Pay to Play: The High Price of Social Media
35mm Film Still by Carly Sioux
In today's media landscape, authenticity is more than a buzzword—it's a necessity. Especially on platforms like Instagram and Youtube that have become inundated with pay-to-play ads, sponsored content, and corporate behemoths, making social media no longer social... or original for that matter.
“Social Media is choosing content for us in a massive cultural phenomenon of gaslighting.”
It's no longer enough to engage and interact with the posts we want to see; Social Media is choosing content for us in a massive cultural phenomenon of gaslighting. Users are led to believe that their engagement will shape their feed, but in reality, the algorithms prioritize and manipulate our perception of what is popular, important, creating an illusion of choice.
The rise of algorithms has fundamentally altered how content reaches audiences and how smaller artists and businesses connect with their actual following. Genuine posts often struggle to surface without financial boosts, relegating them to complete obscurity. Despite their efforts, many individuals find themselves criticized by experts for not achieving desired outcomes. This critique often points to perceived issues with quality and consistency. Magazines, once bastions of editorial integrity, now monetize their platforms under the guise of 'collaboration,' blurring the lines between paid visibility and sincere storytelling, further altering our perceptions of what's relevant.
“Algorithms are like toxins—buzzwords that no one seems to be able to actually define, yet so many experts claim to understand.”
35mm Film Still by Carly Sioux
So what is the solution if we can't teach the algorithms to work with us and instead they work against us? It's disheartening for many smaller businesses like No Era, which have completely built their brands on platforms like Instagram. Do we revert to paper trails and handwritten letters? I know my email campaigns are far more effective than anything shared on Instagram. It feels like we've been trapped in their dopamine-driven click-bait cycles and left out to dry. If you're not there, you don't exist, yet we're kept in an endless loop of maniacal posting to keep our heads above water treading in the social currents. This leaves many burnt out, underappreciated, and robbed- literally, since so many celebrities and larger businesses mine ideas from smaller content creators.
Initially, social media had the potential to revitalize capitalism by empowering smaller businesses with limited capital or extensive advertising budgets to connect authentically with their own local audiences. It offered a pathway for individuals to bootstrap their ventures and create sustainable business practices. However, as companies like Meta recognized a missed opportunity to profit from small businesses achieving organic success, they dismantled this 'viral phenomenon' and blamed our failure to have visibility on our alleged shortcomings. Algorithms are like toxins—buzzwords that no one seems to be able to actually define, yet so many experts claim to understand.
I don't claim to have the answers, but I do hear a growing chorus of voices tired of superficial content and the relentless pressure to post incessantly to achieve 'success.' This sentiment is exacerbated by platforms like Meta, which use AI to mine our posts, enabling others to shape their brand identities and personalities at the expense of those unwittingly being turned into content creation assembly lines. It's almost as if they've established a content creation sweatshop, exploiting individuals already marginalized by these online corporate media practices. Original ideas and creativity are the most valuable assets, sought after by corporations for their own gain. So be careful who you send that pitch letter to.
