The Influence and Influencer Problem

A few years ago, I was eavesdropping on a conversation between two men about a chalkboard in a barbershop. As Black barbershops are famous for lively conversation and debate, this barbershop went ahead and wrote a topic of the day on a chalkboard for the barbers and patrons to discuss.

I love a good debate and admired this idea (from outside the conversation). But what peaked my interest most was the moment one of the men admitted that his opinion always differs from the majority and, therefore, he gets his hair cut and stays silent.

I understand that not everyone wants a debate. Not everyone can handle pushback or desires to have their opinion challenged on a Tuesday afternoon when all they're prepared for is a haircut.

But this real-life barbershop scenario reminded me of an increasingly common online situation. Every time a "hot topic" arises—whether it's a tragic world event, a social justice issue, or a matter of politics and rights—online influencers are pressured to speak up about it.

Why Do We Need Every Influencer's Opinion?

In 2024, when you find someone with a large following, you'll also find a host of people in their comments asking why they haven't commented on a particular issue.

For me, this has raised questions for the commenters and the influencers. First, to the commenters, I'd ask:

• Why do you expect influencers to speak out about current events? Do we really need their hot takes and potentially uninformed opinions?

• Does having a large platform automatically give someone a responsibility to shed light on important issues? How much responsibility do they bear? Tragedies happen every hour of every day—where do we draw the line?

• Should people only post online about what they genuinely care about, or should they be compelled to post about controversial topics they may or may not care about, too? Do you see any issue with an influencer being disingenuous about how much an issue matters to them because they're under pressure and fear being canceled?

• What responsibility does the influencer (or even the average person) have to research and educate themselves on a topic for the sole purpose of posting online and appeasing the masses? Would you agree that it's best they stay silent for as long as they're uninformed?

• Is your desire to hear an influencer's opinion based on a desire for a collective conscience? Do you simply want to know that your favorite influencer is on the right side of history (as you see it) before you support them further?

• Does everyone have to post about their outrage?

As someone who has been chronically opinionated since I was a child, I share in the commenters' confusion about how anyone can see injustice and say nothing. What I don't always agree with them on is that saying nothing online equals saying and doing nothing at all.

Just because someone doesn't address a topic on the internet doesn't mean they haven't had important conversations offline, donated to causes, called and emailed politicians, or marched in protests. I'd argue that these actions have a bigger impact than a social media post, which raises another question: Are the commenters suggesting that if it doesn't happen publicly, then it doesn't count?

In their article titled A Micro-Influencer’s Guide to Being on the Right Side of History, Neema Githere Siphone calls influencers of every size (so, everyone) to be strategic about the way we wield our influence online. Siphone writes, "One thing is for certain–silence is a stance of its own. Which is not to say that actions must be proclaimed online to be legitimate..."

With this statement, Siphone agrees that engaging online isn't the only legitimate or even the most effective way to participate in freedom movements. However, they make a great point that I would co-sign—it's worth asking what your online platform is for and how you can "redistribute your attention capital" for worthy causes.

Siphone goes on to say:

"...many of us are not posting, but are reading and grieving and praying and marching and all of that is legitimate–but it is to say that in our most private of moments, now and in the decades to come, we will know whether we played our part as thoroughly as we know ourselves to be capable of.

If you care, if you are invested in the liberation and wellbeing of all people–which, it must be emphasized, many people grew their platforms in 2020 through proclaiming–then you bear a responsibility to wield your digital currency intentionally." (Emphasis mine.)

I don't disagree, but the keyword is "if."

Why Won't Some Influencers Speak Up?

My issue lies with why someone chooses not to post about a "controversial" or "serious" topic. However, I don't feel it's fair for me or anyone else to assume their reasons.

But there are reasons I'd denounce: they don't want to offend anyone (even the bad guys), they want to live in blissful ignorance, or—the worst—they don't care about the plight and pain of anyone who isn't themselves or someone they know.

I'm not on the side of those whose activism strategy is to bully influencers into posting what they want them to post. But I do want these influencers to question themselves when they hesitate to speak up about tragedies and injustices.

To the influencers, I'd ask:

• Do you want to be the type of person who has the potential to make a positive difference and doesn't?

• If you do have an opinion but you can't back it up, why are you so content in holding that opinion? What's keeping you from opening your mind to interrogate your view and explore others?

• If you don't have an opinion because you "aren't educated on the topic," what's stopping you from learning about it and using your influence for something that's good, something that really matters in this world?

• When your reason for not speaking up isn't because you don't have an opinion but because your opinion is the opposite of what everyone else is saying—as was the case with the man in the barbershop—might that mean you're the bad guy? Why are you okay with being the bad guy?

