Internet personalities aren’t aging well.
To be fair, many of us didn’t choose viral life. Call it luck or the right string of connections, but power and influence have dramatically shaped creative culture over the last decade.
Somewhere along the way, we became prescriptive. We told students to build a following before a point of view. We insisted influencing was the easiest and therefore only path to success. We openly mocked the system that made us while reaping the benefits. If all the world’s a stage and we are merely players, creativity was a power play.
And now the mask is slipping. Call it pandemic pressure, but Covid times are making it harder for Internet personalities to compartmentalize. We are proving to be just as human as everyone else around us.
The privilege of power looks like many things and manifests in three ways: downplaying one’s personal power, resisting evolution of values, and refusing to be held accountable.
Personal Power
Power and more specifically internet power is a strange phenomenon. A person can wield tremendous influence while believing they lack authority. We watched dumbfounded when legislators wistfully tweeted about stimulus checks. If only someone would do something, quipped the people writing the damn laws.
The people who are resourced for fund distribution shrugged their shoulders.
Similarly, I’m tired of my influential colleges scratching their heads about the current times. We’ve made a sport of whining about our jobs. Every design joke is predicated on client humiliation, Adobe Illustrator destroying our presets. While amateurs and pros can commiserate together, this is a poor foundation for unity. Let’s be honest, there’s truth to these self-victimizing jokes. No one person in our system has everything they want.
If wielding power responsibly starts by acknowledging the influence we possess, the first step to abusing power is downplaying influence.
Power enables the holder to act independently of others, which can include running from personal responsibility.
Society loves the scrappy underdog. Everyone wants to embody this energy, though we often overlook our victories to do so. We obsess over what we didn’t have and cling to those narratives while becoming The Establishment. While this doesn’t seem problematic, our lack of gratitude impedes us from distributing the excess power we attain.
We topple systemic issues when we access our generosity.
Generous people share joyfully because they have more than they need. They’ve unlocked fulfillment by spreading their wealth, whether education, resources, or companionship. Generosity runs counter to white capitalism, which is why our systems try to squelch us through comparison and lack.
As noted in the short-lived Gimlet podcast Test Kitchen about Bon Appétit’s former work culture,
“The whole system made everyone feel like a victim so it kept those with more power from considering how to protect those at the bottom, the people of color, the temps.”
The same system that elevates us also dehumanizes us as we receive influence. This is a predictable output of the system we’ve built. The exact shift is different for everyone, but at some point a person ceases to be a human with opinions and becomes a brand issuing edicts.
Even those in great power feel victimized. And this is dangerous. If someone with great influence feels threatened, they can perpetuate harmful behavior.
The JK Rowling Effect
When someone ascends to influencer/celebrity status, fame can hinder their ethical growth because they have superseded societal consequences for bad takes. Every potential opinion to every issue is available to us the second we publish. If basic needs are covered, those in high power risk only their reputations when they speak. And barely. Aside from public outcry, the risk is low. Someone will always buy your merch or hire you without question.
It has never been more difficult to express ourselves, yet it’s never been easier to be careless.
I call this the JK Rowling Effect, named for the young adult author of Harry Potter fame with deeply transphobic public opinions. In recent years, Rowling issued several public tweet threads questioning trans humans validity. Rowling’s transphobic tweets reach over 14 million people. Many challenge her, but at the end of the day she’s sitting on licensing deals and billions in sales, unmoved.
There is no pressure to reconsider despite losing thousands of followers. She is still publishing work. And more importantly she’s doubling down. Her latest transphobic blog post was quoted by a US senator while he blocked LGBTQ+ legislature. She is rallying hate groups towards her goals, hearing only yes and never no. At some social altitudes we can’t see how our actions are magnified out at others. We may not even care. As Rowling so ironically wrote:
“Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.” — Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Power cloaks us in social dysmorphia. Even with analytics it’s impossible to know and feel our scope of influence.
Like someone who has experienced a major weight fluctuation, we must acknowledge the change and move purposefully. Seeing our power does not corrupt us. Refusing to observe ourselves honestly is how we start throwing our influence around.
Rowling will never be Joanne on Twitter ever again, though her power affords her the luxury of harmful, non-sequitur tweeting. She is a household name.
Staying the Course
Because we are so quick to diminish our own power, it can be difficult to assess who holds the upper hand in a dynamic.
Simply, those with the greatest power can refuse to change when held accountable.
Sitting in power means it’s easy to dismiss anyone voicing legitimate concerns as “angry,” “a hater,” and “complaining.” A double down is a power play and a negation of other people’s lived experiences. Doubling down is also a subtle admission of shame.
Shame researcher Brené Brown examines the fine line between abuse and distribution of power. According to Brown, our motives reveal themselves in the prepositions that follow; “power over” is self-serving whereas “power for” and “power to” are egalitarian. Many of us have battled internet trolls, peddled helpful articles, and mentored up-and-coming artists in our spare time. We make products people love. We do a lot of purposeful good. And yet exposing our less than stellar moments threatens us far more than it should.
Naturally random feedback isn’t always welcome. The internet is full of people that believe everything they ingest is for them. This isn’t realistic.
But sometimes things are personal.
When a personal or professional relationship is at stake, holding someone accountable is a sign of care. This person is taking a huge risk, especially if there’s an imbalance. Seeking accountability can result in exclusion, dismissal, or revenge, which makes this a radically vulnerable act of care.
Accountability is not a scalding bath of shame. It is a reminder that we are human and don’t hold all the answers. We can fuck up, and we can come back from our mistakes. But we have to believe it’s possible.
The second we believe ourselves to be incorruptible is the second we begin our corruption. Even Frodo didn’t make it to Mount Doom without succumbing to the Ring.
How to Shift Power
Some may say, “But Danielle, I am not the most influential person I know.”
This may be true, but everyone holds power in some regard. Power is a relative dynamic, meaning it takes many forms and changes based on how we define ourselves.
Define your power.
Anonymity is power. Visibility is power. Silence is power, as is speaking boldly. Laughter and grace are powerful in the face of violence and harshness. Whatever you possess in excess is a great indicator of where your influence lies. Too much power in one arena comes with setbacks, which is why sharing goes a long way.
Power as we define it is an admission of extra resources, which means someone out there has a thing we lack.
Use what you have wisely. Share and others will share with you.
Adjust your perspective.
Where we fix our vision says a lot about how we see our influence; if we’re constantly looking ahead of us, all we see is the power we don’t have. If we look behind us, we see how far we’ve come and make room for others where we stand.
Cultivate your own accountability.
If holding power means a smooth existence and total agreement, we shall never have enough. I personally ask myself these questions about my online behavior:
Is this complaining or connecting?
How do my friends outside of this industry/circumstance/people group interpret this experience?
Am I okay with random people chiming in?
Could this improve things for myself and others?
Looking back at xyz scenario, would I do anything differently? Why?
Power amplifies the pre-existing energy.
If we’re seeking self improvement, influence becomes a magic mushroom as opposed to a lightning strike. Healing ourselves helps us avoid ego trips and power grabs when we experience the attention we deserve.