Insights

The concept of virality has changed over the course of the decade. In the early 2010s, short-form videos were shared amongst friends or family through email, or text forums. If a person wanted to become famous over the internet, they would have only five seconds of fame before fading into obscurity.

Now, when asked what job or ocupation children want to be when they get older, the answer; instead of the usual doctor, lawyer, or fireman, is to say YouTuber, or Influencer. Perhaps the reason for this is that anyone can be anything online, with the assistance of a smartphone. Therefore, the platform is accessible to pretty much everyone from any demographic.

But what enthralls kids and young hopeful teens of this concept? There are rules to the internet and platforms that one must follow; it isn’t a free-for-all, get-rich-quick scheme that might be initially assumed. A user must be at least thirteen years old to make an account under adult supervision.

As someone who has talked with young teens of this very topic, the general consensus was the social aspect. If one was among the age groups of thirteen, fourteen, fifteen years old, they likely had a YouTube account. Whether it was to post gameplay videos or gaming tutorials of the latest video game, or the art crafts that they’ve made, or commentary on the latest internet trend/drama, the teens are self-aware enough to cultivate the environment they want, with the content they create.

In their world, they are an “Everyday Influencer”. If we were to take that concept and apply it to our own social feeds, then we too, are influencers. I suppose if we spend less time in focusing on how many followers another user has compared to our own, then browsing the web would be a bit more enjoyable.

From “Oxford Languages”, the definition of an influencer is, at its’ core, a person or thing that influences another. Therefore, the definition of to influence the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something.

So, with that in mind, what do you, as a consumer, find yourself influenced by? How often do you see ads by influencers or celebrities that market a protect and you think to yourself, “yes, I need to buy this right away”? On the flip side of this coin, what do you, as an everyday influencer, promote on your platform of choice, and how do you use it to reach a wider audience?

The true beauty of the “everyday influencer” is that sometimes, we don’t even realize we partake in it.

It’s something that’s as natural to us as breathing air.

As long as one has a smartphone with internet accessibility, at least.