by Devon Goldstein ‘21

Starting in 2020, creators have gained a large following on TikTok as well as other social media platforms. It has become a common occurrence that when someone becomes popular on TikTok, their following increases on Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter as well. Many of these influencers on social media apps have gained millions of followers from all age groups in the past several months. With these new followers comes a very strong influence over those that see the creators’ content every day. 

When these influencers gain such a large following, there is a reasonable expectation that they should use their platform in a helpful way and not only to post selfies and videos of themselves doing random things throughout their day. Especially with all of the difficult and even disturbing events that have occurred in the past few months, creators with large platforms should be using their influence to voice their opinions on the subjects at hand and stand up for what’s right. 

Give credit where credit is due: many very famous, popular influencers and creators are voicing their opinion and using their platforms to stand up for what they believe is right. For example, makeup artist and Youtuber James Charles has used his Instagram with 26.3 million followers and his Twitter with 7.6 million followers to voice his opinion on recent events such as the riot at the Capitol and Trump’s second impeachment. Although his platform is mainly used to show his makeup creations and different kinds of videos with a beauty theme, he uses it at times to post about current events and encourages those that follow him to make their voices heard. 

On the other hand, there are TikTok creators that do use their large platforms for the common good. For example, Charli D’amelio has 36.7 million followers on Instagram and 106.4 million followers on TikTok. She has the most followers out of any single creator on TikTok and definitely has a tremendous influence on her followers. However she does not use her platform to address any current events during these times. She has reposted an occasional post on her story about the current events in the world; meanwhile she gets caught going to parties and traveling in the middle of a pandemic. Although she is only 16 years old, having one of the largest followings on social media comes with the responsibility to use your platform beyond just posting daily selfies and dancing videos. 

The idea of “doing good” does not necessarily mean that these influencers and creators have to be overtly political. It might just mean to spread awareness about pressing issues and encourage their followers to stand up for what they believe is right.  A better world in the future is not going to magically happen, and those influencers should use their large platforms for the common good in times of need.