An Iflue- What?

    "So the newspaper said something about a JoJo Siwa person and that she is an influencer. What's an  influencer?"

    "An influencer is someone, usually young, who uses social media to influence their followers." 

    "Influence how?"

    "Convince them to buy things, to go on vacation, to eat at restaurants-it's a way of advertising." 

    "Do these influencer people make a lot of money?"

    "Yes, they can make a ton of money, and they get tons of free stuff depending on how many followers they have." 

    "Followers? Like a cult?"

    "Not exactly like a cult, but sort of. A person can set up an account on a social media site like Instagram or Tik ToK, and they get people to follow them. The more people who see, comment, and share their pictures or content, the more money the influencer can make. They can get more free stuff, too." 

    "Do the followers get paid?" 

    "No- just the influencer." 

    "So you're telling me that people get paid to put stuff on the internet to convince other people to buy stuff they don't need, and these influencers make a career out of this?"

    "Yes- some of them make a lot of money."

    "They don't go to work. . . "

    "Not really. They take pictures and videos of their lives. That's their work." 

    I show him some Instagram feeds. 

    "That's not work. " 

    "To them it is. . . "

    "That's not work. That's contributing to the downfall of this society. That's materialism. That's faking a life to make people buy things they don't need. That's waste- not work. Besides, those pictures aren't real." 

    I shrug my shoulders helplessly. 

    "And those followers. . . what a name! Why do you need someone to tell you where to eat? To buy? Can't anyone have an original thought? How much time do these followers spend looking at other people's fake lives?" 

    "I don't know, Dad. This is how advertising works now." 

    "This isn't advertising. This is a waste of time. And it's not real! At least with a commercial you know it's not real; you know it is an advertisement. These influencers pretend that their lives are real. You saw those pictures. . .  And their followers believe anything they see on the internet. Unbelievable. Just Unbelievable. What a waste of time." 

    He walks into the den, muttering to himself and shaking his head in disbelief. 

    I don't have the heart to tell him that people have accounts for their influencer pets.