is a common platform based
on contrasting expectations
of culture and societal values.

The perfect combination of
amassed popularity and embellished
storytelling calls for an exciting
opportunity to share, spread,
sell, contaminate, corrupt.

Social media strongly distorts opinions and perceptions.

This project illustrates the paradox of social media.
It studies the commercialized interactions between self-branded
influencers and materialistic audiences to criticize the wild
extents of social media platforms. Based on a literature review,
the project analyzes academic texts on micro-celebrity and
influencers in the health, sports, and luxury industries. The webpage
ultimately aims to recover the true potential of social media by
questioning the intent and focus of media posts.

Social media grows to glorify lifestyles and vilify the rest. Such
extremes perpetuate framing personalities as a norm, creating a model
for life, without a rationale that makes logical sense. The bigger
problem is that these influences reach the growing generations, severely
‘contaminating’ growing minds as they formulate a perception of the world.
Through thorough research and evaluation of certified academic papers,
this website raises awareness of the paradox of social media. It takes
the audience back to reflect on the origin of social media and asks for
users to contribute their own ideas and photos to begin a fresh, healthy
relationship with social media. The project is essentially a safe space
on the WWW.

Created by Lyme Cho for IML 300

The scholars of this field predicate
a ruinous cycle of meaningless transactions
between the consumer and influencer.

While the inner workings of social media
appear complex, the basic ideology behind the
universal depletion of authenticity presents
a paradox of influencer culture critique
and an addiction to their content regardless.

We acknowledge the consequences of social influencer culture,
accepting it as a lifestyle and seeking alternative ways to
benefit from the marketing and consumerism function.

We arrive at an inquiry:
Do the shallow transactions render all communication useless?