PEACOCKS OF THE WORLD UNITE

As we all know Peacocks flourish their tail feathers extravagantly to draw the attention of the dowdy Peahen, they seem to do this at the drop of a hat and, to be fair, they look magnificent. This is one of nature’s remarkable ways of drawing attention to creatures. Unfortunately, a growing number of humans have adopted this habit with the intent of getting noticed by mobile phone wielding members of the public and other moment capturing folk 

The modern phenomenon of The Influencer is predicated on drawing attention to oneself, getting ‘likes’ and building a brand. They walk hand in hand with content creators. The Influencer is the latest celebrity genre, following hot on the heels of reality stars. The numerous celebrity TV shows have lineups that have gone from “who is that?’ to “who the f*k is that?” as influencers and content creators abound.

Paul Weller once wrote that “the public gets what the public wants” and the popularity of these social media sirens is pretty large. As many turn away from TV to YouTube and scrolling on their devices those that are slightly more adept with technology are growing in number and creating cash from clicks.

Maybe we should view them as entrepreneurs who have grasped their opportunities with both hands rather than ludicrous popinjays who are dumbing down the world of entertainment for financial gain at the cost of critical thinking and originality.

Could this generation of online onanists be the new philosophers only with messages diluted to appeal to the hard of thinking? Could their influence be a power for good, their content have integrity and an underlying positive message? Who knows?

What is clear is that they are show-offs, and I suppose that in the broader world of showbiz you kind of have to be, but with the growth of this aspect of the online world we may reach a point where everyone is either a content creator, influencer or someone who works within content creation and influencing. The day will come when our collective senses will be assaulted by an Ostentation, a Pride or a Muster of Peacocks at every turn strutting and flourishing while plying their attention seeking trade as the the masses keep on clicking away.