By Nurul Izzyana Rahmat

In a world where the use of social media is inevitable, people are ‘forced’ to adopt the digital norms, both in their personal and professional lives.

While this is totally acceptable among adults, concerns have been raised as to whether our teenagers are ‘ready’ and equipped with the necessary guidance in using the digital platforms.

Now, the act of blindly following social media influencers is not a distant notion. The question of ‘What is your ambition?’ is rarely answered with the typical professions like teachers, engineers or doctors, but YouTubers, Tiktokers or influencers.

To be ‘rich’ at such a young age, have millions of followers, invited to trendy podcasts platforms sharing their unsolicited personal opinions on heated issues, and regarded as the so-called role model; these are the dreams they can’t afford to lose.

Popularity is a priority. The number of views is superiority. Is this wrong? The answer depends on the types of influencers they follow and aspire to become.

In this context, China has recently tightened their laws concerning the influencer industry whereby influencers who wish to engage in professional subjects or discussions online are required to possess necessary credentials and qualifications in the fields.

Reportedly, this is meant to ‘protect’ the online audience to misleading and fallacious ‘advice’ as obviously, not all influencers are ‘good’ and ‘educated’.

The reality is that there is an influx of contents of varying natures, which could be inappropriate for young adults as they are indirectly instilling negative beliefs in them.

There are at least three worrying ‘doctrines’ promoted by some irresponsible social media influencers that might harm our future generations:

1. Success is measured by the number of likes, viewers and material possessions

It is undeniably inspiring to witness how young individuals like Khairulaming, Muhammad Sofian Abdullah (Sofyank) and Dr Malar Santhi utilise their social media platforms for showcasing their talents, knowledge and professional expertise.

These are among the epitomes of dedication to learning in achieving personal milestones. Unfortunately, some influencers tend to propagate the opposite instead, as they try to ‘prove’ that failing in all subjects in an important exam such as Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) is totally fine as one could still be ‘successful’ by having millions of followers online, even with absurd contents they produce.

Some would even argue that academic qualifications are unnecessary because they managed to acquire branded goods and luxury cars despite ‘willingly’ performing poorly in school.

This shows that the definition of success has become too simplistic, as it reduces a meaningful and multifaceted concept to mere material possessions.

We need to correct this belief, as preached by Khairulaming, the winner of Tiktok Award Malaysia’s Creator of the Year 2023, that young people should pursue their studies as the main challenge of becoming a content creator is not only about gaining online attention, but to remain relevant in the content creating industry with etiquette, critical thinking, knowledge and professionalism.

Hence, scholastic excellence plays a pivotal role in driving national development.

2. Self-worth is determined by physical beauty

Next, the heavy use of social media has constantly exposed young people to idealised images, through which they lose their self-confidence and self-esteem.

The goal, in this case, is always to be physically beautiful like others instead of to genuinely be themselves.

This is further worsened by the presence of overclaimed beauty products and brands, which typically pay some influencers to be the ambassadors of their items for the sake of escalating online engagement and maximising profits.

As a result, commoners who can’t really afford the products would build the wall of anxiety as they think that they are ‘not good enough’.

This stems from the unhealthy comparison they have made as they are pressured to conform. The reality is that many influencers spend a fortune to achieve their ideal looks, and some even undergo cosmetic surgery.

When beauty standards are set too high through unnatural means, people become willing to lose their true selves.

This mindset must change. Our younger generation should not confine the notion of self-worth solely to physical appearance, but also value talents, skills, and character.

3. Online engagement is more important than the real issues

Nowadays, it is not surprising to witness an issue being exploited and manipulated for gaining public attention.

When Malaysians were recently shocked by the extreme bullying and child abuse cases like Zara Qairina’s and Adik Bella’s, for instance, some parties irresponsibly spread false rumours and speculations, tainting the current investigation.

Unfortunately, these are quickly absorbed and accepted as the truth by the mass. Cross-checking of facts is no longer a concern as people are too occupied with propagating sensationalised news and crafting their own ‘narratives’ for views.

If this persists, our future generations will be doomed as critical thinking is undermined, distrust is spread and people are misled without guilt by the perpetrators.

Nevertheless, it is possible to bring about change. In Malaysia, there is the Communication and Multimedia Act 1988 (Section 233), for example, where the spread of false information online could be prevented.

Despite doubts about its effectiveness, it serves as a legal framework to educate the public about the significance of responsible online sharing especially through strict enforcement.

To summarise, being social media influencers comes with great responsibilities as they are always in the spotlight. Social media users, especially teenagers, must possess the necessary knowledge and be guided when exposing themselves to online content.

Without precautions, they might be easily influenced by the destructive ideologies such as the shallow notion of success, unrealistic conformity to beauty standards as well as the temptation of circulating speculative news.

For a better Malaysia, together we should strive to promote responsible utilisation of social media and encourage reasoned judgment.

-- BERNAMA

Nurul Izzyana Rahmat is an academic staff member at the Centre for Language Studies, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM).