I was 17 years old when a musician’s agent asked me to make a video on “TikTok”, then a new social media app, to lip sync a song of an artist they were managing. Little did I know that that request would turn into a full-time TikTok career. I have gone from 0 followers to approximately 4.5 million in 2024, becoming a creator who was once just a follower. Whenever I see "think pieces" about social media (generally old media critiques about how harmful it is), they usually come from people outside the creator marketplace—followers of the experience rather than creators or active contributors to it. Due to social media's ever-evolving nature, those critiques tend to miss the medium's complexities and are bad predictors of where social media will take us.
Your experience on social media is based on what you engage with. Because of curated algorithms and alarmist stories of harm, critics have said that social media is corrupt and destroying culture. Nonetheless, some of us, believe it is creating a new culture and is a key ingredient in connecting people together in humane and complex ways. Of course, some people are terrified of these changes in a world moving so fast that it's almost impossible to process and adapt to. Others are excited that we have such power tools to connect with other people. It’s impossible to concisely describe all aspects of Social Media and predict the future of where it’s going without acknowledging the highs and lows of being a follower and being a creator. Luckily, I’ve been on both sides and have an insider's knowledge of where social media might lead its users.
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| Happy? |
A great example of seeing the possible future of social media is an episode from the third season of the anthology television series, Black Mirror, called “Nose Dive”. The episode follows Lacie Pound, a young woman who lives in a world where personhood is rated on a scale of one to five stars. Her rating at the beginning of the episode is an acceptable 4.1, but her dream is to be a 5. Everything Lacie wants, better living, better friends, and an overall a better life is connected with that score. She goes through life determined for more positive ratings from strangers to old high school friends. She chooses to live her day-to-day life artificially, putting on a presentation of structured perfection, from the way she posts, to the way she smiles, to the way she interacts with others in person and online. In this sense, she’s seeking an unattainable goal of being liked by everyone (as if anyone could). Her brother is her opposite, as he doesn’t participate in the ranking system and has accepted his 2.9 rating. “Nose Dive” shows that the price of authenticity is more than a perfect rating. To be successful, you have to be a curated, calculated version of yourself.
In "Nosedive," Lacie's downfall begins when she prioritizes her social standing over genuine relationships, ultimately spiraling to a 0.6 rating. Ironically, it is only when she loses everything that she rediscovers her true self, free from the pressures of social validation. The episode serves as a cautionary tale: living for external approval, particularly through social media, can lead to real despair. This is a reality I see every day in the influencer world. Creators who thrive on audience connection often lose their sense of self to maintain their relevance and appeal.
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| It can control you. |
This problem is well-known and there’s even a term for it, a para-social relationship. It’s a one-sided emotional connection between a creator and a follower and it is what allows influencers to be, well, influential. That dynamic give influencers power over their followers, who in return follow their every word for product recommendations, what movies to watch, what clothing styles to embrace, even what vernacular or cadences of language to use. However, the tipping point is when influencers give up too much of themselves. They overshare, and over-invite their audience to be so much a part of their world that they start to depend on their followers for their sense of self. Content creators offer to shave their head for a million followers, get tattoos, or go through painful rituals to commemorate their audience size goal, often choosing to participate in actions that no sane person should engage in. It shows how creators can lose autonomy in pursuit of a tenuous, superficial relationship.
Cancel Culture has made this dynamic even more dangerous when a creator inadvertently insults or upsets a members of their audience. At that point, content creators are at the will of their audience, hoping for their forgiveness in order to return to creating content. I’ve seen people’s mental health spiral out of control, as their audience turns on them, up to and including death threats.They become lost in the system that they were once a part of and controlled.The cycle is vicious: the deeper one is embedded in social media, the harder it is to separate when things get rough.
