets to work with household brands and gain notoriety, while the company essentially pays for targeted advertising to a group likely already interested in their product. This system takes the idea of personal recommendations to an extreme level. For the past few years, the conversation has largely revolved around whatever product the “influencer” chooses to promote to their audience.
Fascinatingly, we are entering a moment of boldness. With our direct and “personal connections” to celebrities and brands, some are demanding moral guidance along with inspiring images. Today, we’re looking at reasons for this demand, and potential ways of addressing this issue.
When video of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of a white police officer made the news in late May, the proverbial powder keg exploded. The anguish of centuries of mistreatment and injustice toward the black community finally broke like a dam, flooding the nation with calls for reform and to listen to black voices. The country, and millions of people around the world, saw protests calling attention to the mistreatment of black Americans which continues to this day.
What started as a day of reflection in solidarity with the black community quickly morphed into calls for corporate activism and performative social media posting.
On Tuesday, June 2, music industry leaders stopped business for the day to highlight the racial issues taking place nationally. Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang, leaders at Atlantic Records and Platoon, respectively, put forth the idea to pause business for the day, and encouraged their social media followers to reflect on ways to support the black community. The hashtag #TheShowMustbePaused began to trend on social media, along with #BlackOutTuesday, observing the outrage and terror sparked by the recent death of George Floyd. This hashtag spread beyond the music industry and across social media; Twitter and Instagram were filled with black squares and supportive posts. Users were showing their support for the black community in an act of solidarity. Or were they?
Over the course of the day, the message shifted from to “take the day to reflect” into “use today to educate your followers on how to not be racist,” and eventually into, “if you aren’t posting something today in support of the black community, you are racist.” As is often the case on social media, if you chose not to fall in line with the wave, you were declared to be part of the problem. Users demanded companies post their supposed instant changes of heart, along with pledges of how much money they’d be donating to related causes. Suddenly, multinational corporations and worldwide companies were being evaluated for their supposed value of life.
Then, they came for the “influencers”. Those with smaller, though sizable, followings were not spared. Comments like, “Performative AF. Tell me about the real changes you are making?” were rampant. Even those who posted in solidarity were then taken to task for their former political opinions or for not interacting with a certain number of black artists or creatives on social media. Verbiage and perceived past failures were pointed to like roadkill on a highway; disgusting reminders of unavoidable errors in life. It devolved further into groups demanding information from those deemed not diverse enough about the black friends, artists, or businesses they planned to work with. What started out as a well-intentioned pause for reflection and solidarity quickly collapsed into a mob making demands.
The whole debacle demonstrates the precariousness of social media activism, where posting a hashtag or photo – or not doing so – is seen as a political or moral act. The problem with this way of thinking is that it is purely reactionary. There is no time to examine facts or the origins of movements, events, etc. You must post, in an acceptable manner, or the entire internet will know you are a terrible person. Secondly, this reveals the deeper issue of is the confusing online posting with actual work and change.
President Obama addressed this tendency for performative social media use late last year at the Obama Foundation Summit. He cautioned against the belief that posting or calling people out online somehow brings about real change. “One danger I see among young people particularly on college campuses, I do get a sense sometimes now among certain young people — and this is accelerated by social media — there is this sense sometimes the way of me making change is to be as judgmental as possible about other people and that’s enough….That’s not activism. That’s not bringing about change,” said Obama.
In a nutshell – social media is not real life. Some of us are mistaking having a platform with having something worthwhile to say. Instead of teaching people to look inward and evaluate how they stack up to the wisdom of the sages, we’re demanding those who have a platform transform themselves into moral figures, and then teach us, because they have a “responsibility” to “use their platform for good.”
When did we decide those who would sell us things must also teach us how to live well? I’ve written about the pitfalls of social media before, but this is a new angle even to me. Do we really expect that people who have gained relative fame for selling jewelry and makeup should teach us about developing moral character? Do we really expect Nike to enlighten us as to how to be a better person? Are we really looking at Twitter and Instagram for the keys to inner fulfillment or tips on how to live out what you believe?
I see a lot of people grinding their wheels on social media, trying to force others to be wiser or less short-sighted. The problem is and has always been, social media isn’t how meaningful change happens.
Absurd Demands
Looking for moral guidance on social media is like picking up gas station sushi. It could turn out well, but most likely will end in disaster. You can definitely find better (sushi) if you look in the right place. Social media is not a source of wisdom. Businesses sell commodities, not morality. You can’t order character with two-day shipping. You have to earn these qualities, and they can only be developed through perseverance. Look for wisdom in the right places.
