NST Leader: New breed of influencers trades outrage for online engagement

NARCISSISTS craving for attention will do outrageous things. Before the advent of the World Wide Web, their reach was limited to specific segments of society.

However, in time, a more insidious category has emerged: social media influencers. They are obsessed with acquiring clicks, views and likes, not only to feed their egos but also rake in as much money as possible.

Social media platforms pay influencers based on their follower count and engagement rate.

Most influencers earn a decent living making content about their specific areas of interest, such as cooking, tourism, and appliance and device reviews. Some create podcasts delving into socio-political issues of the day.

In recent years, a new breed of influencers has evolved, borrowing elements from politicians and showbiz people to create content infused with meanness and lunacy.

Is it any wonder that youngsters have become uninterested from furthering their education to become influencers? It’s fast and easy money, if you can get it.

Since there are too many exemples, we’ll pick on this: three influencers passed on their already eaten chicken meal to a homeless man, which naturally stoked netizens’ anger.

However, it turned out that the so-called “mean-spirited” stunt was fake, staged to trigger the algorithms that reward “high engagement” and anger to suck in clicks, comments and shares.

The stunt obviously drove web traffic, ad revenue and influence to the three, who failed to see the lunacy of their unscrupulous gimmick.

As a society that leans toward generosity and cooperation, the authorities must disallow such “content”, even if its intent was “fun and entertainment”.

The long-term effects are serious — emotional manipulation, erosion of critical thinking, leading to “outrage fatigue” that reduces empathy and activism, all terrible outcomes for a civilised society.

These influencers may foster bad mental health, body image and consumer behaviour that spikes levels of stress, anxiety and depression.

Governments have addressed influencers’ bad behaviour by prohibiting misleading or deceptive conduct in marketing.

Influencers are also mandated to disclose sponsored content while curbing “frauds”, “fake” followers and problematic content.

In Malaysia, the government has introduced licensing to boost accountability and reduce online misinformation and harm.

The real issue, though, may be harder to combat: public gullibility, the so-called “netizenry” who seek the vicious content. What’s their comeuppance?

© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd

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