- It’s cliché but it’s true!
Social currency is of great value in today’s society, and much of it is reliant on your digital footprint. If you are an individual with a larger platform online and if you have an audience engaged with you, then it can be assumed that you have ‘influence’. Online personalities have come to dread this term – the ‘influencer’. However, despite its different connotations, that is who they are. By virtue of having an audience who lends you their attention and time, you are, in fact, an influencer.
And, in being an influencer, one very important question arises: Do you have a certain responsibility to your audience? When it comes to social media personalities, particularly those who originally may not have set out to be famous or influential, but happen to find themselves in that position – in such a case, do they suddenly have to adopt this responsibility?
We posed this question to a number of ‘influencers’ of different types – from those who credit their online presences as the catalysts for their ‘influence,’ to those who have traditional media platforms and are therefore experiencing a more hybrid model when it comes to their access to an audience.
A responsibility to give back?
Actress Yureni Noshika shared that apart from her work, she believes that a person such as herself – someone who may be considered a ‘celebrity’ in the traditional sense – has a responsibility to “give back to society”. “I think the responsibility lies in the type of influence you make, and in my case, I believe in inspiring. I wish to inspire the youth in any little way that I can,” she said.
Yureni also noted: “I think it is important to lead by example. To my audience, I want to inspire them to maintain a positive outlook in life, to have a positive mindset. I think it is also important to teach gratitude. Most humans forget and take for granted their good fortune.”
Speaking of the responsibility, one has to be accurate in the information they present. She noted that it is important that you do your homework on whatever topic you are addressing because as someone with influence, you run the risk of spreading misinformation in a more drastic way than you might think. “You have to operate on the notion that the words you say may have a ripple effect, and that the opinions you express can go a long way,” she said.
Yureni takes the stance of absolute responsibility, and from her traditional media background, this has been the general consensus – if you have a large audience then you must exercise caution in what you do and say. Historically, celebrities and public figures have been held at higher regard when it comes to the opinions they express and their actions.
Influencers of the new age
However, the new age celebrity, aka the social media influencer, occupies a somewhat different space in society. Oftentimes, much of their content is their personality, lifestyle, or their own brand of humour. In such an instance how much can you be expected to filter yourself for the sake of a growing audience?
The answer to this has been a mixed on-the fence-type attitude. Gehan Blok took the stance that when it comes to his comedy, as a stand-up comic he does not exercise a whole lot of control, saying: “I have no filter. I don’t keep myself in check. To have a genuine conversation as a comedian to be natural and funny, I can’t filter myself.”
However, he also added that this does depend on the situation. “When it comes to the brand I have built with Dino, for Blok and Dino, I do hold myself back a bit,” he said, adding that despite it all, within reason, he likes to “keep it real”.
Amandha Amarasekara shared that in his opinion, it is not possible to be so responsible that you do not offend anybody. “What offends you may not seem offensive to me, so it is nearly impossible to cater to everyone’s sensibilities and beliefs,” he said.
Amandha also added that when it comes to creativity, you cannot be expected to filter yourself but that it is all a matter of perspective. “The moment you start filtering yourself to fit a mould or what society expects of you then content creation itself can become a task; it gets so dull it is no longer a creative, exciting thing,” he said.
In particular, when it comes to those who are thrust into the limelight and did not expect to find themselves with such large audiences and ‘influence,’ it can often seem unfair that they have to now exercise some sort of caution and ‘filter’ their content and thoughts. Noting this perspective, Amandha did say that it is still very important to be responsible in a way that is not damaging, and influencers must take care how far they go with altering themselves and their content.
One of the biggest Lankan online creators right now, Lochana Jayakodi also shared her thoughts on this matter, stating that: “As cliché as it sounds, with great power comes great responsibility. Influencers or people with a stronger social media presence have the power to control the thoughts, ideas, and even actions of those who follow them. Opinions should be expressed in a manner that no specific group in society is rather attacked or favoured, positivity should be spread, and concerning matters should be brought to attention in a way that does not provoke violence.”
It would appear that the general consensus is such that there is indeed a responsibility that befalls you once you have a growing audience. The word ‘influencer’ – despite the ‘ick’ feeling of it all – has meaning, as you are able to affect, to some extent, the way that someone else may think. That is not something to be taken lightly.
‘Everyone has a sense of responsibility to others’
Finally, we also spoke to Saasha Karunarathne, who expressed an interesting point of view that we have been completely overlooking – and that is the simple fact that regardless of an audience, social platform or social media influence we all have a social responsibility to one another. She noted how older siblings are expected to be an example for their younger siblings, and parents to their children and so on, so how could it be any different for influencers or public personalities?
She noted that it is inherently selfish of us to assume that it is a burden to be asked to exercise caution, to be told to think twice before speaking. “We all have a social responsibility, regardless of whether we have an audience or not,” she said.
Of course, we are all part of the social machine and we regard some above others in their influence. However, for those with influence it really should not matter if they have 10 or 10,000 listening to them; they still have a moral responsibility to be tactful, to incite positivity, to be truthful and any number of other things that lend a hand to the growth and enrichment of society.
