Since the rise of social media, every idiot with a smartphone can share their stupidity with the masses via a wide range of platforms. While content creation can be very entertaining and even profitable, don’t get it fucked up. Many of these people are incapable of putting together a series of coherent thoughts, much less leading you anywhere.
There are the people who take socio-political issues seriously, raising awareness of the plights of disenfranchised and oppressed subgroups of our society. They use their platforms to speak for those who go unheard or lack the ability to get their messages out to the public. More importantly, they do it for the sake of doing the right thing. So many acts of injustice would likely have gone unnoticed if not for their intervention.
Thought Leaders
- Focus:
- Advance ideas and influence thinking within a specific field.
- Provide original insights, research findings, and visionary concepts.
- Audience Impact:
- Inspire, challenge, and provoke deeper thought and action.
- Influence industry standards and drive change through intellectual contributions.
- Monetization:
- Earn from speaking engagements, consulting, book sales, and collaborations.
- Often work with organizations seeking their expertise and insight.
- Longevity and Influence:
- Have a longer-lasting impact due to their contributions to knowledge and ideas.
- Establish authority and credibility over time through thought leadership.
Then, there are the other people who simply create content. I have no issues with most of them, who, while not spearheading any specific causes in an impactful way, provide us with countless hours of entertainment. Social media has brought us some of the funniest and most talented people in a vast majority of cases for absolutely free while allowing them to monetize their reach and engagement.
Content Creators
- Focus:
- Create engaging, entertaining, or informative material.
- Often prioritize trending topics and viral content.
- Audience Impact:
- Aim to entertain, educate, or inform a broad audience.
- Engage followers through interactive and relatable content.
- Monetization:
- Generate revenue through ads, sponsorships, and merchandise sales.
- Use platforms like YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and blogs for income.
- Longevity and Influence:
- Influence can be tied to current trends and popularity.
- Must continually adapt to changing platform algorithms and audience interests.
However, this is where content creation is becoming more and more problematic. Several content creators have begun to spew uninformed opinions on serious social and political issues, not because they care about these things, but solely to provoke engagement. They are not concerned with the damage they cause or how their content may contain misinformation or even endanger others. All that matters to them is that it’s profitable. They see being contrarian, especially against well-established facts or popular notions, as an easy way to make money.
At a time when so much is on the line, especially politically, we cannot afford to continue to give an audience to those who say unserious things about very serious issues. Though everyone is entitled to freedom of speech, the best way to silence their stupidity is by unfollowing, muting, and blocking them wherever you find them. Even better, weaponize your platforms to highlight their behavior without even mentioning them. I have at least ten people who come immediately to mind who would have made this extra spicy. But they do not deserve any attention, and that’s the whole point.
Filming themselves on their smartphones doesn’t mean they’re smart. It’s something even idiots can do, and some of them are.
Be’n Original