On the follower side, the impact of parasocial relationships and cancel culture is equally significant. Followers can feel betrayed when their favorite influencers fail to meet their idealistic expectations, leading to disillusionment and distrust. Additionally, the curated perfection presented by influencers can distort followers’ perceptions of reality, fostering unrealistic comparisons and real-world insecurities. I remember when one of my favorite childhood YouTubers , Jeffree Star was canceled for some indiscretions from his past. At that time, I watched all his videos, even buying from their makeup line. I was heartbroken, never bought any of their products ever again and could never look at them in the same way. Once this sacred connection is broken, it's up to the user to forgive or forget. My point is that these relationships are real and the turmoil can be quite upsetting.
As social media becomes increasingly intertwined with artificial intelligence, the lines between authenticity and fabrication blur even further. With resources like “Icon.me” which is an A.I.based tool for influencers to make content, they don’t even have to film themselves. Rather, the AI uses their likeness to create content for them. It’s current demos are almost perfect in capturing your voice and your facial movements. In fact, it even provides realistic background without you ever having to press the record button. While this technology is groundbreaking, it undermines the authenticity that draws followers to influencers in the first place. The rise of AI-generated content threatens to turn social media into a space dominated by artificial personas rather than genuine human connections.
As an influencer I have been paid $10,000 to speak about a brand to my audience, and for some influencers that’s a low number. The best type of influencers are ones who can make their followers watch a paid advertisement without noticing that it’s a commercial. We blur the line between advertiser and an old high school friend. This is what makes the influencer’s opinions so reliable and influential. Without that human connection, content creator’s videos just feel like advertisements, which is exactly what Icon.me is doing with their service. It’s a way of taking the hard work of influencers and turning their human connection into hubs for selling things.
As of right now, most, at least 90% of content on social media is human made, but this number is going to rapidly decrease within the next five years. As soon as social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, ect. make these AI tools more available to the general public, we will see an assault on the very idea of connection.
I think it will be impossible to understand what is real and what is not on social media. An editing software called ‘CapCut’ is a filter that uses artificial intelligence to create cartoon illustrations of the user . You can imagine a person when they are old or as Victoria’s Secret Angel. The worst part, these artificial transformation videos are actually going viral on Tiktok, influencing more and more people to use the filter on themselves. People enjoy the “what I would look like if” aspect of the app. Usually, these filters make the person using them more attractive as well, which is more than a bit addictive. A.I. generated images of a person makes people feel good about themselves, as it creates a version of themselves that is perfect. I tried the filter myself, and I actually found myself relishing in the Victoria Secret Angel’s version of myself, as if it were a memory.
Into this “ideal” world, we are starting to see the proliferation of A.I. based influencers, like @IMMA.GRAM on Instagram. @IMMA.GRAM is a completely digital influencer, who was even featured in Harper’s Bazaar and Ted X. Just to understand how insane that is, I don’t know a single real human influencer who could say they’ve done the same. Influencers don’t get those opportunities. Unlike human influencers, these digital creations are immune to scandals, fatigue, or the pressures of authenticity. Just like Hatsune Miku, a Vocaloid, or artificial figurinefor Japanese pop music, that took the music world by storm with songs like “Miku” which snagged 2.2 million monthly listeners and 84 millions streams. This is something that actually isn't uncommon in the Music industry, as most artists have huge teams of people who handle their image.
They make sure the artist is P.R. trained like a Disney Child actor who’s been taught how to respond to a reporters' questions on the red carpet or magazine features. Musicans like Sabrina Carpenter,Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodridgo, are a great example of the formulaic industry algorithm that works for Pop Stars. Particularly on tour, you'll see how overly coordinated and calculated their performances are, both on stage and in the “real” world. It raises serious questions about the future of authenticity in creative industries.
The challenge lies in finding a balance—between innovation and authenticity, connection and detachment, creation and consumption. By understanding the complex interplay between these forces, we, whether you are a follower or a creator, can navigate the evolving social media landscape without losing sight of what matters most: our humanity.
©Sofia Porzio and the CCA Arts Review
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