This is a title people give to you, not a registered profession. Linus, from Linux Tech Tips is an influencer insofar as he influences people.
While a lot of kids saying “I want to be famous” are a little cringe, if we want to be more charitable we should understand people who say ‘I want to be an influencer’ simply as ‘I want to do well at this job’, which isn’t a bad thing, unless the job is bad.
But that’s the problem with the term influencer. While some of them could be the content creators you’re talking about, there are people who qualify as influencers that do good for a particular niche. Anybody who is slightly youtube famouse or has a popular podcast is an influencer, even if they’re also a science communicator, environmental activist, or something else. It’s a pointless term that means someone gained a following online, which is a distinction that serves no purpose when most people use the internet for their work.
Also, your opinion on them doesn’t really matter. If there are people watching/listening/reading them, then they’re providing value to those people. What’s the point of sitting around judging people who aren’t hurting anybody when they’re giving some people something they want?
This is a title people give to you, not a registered profession. Linus, from Linux Tech Tips is an influencer insofar as he influences people.
While a lot of kids saying “I want to be famous” are a little cringe, if we want to be more charitable we should understand people who say ‘I want to be an influencer’ simply as ‘I want to do well at this job’, which isn’t a bad thing, unless the job is bad.
I think OP was thinking more along the lines of those “content creators” with their shopping vlogs or similar.
But that’s the problem with the term influencer. While some of them could be the content creators you’re talking about, there are people who qualify as influencers that do good for a particular niche. Anybody who is slightly youtube famouse or has a popular podcast is an influencer, even if they’re also a science communicator, environmental activist, or something else. It’s a pointless term that means someone gained a following online, which is a distinction that serves no purpose when most people use the internet for their work.
Also, your opinion on them doesn’t really matter. If there are people watching/listening/reading them, then they’re providing value to those people. What’s the point of sitting around judging people who aren’t hurting anybody when they’re giving some people something they want?