• Are you afraid to state your opinion—as the man in the barbershop was—because you know that everyone's opinion of you will turn negative? If so, could it be that your beliefs are bigoted? Could it be that you simply have a bad take that needs to be reevaluated?

Sure, everyone doesn't have to have a take. But what does it mean when you don't?

For me, this is a matter of character and priorities. If an influencer would never engage in world issues unless pressured to do so by an overwhelming flurry of comments, they're probably not someone I want to follow or be influenced by.

This doesn't mean I suddenly think influencers are required to share their opinions online; there are some people who have built a large following by sharing online but will never feel comfortable or equipped enough to share their personal views with the world or participate in online activism. I don't think that alone instantly makes them terrible people.

I do, however, hope that others' activism inspires them to learn about what's going on in the world and ensure that their offline lives and opinions aren't as shallow as their online presence. What I want for them is to step outside of themselves and the often trivial things they post about. But I don't believe that they need to take those steps online or that they owe anyone their journey.

I can admit that I appreciate it when the people I follow show that they care about others. But there will always be those who don't want to show anything but the new jeans they bought at Target. And there are plenty of people who want to follow them and stay inside their non-controversial bubble.

I say I don't want to be influenced by them because I believe that living a life that never looks around or inside is a vapid existence. I want to be influenced by those who want to grow and help create change.

It does nothing for any cause to wish that the influencers who don't care would care and shout out loud and online that they care. We can't want better for influencers than they want for themselves. We can't ask influencers for more than they can (or are willing to) give.

Influencers—at least those who are committed to silence and complacency on social media—won't save the world. We can only hope that their silence and complacency are part of their online brand and not a reflection of their offline lives. And even if this is an honest reflection of who they are, trying to change them isn't what's going to change things in our world.

Where I'm Putting My Pressure

I'm not an influencer, celebrity, or anything of the sort. I'm just a regular human with a blog. My social media accounts aren't dedicated to daily posts about my controversial opinions (of which I have many). I also post about frivolous things a lot of the time.

But if I had a lot of influence, I wouldn't want to be the one posting a SHEIN haul while the world was on fire.

I wouldn't want to be the type of influencer whose Instagram Story sharing my makeup routine is wedged between one with a picture of a dead Palestinian child and one about someone being killed over the exploitation of resources in the Congo.

My job isn't to change the influencers who fit that profile, and I sincerely wish the online activists (and those pretending to be) would stop getting their blood pressure up over what influencers aren't posting. Here's my honest take: a lot of this pressure is misplaced.

In a world with so much trauma and tragedy and more issues than anyone could speak on all the time, it probably makes a lot of online commenters feel good about themselves to point out that an influencer or celebrity isn't being as loud about something as they are. These comments may be the extent of their activism, but this type of virtue-signaling makes them feel like they're doing something about one thing on the world's overwhelming list of problems.

I hate to pull the "Don't boo! Vote!" card, but social pressure goes a lot further when it's directed at politicians and oppressors. In the United States, we pay taxes and vote for government representatives who have the power to stop injustice a lot more efficiently than an influencer ever could.

There's strength in community care and advocacy in numbers, and we can't get caught up on who's not contributing...or who's not contributing in the ways we think they should...or who's not contributing where we can see them.

That's the thing about having influence. You can get it in all types of ways. It's up to us how we'll use whatever influence we have.

It's not up to us to police how and when others use their influence (with the exception of those who use their influence for evil and violence—curse them up, down, and to the side!). Our mission shouldn't be to stop people from always using their influence on superficial things but to make sure superficial things don't cloud our vision of what's important to us. Don't lose sight of what's driving you because you're looking behind you at someone who's going too slow.

I want to see more of the pressure aimed at the "popular kids" online directed at the perpetrators of harm and those who enable them. Pile it on. Shout it from the mountaintops and on the social media feeds. Share the articles, videos, and infographics that illustrate the world's pain.

Ignore the influencers that you suspect are ignoring the world's wrongs and link arms with someone who is walking in the same direction you are. Put your voices together and be so loud that it disrupts the status quo. Be so public that your presence makes a difference, makes people look, makes people think.

Or don't. There has to be a time in our lives for joy and self-preservation regardless of the injustice surrounding us because injustice will always be there. But that's a whole other essay.

Share what your mental health and understanding allows, acknowledging that your knowledge can always increase. There's a place for you if you decide to play a part, and you don't have to play that part every day.

It's your influence—use it however you please. All I hope is that you use it well. But that's not up to me, either. My influence is the only one truly within my control, however small it may be.