Feeding the Algorithm: How Monetization Changed the Game

Over the years, technology has advanced so much such that everyone is glued to their phones and other gadgets on the daily basis. Some people even cross busy streets while pressing phones or on phone calls. This should tell you how much technology has impacted our world today. We all use the internet on the daily basis for different reasons to the extent that some of us can’t even do away with our phones.

I remember those days when the only social media platform that was used very much was Facebook. Then, everyone was on Facebook because that was the big deal . If you weren’t on Facebook at that time you’d be considered as someone from the stone age. Then came instagram, Snapchat and many more social apps we used today. Actually, there were a lot more and even today there’s more than what was there before.

Recently, TikTok has proven to be the most used app by the youth if you ask me. I know people who sit and scroll through TikTok all day when they have stuff to do. On the other hand, we have the social media influencers who have decided to make good use of this happening to make money. I mean, if everyone is on TikTok or instagram for over 5 hours a day, why not monetize this opportunity. And that’s exactly what these social media influencers did. Funny enough, most of them are thriving in the media space today making millions per hour.

Personally, I’d say monetizing social media is a good thing but my only problem is with how we monetize it. Using TikTok as an example, someone who posts unnecessary stuff is most likely to get more likes and views as compared to those posting important content. I guess we are all bored out there and need something to release stress. But I believe there should be a limit to the lengths these influencers and content creators will go to just for views and likes which translates into money.

I get that having money is a good thing but what would it profit a man to lose his life in his quest to make money. I watched this video where someone pranked another person and it led to a whole lot of things which could have even caused lives to be lost. It might come off as a joke but to me, such things shouldn’t even be initiated in the first place all in the name of content.

There are influencers out there who are very demure with their content and they are making money out of it. Why can’t everyone be normal and be themselves instead of trying to hang on a fan just to please their viewers. It makes no sense to me. I’m no influencer but I know for sure that if I’m to venture into something like this, I wouldn’t lose my mind , dignity and even my life just for content. Money is good, but let’s not lose ourselves in the process. We all love good content as viewers, but creators should also know to tone down on the fake news , the petty fights and name calling just for money. It’s really not worth it.

With all that I’ve said, I however believe that this topic is quite subjective. So, this is my point of view on the topic. Thanks for passing by.

---

all images belong to me.

---