Curated Social Media | Opinion

Since my post on "fair weather activists" I have done a lot of thinking about just how much social media has the ability to effect our mental well-being. I follow a variety of bloggers and influencers, both my Instagram and Twitter are linked to my blog and when I first started them, I went through a wave of following almost any blogger who on the surface was like me, which is basically a female blogger! I loved it, I had this little network of people who I could chat to about things that were relatable!

Fast forward 4/5 years and all of a sudden I'm finding myself increasingly disgruntled with both the platforms, I mean I lost the illusion of Instagram a long while ago but one thing I didn't do was mass unfollow. It's only since my last post that I realise I actually have control over what I want to be consuming online and if I don't like someone's opinion, I can hit unfollow and be done with it. I do think there's a danger with only following people who share the same opinions because you get a very one sided view on the world but you can definitely differentiate between someone who is an absolute moron and someone who shares the fundamentals but sees things from a different angle to you.

In the last year or so I have found myself caring about a lot of different things, I don't eat meat anymore but all of the foodie accounts I followed were all juicy burgers and delicious meats and while there is no denying I did like meat and I did enjoy the taste, I should not be following these types of accounts, instead I should be looking for veggie or even vegan options to think about new dinners and meals for me. Honestly just by following a few new veggies accounts all of a sudden I am cooking different meals stuff I love but just didn't even think about before. I have stopped following accounts that I don't have a distinct reaction about, instead I am following account where people may give advise on eco-friendly ways of living that are useful for someone like me who is trying. I want to follow accounts I not only relate to but also can learn something from, no matter how small. 

I have been passively consuming social media accounts for years now and I am finally starting to consider the subconscious impact that could have on me, so I am changing the content I consume to be something I genuinely care about or something that makes me happy.

Why I Stopped Following Huge Influencers | Blogging

Image by kropekk_pl from Pixabay

I used to watch a hell of a lot of YouTube videos, I mean hours upon hours a day just consuming the video content of the big YouTubers and I used to really love watching little snippets of peoples lives or the odd make up tutorial here and there however all of a sudden I just stopped watching them. It was literally like a switch, one minute I am rushing to the channels to see the latest upload and the next I literally could not give a shit and then it hit me, I no longer found these YouTubers, relatable, aspirational nor inspirational. 

I know a lot of people have been feeling this sort of way with some of the really big YouTubers and I just want to stress before someone labels me as "jealous" - I think it's incredible that people can make vast amounts of money from their channels, that alone could be considered aspirational and I would totally understand but that type of content doesn't interest me, I like to see normal people with normal lives, not people buying Gucci every damn week. I like honest, funny content, not fake smiles and perfect angles.

I used to watch a fair amount of Zoella videos, in an almost guilty pleasure kinda way because I felt a lot of her content was probably more tailored to school girls and I am a quite a bit older than that but I still watched them. I came to really enjoy her vlogs and her Christmas content because there was a real personality behind it. That said, I have never and probably would never buy any of her products because the brand doesn't resonate with me. When she moved into her new house, I watched the first few vlogs more from a voyeuristic point of view and then the content just seemed to stagnate, yes her house is stunning and you're damn right she deserves to show it off and be happy in a space she has worked hard for but when did it become just about the money? She released an advent calendar, which was obscenely priced and then uploaded an apology video because of the backlash which was possibly the most insincere thing I have ever watched which shows how out of touch she is from her audiences - the girl knew exactly what the price of the calendar would be because she would have been aware of the profit she would make from each sale, so let's not go there. Her boyf is even more problematic with the amount of wasteful things he spends his money on, and yes, it could be argued that it's his money so therefore he can use it however he sees fit but it's the culture he is breeding that concerns me a little more. 

Lets be honest, those guys are incredibly easy targets but it's not just these influencers who have lost touch with their audiences it's also the ones who aren't relatable. Some style influencers I have loved for the longest time but sometimes as you see their content evolve and become even more beautiful and even more creative which lead me to feel a little disconnected because I no longer felt like their content was relevant to me, it's for people who can spend obscene amount of money on fashion and travel the world, I just can't. I think sometimes you personally change as an individual which means the type of content you want to see will inevitably change as well, which isn't a bad thing at all. I don't watch a lot of big beauty gurus anymore because they don't talk about cruelty free brands but insist on promoting brands just because they get shit tone of stuff for free - which I understand but I'm not interested. 

I think my tastes have definitely changed in the content I want to see, I no longer want to see heavily curated content, I want to see content that means something, that is showing me something good or giving a true opinion, I would love to see content that makes a damn difference without being told I should buy this or use this code.

Is it possible to separate art from the artist? | Opinion

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Here comes another lengthy opinion piece but I think in light of recent events I think now is a good time to start to question whether we can or should separate art from the artist? Looking specifically at musicians, I think the answer has too many complexities and every one has their own opinion which of course they are entitled to but I think the most interesting thing for me is the volume of people who don't want to break their illusion of the artists so the deny and disregard any negative opinion.

For me this question first came up when the Lostprophets lead singer was found guilty of several child sex offences. Lostprophets was a band that I absolutely adored and was pretty much the sound track to a period in my life where I felt so much happiness and then when the news started unravelling, I realised that now I can no longer listen to this music and reminisce. I do feel bad for the other musicians of the band because they all played a part in creating their songs but the music just became tainted for me. Then "Leaving Neverland" aired and I was in the exact same predicament. For those of you who don't know Leaving Neverland is a pretty damning account of two victims who Michael Jackson allegedly sexually abused them as children.   Wade Robson and James Safechuck tell an extremely detailed and some times quite graphic account of the abuse and, at times, it is quite difficult to watch. For me one of the key things that I noticed was that both men recounted how close Michael Jackson got to their families, having calls with the parents, coming to their homes, flying them to LA, it could be argued that he basically infiltrated them to gain access to these boys. It's this element that made me believe these men because there were some parallels to a Netflix show all Abducted in Plain Sight where the abuser gets very close to the parents just to access their daughter. This is actually a very common step in child abuse, it's family friend, it's someone they trusted, the family had no idea, he seemed like a nice guy.

The main difference between Ian Watkins and Michael Jackson is Ian Watkins was found guilty (and sentenced to 35 years in prison) where as Michael Jackson was brought to trial found not guilty, with Wade at the time defending him against the accusations and then years after his death, the victims came forward. I can see why people question their motives but when you watch the documentary I think it's obviously clear that these men are pained by their experiences. There have been celebrities coming forward to say that Michael Jackson didn't abuse them, so this alone must me he is innocent and that the men are lying but I have to say just because someone doesn't do something to you doesn't mean they didn't do it to someone else. He openly admitted to sharing his bed with young boys which everyone agrees is weird, so is it that farfetched that he could also abuse the same boys he shared his bed with?  

R Kelly is another artist who has come under the microscope with many victims coming forward, personally I haven't seen the documentary so I can't pass comment but I believe that we should listen to these girls instead of just ignoring it for the sake of his "brand".

I don't think I can separate the art from the artists, when you listen to the stories of the victims I really don't think we should bury our heads in the sand and say they are lying. I can however accept the impact people like Michael Jackson had on the music industry but I can also choose to no longer listen to his music. I think even if you don't want to believe it, you should watch Leaving Neverland just so you can hear another side.