Influencers have taken the internet by storm
What’s hidden behind how they impact you?
Influencers. They have taken the world by storm. Appearing on your For You page, but what impacts do they have on the way we view the world?
The first ever social media platform was made in 1997. Since then, there has been the adding of many platforms including Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and a variety of other social media platforms. Over the various platforms that we have, they occupy over billions of users. This means that almost everyone has some sort of access to the influencers that appear quite frequently on our social media platforms around the world.
New statistics that have been released in the Black Dog Institute’s Adolescent Screen Use and Mental Health report provides insight into the real effects influencers and social media have on the young population around the world. Adolescents using social media have said they spend 70% of their time scrolling and viewing other’s content. These statistics bring worrying evidence that access to social media has dramatically influenced how our perspectives and opinions are influenced.
The eSafety Commission aims to help people have safer experiences online. They are concerned with illegal and restricted content that ranges from the most seriously harmful material to content that should not be accessed by children. Restrictions are in place, but should there be more?
Dr. Marian-Andrei Rizoiu is an Associate Professor leading the Behavioral Data Science Lab at the University of Technology, Sydney. “Producer to consumer,” is what Dr. Rizoiu said the relationship is between the influencer and their audience. The reason that influencers are able to draw in such great audiences is because “users naturally converge towards topics of interest; they form thematic social groups where they discuss and debate.”
How do influencers impact our opinions and perspectives?
“Influencers do have an impact on opinions and perspectives; they can push certain brands and ideas, and they can shape the discourse. But this impact must be placed in the context of the first question: they can shape the opinions and ideas of people interested in those topics,” Dr. Rizoiu said about how the influencers around the world change and shape our opinions and perspectives. “Influencers are localised, and it is known that this type of influence is among the strongest,” Dr. Rizoiu stated about the way that influencers affect us as when they are targeting a specific group of people. It can mean that their influence is greater.
Dr. Rizoiu claims that influencers aren’t necessarily positive or negative. “It is good to remember that influencers are not a new phenomenon, nor is misinformation, nor is influence. The only “newish” concept is the online information environment that allows real time exchange of information, with no geographic boundaries. This usually has the effect that, no matter how specific or fringe is a topic or ideology, one can find peers online – as opposed to in the offline world, where the offer of ideologies in immediate proximity is quite small. Therefore, online influencers don’t really have a good or bad impact. See them more like content producers, who cater for a topical cohort.”
So should a restriction be placed on what is being posted on online platforms? “Just like in the offline world, we can’t go around saying whatever goes through our heads, and we cannot express any type of idea (e.g., Nazi ideology is expressly forbidden in many European countries). The content expressed online should be regulated.” Dr. Rizoiu also stated how some regulations are already in place. “The Digital Services Act in the EU already forbids illegal content, as defined by a set of laws. Therefore, an online individual cannot post illegal content,” he said.
The job of being an influencer is not an easy one. “It is a full-time job. They must find a niche and carefully consider their community’s needs and desires. They need to post content regularly and always follow the cues of the consumers. We found examples of producers who start to drift away from their original content, but unless they are willing to redefine the communities they tent for, then they need to maintain certain topics and opinions. That’s why we find the misinformation producers tend to be less radical than their consumers, as we/I believe they don’t really think what they say. But they start with a certain ideology and are somewhat stuck to it,” Dr. Rizoiu said, providing the insight that we should take what an influencer says with a pinch of salt as sometimes what they say is false. The last question that was posed to Dr. Rizoiu is what needs to be changed in order for the influencer industry to create a positive impact on our perspectives and opinions. Dr. Rizoiu said that we need to “keep the methodology but regulate the content they can post.”
A second interview was conducted with Professor Peta Wyeth who is internationally recognised in the field of human-computer interaction at the University of Technoloy Sydney. Professor Wyeth was able to give her insights based on her expertise in interaction design and human computer interaction. She answered the first question with her insight into studying people who engage in technology for leisure purposes. “Types of interactions fulfil our needs in some ways,” she said. “There is an immersive quality that pulls us into this world of the influencer and allows us to experience it in some way. The experiences we watch might also provide us with a sense of relatedness (e.g., we can relate to what they are doing, how they are acting/engaging, etc.),” Peta answered.
Does the rise in influencers have a positive or negative impact, was the next question posed. “Like most media, influencers can have both a negative and positive impact,” Professor Wyeth commented. “Most people will consume the information provided in a healthy way, recognising it as a type of marketing, or entertainment, or information gathering. However, there are members of the population who do respond in ways that are less healthy (this is also true for computer gaming). It is also fair to say that some influencers (like other marketers) are disingenuous in the promotion of themselves, their ideas, and their products.” She also pointed out that “there is a risk when there is a lack of transparency and regulation” as well as mentioning that there are risks “particularly for more vulnerable members of our community (e.g., children, people with disabilities, the elderly).”
What about a restriction on what is posted by influencers? Professor Wyeth stated how this question was one that was great, but at the same time quite difficult to answer. “Generally, I’m not a fan of censorship. However, I recognise the importance of guardrails/guidelines that are used for the protection of certain groups (e.g., ratings systems for movies and videogames). Of course, we should be protected from any form of violence, racism, or other harm when we go online.”
By bringing together experts from industry, the influencers themselves, researchers, and experts in public policy, we can work together to ensure that the influencer industry doesn’t create harm (particularly for the most vulnerable in our community). Influencers and social media have a profound effect on us, so how often do you use social media and what is it doing to your perspectives and opinions?
Charlotte G, Year 8