Under the Influence

About this episode

The episode explores the impact of viral fame on individuals and the desire for social media influence among Gen Z.

When Ghyslain Raza – aka the "Star Wars Kid" – became the internet's first viral sensation, it nearly destroyed him. More than twenty years later, many young people today are desperate for that kind of fame – even if it means making their most embarrassing moments available for public consumption. According to one recent poll, more than half of all Gen Zs want to be influencers – online creators who turn their lives into content. To try and understand this phenomenon, Ava tracks down Sophie Fergi, an 18-year old influencer with millions of followers, and journalist Taylor Lorenz, who tracked the rise of content creators like Sophie in her book Extremely Online. Is the influencer boom a sign of narcissism run amok? Or has social media finally democratized fame and given young people a voice? Maybe it's both.

People in this episode

Host: Ava

Guests: Sophie Fergi, Taylor Lorenz

Topics covered

• internet culture
• viral fame
• influencers
• Gen Z
• social media
• content creation

Keywords

• viral sensation
• influencer
• social media
• Gen Z
• content creators
• fame
• narcissism

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Extremely Online

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