Has influencer culture turned social media into softcore advertising?

From Instagram to basically every social media platform, there is sex selling somewhere.

Sometimes it's obvious, sometimes it's softcore, sometimes it's just twisted into a different form.

Guys posting their bodies, making gym content, thirst traps, comments, subscriptions etc.

Girls in extremely revealing clothes, posing in certain ways, getting likes, comments, followers and subscribers.

And before someone creates an ideology about what I'm saying, I don't have a problem with people posting their bodies.

If a guy wants to show his physique, go ahead.

If a woman wants to wear a short dress or skirt and post herself, go ahead.

That's not really my point.

My problem is how everything is being packaged and presented now.

A lot of content seems deliberately designed to get sexual attention because sexual attention gets engagement.

And once engagement becomes the goal, everything starts becoming more exaggerated.

More revealing.

More provocative.

More extreme.

And then the algorithm sees the engagement and basically says: this is what people want.

So more of it gets pushed.

You can still be informative without being vulgar.

You can be entertaining without exposing everything.

You can make fitness content without turning your entire body into the product.

You can talk about relationships, confidence, fashion, health or lifestyle without making everything sexual.

But somehow if you say this, people immediately start putting labels on you.

"You're misogynistic."

"You're insecure."

"You're a feminist."

"You're controlling."

"You're just jealous."

Maybe sometimes those criticisms are justified. But sometimes someone is simply criticizing the direction of online culture.

And this isn't only about Gen Z or young people.

I've seen plenty of mature adults doing absolutely ridiculous things online just for attention.

Influencing itself isn't the problem.

The incentive structure is.

The basic funda is simple:

jo dikhta hai woh bikta hai.

And now the algorithm decides what gets seen.

If provocative content gets more clicks, likes, comments and subscriptions, that's what gets rewarded.

So my question is:

Have influencers actually lowered the quality of social media, or are we just seeing what people have always wanted because the algorithm finally gives them unlimited visibility?

If you disagree, I'm genuinely interested in hearing why.

Let's discuss.

评论

smokedsugar•about 2 hours ago•3

"Sex sells" has been around for a very long time. Is this supposed to be ragebait or something?

dipsbeneathlazers•about 2 hours ago•3

you new to social media?

AutoModerator•about 3 hours ago•1

If this post doesn't follow the rules, please report it to the mods.

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Pinkkits•about 2 hours ago•1

Just dc of influencers much. Make ur own decisions. Dont follow those nonsense

moonhippie•about 2 hours ago•1

It's ALWAYS been packaged this way. I learned about this in high school almost 50 years ago, and it was around before then.

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