We need to mentally separate people who are famous for selling products from people who actually have the ideas we want to see realized in the world. It is nonsensical to expect every individual with a significant following to suddenly be full of life advice. The “influencer” who slings rompers and resort stays on Instagram is not going to shed light on working to develop perseverance or the best way navigate a touchy relationship. It’s not that one person can’t do both, but rather the misplaced demand of the audience to be morally edified by the person who originally simply entertained them. “Influencers” and companies are not thought leaders. These aren’t the same thing, and expecting them to be is a mistake on the audience’s part.
Instead of demanding that the people you follow for fashion advice suddenly impress you with insight on how communities and societies can be positively impacted, you and I have to seek knowledge from the people who possess it. Demanding that “influencers” all of a sudden share insight and moral guidance is an absurd exercise in futility.
Spend time looking at morally successful people. Find a mentor – they don’t have to even be alive. Glean all the wisdom you can from remarkable figures of history. Study scripture. Build your inner character so that you can help build up those around, and defend those who need it. Build yourself, and build up those around you.
At best, social media may reference wisdom or point you to wiser perspectives. It’s certainly not where we should go to find life-affirming values or worth-while lessons regarding how humans can improve themselves. Be mindful of what you are looking for and where you go to find it. Social media is for entertainment; study is for learning and improvement.
Wisdom is Costly
I recognize that in this moment, where public faith in social institutions is crumbling and racial tensions have escalated, people are looking for answers. My response is to look for wisdom for yourself. Do the work to discover truth. What could possibly be more worthy of our time and effort than working to discover the true wisdom of living well? The demands for those with platforms to “do better” are hollow, because they are coming from people who can’t identify what “better” would be. We have a lack of knowledge, morality, and leadership, and it shows as a gaping hole in American society, demanding to be filled.
The church has been rocked by moral scandals and the government is failing to inspire any sort of unity or morality. Where do people look next? Evidently, to private corporations, looking for moral guidance from business leaders and those who partner with them. To be clear, I’m not saying that business leaders can not be moral. I am questioning the demand that they become moral leaders for the country, simply because they’ve built or led successful businesses. Clearly, being a successful businessperson does not guarantee anyone’s moral authority.
Morality and character-building are quiet, diligent endeavors which require individual attention and the hard work of introspection.
What is this ‘hard work of introspection’? It involves examining our own motives. It requires absolute honesty with ourselves. We must look at our habits, how they shape our lives and the lives of those closest to us, and honestly ask what we would like to change. We have to be honest about what we want. We need to wrestle with what we believe and why. This likely involves journaling, searching scripture, and prayer or meditation. The work begins as quiet and personal, not loud and corporate. We have to discover for ourselves what is right.
Don’t look to a business to tell you what is right. Don’t look to social media for wisdom on what life should be. The answers to life’s biggest questions aren’t trending or for sale. Wisdom isn’t bought. It doesn’t come from a warehouse with two day shipping. If you want to be wise and live well, you must put in the work to learn about it for yourself. Demanding that the woman who recommends paint colors to match your curtains also somehow shows you the path to enlightenment is destined to fail. Wisdom is earned.
They can only be learned through effort. The price of wisdom is humility – admitting that you don’t have all the answers.
“It’s impossible to learn that which you think you already know,” said Epictetus. If we arrogantly think we already know everything there is to learn about wisdom and living well, there is no chance of any of those areas improving. It’s only when we humbly admit we still have things to learn and work on that growth can occur. The price of wisdom is humility.
Demanding wisdom is the opposite of humility. Ego demands; humility compels.
To gain wisdom, we need to humble ourselves and learn from those who are wise. Demanding someone else to be moral and do the hard work for us doesn’t result in progress for anyone. It’s going to take the attitude of Emerson and Thoreau, that of bucking off society’s ideas and digging deep within ourselves, studying the wisdom of those who lived and learned before us, and implementing those lessons into our own lives. The Bible tells us that “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5) The price of wisdom is humility.
Humility is developed; character, perseverance, and wisdom grow along with it. It’s the difference between the protests of Martin Luther King, Jr., and many of the anarchic demands we are seeing across the United States. The first is steeped in understanding and wisdom because of countless years of study, prayer, and preparation; the second is a knee-jerk emotional reaction.
Humility is not popular, which explains why wisdom is rare. Wisdom sits where it always has – with ancient wisdom and ages past, guiding us away from noise and to tune our ears ever more intently to that still, small voice. She’ll remain there even after the swipe ups and life-hacks run their course.
