The rate at which social media influences the media is so alarming you know, If you look at it, you will realize that people tend to value content on social media more than they value real life advice. It’s shocking because it is not even because of a large following or having a large community, people just tend to take advice from strangers they have never met because for one reason or another the stranger looks convincing and they can not argue or interrupt the person. This makes real life professionals feel like they are not valued. I remember arguing with a friend about computer specifications because she thought I was cheating her, only for her to see someone else saying the same thing and believed them. It made me wonder what I would have said differently to make her believe me, but I guess I would never know. That wasn’t my first experience, I used to think it was an individual thing until I realized that we do not know the degree to which social media affects our decision.
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I remember when I was still undergoing my digital marketing training, one of the things I noticed from top influencers is the fake life they live. Some will tell you not to do the things they do and give deep and convincing reasons why you shouldn’t do it. You will watch it and believe them and might even start acting on it creating a habit out of it but would be shocked to know that these people do not do the very thing they come out to say. To them it’s the hustle, it’s just content. But then, if you start to question things, you will see the gaps and flaws in the things they say. Why is it so perfect? It’s because it was rehearsed. Why do they sound convincing?, because they did a lot of research. Where did they get such wisdom from? It might not be experience, or career, but AI or having someone in the field. I have dealt with a lot of these people to know that they are not entirely as they portray themselves, they are but humans.
This is also why I do not idolize people, because I have seen so much of the human side of those I used to idolize to see that they are but humans. A lot of them are just trying to make ends meet, and have discovered that if they can say smart things on social media, they will get paid. For one I know, large followings does not entirely mean credibility, showing us the good side does not entirely mean that it is all there is to it. So when I hear things on social media, I listen to sound reasoning and a lot of the time, I do not even know the names of the people saying them because of one wrong wording and I can dismiss it as false. I will always prefer the old school professional with experience than someone who thinks they know what they are saying. But then again, there are professionals with large followings who have built their reputation out of their work. Those are the ones I really listen to, but then I will always like to get alternate opinions and judge for myself because people make mistakes with over confidence.
THIS IS MY RESPONSE TO HIVE LEARNER'S
PROMPT FOR WEEK 230 EPISODE 3
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