In the early days of social media corporates were using the platform to great glee.
Before millennials were the faces of cancel culture, it was public figures and corporates who had the power.
It was not uncommon to come across an article or an Emma Sadleir talk that warned people about the moral implications of people’s old tweets, Facebook posts or MySpace pages that got them fired.
Today, the tables have turned and the power now lies in anyone’s hashtag to hold not only the suits in a company accountable but the whole corporation as well.
As internet culture continues to become petty and judgmental, the pressure young people face becomes more extreme.
This is especially the case for kids who are unwittingly put on social media by their parents.
From Lindo to Kairo, there are plenty of kids who become faces of their brands, model clothes or star in their parents’ content.
Some often become viral stars and I am sure many parents have come across the million-dollar industry of kids watching kids play with toys.
While this makes a lot of cents, it also puts these kids in dangerous situations.
Take Kim Kardashian’s latest accessory, her daughter North West.
In what has christened the nine-year-old as a style icon, North West was spotted in the front row of a fashion show.
In one instance, a camera panned the scene and when it landed on North West she was seen holding a piece of paper with the word ‘STOP’ written on it.
This moment leaves a bitter taste in the mouth considering the young reality star has been speaking out about the paparazzi haranguing her when attending events with her family.
In the past and even today, paparazzi images are a free-for-all, quickly redistributed and often manipulated by tabloids.
Who can forget Tyra Banks’s bum being blown up while she was swimming at a beach?
When you put social media in that mix this world becomes incredibly toxic.
No-one has to wait for magazines to hit news-stands but can easily get tagged or talked about all over the internet.
Any image of you is a meme and even darker yet, a fetish.
The wonderful and charming life of Wren has been documented on TikTok and Instagram.
From her outfits for the day to whatever food she’s munching on, her mother created the platform as a way of celebrating her daughter’s life.
However, images of Wren attracted the interest of a lot of men who started to sexualise her, even going so far as to say she looked mature for her age in an image of her wearing a top exposing a small portion of her belly.
Wren is three years old.
While today’s modern-day mamas and papas might mean well by putting their kids on the internet, it seems to have done more harm than good.
Facebook is still dealing with the backlash for allowing Cambridge Analytica to exploit the data of its users.
We are now dealing with an internet culture where all social media platforms ensure that the algorithm you see will keep you online.
However, what is keeping you online are problematic posts built to make you engage.
Those engagements, however, are with posts that are bound to be radical and would make you upset.
It’s no wonder that in the internet’s scramble for the global south, free Facebook has been outlawed in India as it increases the likelihood of misinformation spreading.
And we have all witnessed the power of misinformation during the pandemic.
Filter bubbles happen as a result of this exposure. The term was coined by activist Eli Pariser as a response to algorithms on digital platforms that were designed to limit what content you will see.
So even if you do choose to do research to solve a problem, you are more than likely going to find content that fits your prejudices instead of giving you the accurate information you need.
Our mental health as adults has deteriorated in response to the amount of content we see on social media and we are yet to see how it will affect Gen Z in the long haul.
Many of us have been held accountable for “mistakes” made on the internet when we were younger but what will the morally acceptable conditions be for toddlers and tweens who grew up with a lot of data and uncapped opinions.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.