The rise of the influencers

“If you know so much, why don’t you make a movie yourself?” a filmmaker I’d criticised wrote on my cinema blog www.BarkAndBite.net.
“The movie doesn’t suck – you suck!” said another wounded director.
There are many more comments like this echoing the belief that critics are irresponsible. I took the time to ask myself whether it’s true.
People often regard published critics as gods, or at least as writers with the special right to comment on public events. They also assume it’s an easy job – write anything you want, positive or negative, and get paid to do it. And people also assume that many critics are paid to be positive by the movie studios.
I maintain that being a critic isn’t that easy, purely because we do have a big responsibility. We influence public opinion, improve understanding and alter tastes and perspectives. We can affect the artists, positively or negatively, as well as their followers.
None of this can be overlooked in deference to mere freedom of speech, or freedom of opinion.
Great responsibility demands high standards. We have to think through our opinions and make sure we can back up our written words. If our feedback is negative, we need to explain the reasons.
My Twitter app notifies me that one of my opinions has been mentioned somewhere online. I pause to check the link. Tens of millions of people now own their own media – on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and their blogs.
They’re spreading their thoughts, opinions and creativity as part of the bright new technological revolution, and many of them have a lot of fans, followers and subscribers, so they too are having an impacts on trends and ideas.
These people are now being commonly called “influencers” in English, though it’s not a proper English word. In Thai the term used is itthiphon, which might sometimes connote a bully.
The social media offer everyone the freedom to influence other people – but how many are responsible with their power? Are they ready for such power? We’re seeing more and more “drama” these days – inappropriate tweets, blog posts and also comments on Web boards.
The social media have been recognised as potent new social tools, but too often people use them irresponsibly, usually for lack of ethical education. They use their new power as a weapon to bully other people.
The rise of the social-media influencers shows be that society’s future is not bright. If we can’t fix this now, we’re heading down a dangerous path.