The Dangerous Business of Fake Influence
We always judge people by numbers instead of reality. How many followers, likes, shares and views others have. Do we actually care about authenticity anymore? As a father of two young daughters I find this worrying because children are growing up in a world where appearances can be created with just a few clicks. My daughters may end up being insecure about their looks, which I would never want to happen.
Nowadays anyone can become popular if they have a smart phone and internet. Sadly, it has also made it easier for people to pretend to be popular or pretend to be rich. I have seen many people in my friendlist they buy fake followers and likes even though they are not famous at all. After that they approach online shops and ask for a PR. But new shop owners can't identify if it's real or not, if they really have an influence or not. So, they end up sending free PR to those fake influencers and in the end their time, money and product is wasted. People even but fake video views so shop owners would think that the person who is approaching them is too famous.
Well, this may look harmless because no one is being physically hurt. But, I believe it creates a problem that slowly affects everyone. Business owners will stop sending PR's to the real creators and this is invading their opportunities. My question is why ask for a PR, if you're famous brands will approach you because of your audience. But people with zero real audience they use fake followers, likes, views and deceive the online shop owners.
As a family man, I often think about the kind of online world my children will grow up in. I don't want them to learn from such fake influencers who just wants free product. I want my children to understand that real respect is earned through honesty, not by creating a false image. Any children would be influenced if they see that fake popularity brings attention and success. So, my children may stop believing in honesty and it may become less valuable for them.
Some people defends such people because to them fake followers are just numbers on a screen. But that's not it, those numbers can influence real decisions right? So, I feel that is unfair. Should using bots be a crime? I think it depends on the purpose. If someone uses bots for their dishonest purposes and fake numbers are used to attract customers or earn money through deception then should be legal consequences because real people can suffer financial or social harm.
In the end, fake things can be generated by bots. But honesty, respect and a good reputation cannot be purchased. I hope my daughters grow up believing that being genuine is always more valuable than looking famous. A small group of real supporters will always mean more than thousands of fake ones. So, I appreciate the genuine creators not the people pretending to be famous and all should not be punished for a few.
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That's true but you know the saying. "Fake it, until you make it"
And taking morals to the side, if you are going to live off your image, you need to constantly be selling that image or reputation. In the end, everyone has a reputation, but is up to some, monetize theirs.
Yes, vanity is a sin, is morally ambiguous, but sometimes is a stepping stone to reach your goals. More than isolating the vanity, I would probably compensate it with other values like dedication, discipline and resiliency.
But I feel it's not right to deceive someone for our own benefits and make them go through a loss or damage. This is what makes us more human because we have humanity, we are mature enough to understand everything.
Excellent work crushing the daily Ecency leaderboard quest, @rayhanhiveman! A poignant reminder that true human value outweighs superficial digital metrics.
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You're very welcome, @rayhanhiveman! 😊
You're right our respect is more important then these fake thing but i love it how you want to put good influence on your kids
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The part about your daughters is really valid. Social media can make fake success look normal and that's worrying for the next generation. I hope more people start valuing genuine content over follower counts. It was a good post.
Hmmm, real fame cannot be purchased for any price. Thanks for sharing
Real fame cannot be bought.