Because it is Saturday — and that means Caturday — I checked in to find the usual dose of cat videos in my messages, this morning.
And, as per usual, a fair share of these were on tiktok.
Feline cuteness aside, I was reminded of something completely unrelated: my complete inability to even remotely relate to any of the "suggested accounts" in the left navigation... a group of ostensible "celebrities."
Maybe I'm strange, but I have reached age 60, and I still don't care about "celebrities." Looking back across the years, I never cared about "celebrities." I didn't care about them as a teenager; I didn't care about them in my 20's; I didn't care about them in my 40's and I still don't care about them.
Thinking about that for a bit, I can truthfully say that I have never bought a product because the sales pitch was made by someone allegedly famous. I've bought the product because I had a use for it.
"But surely, you must have had IDOLS or HEROES, when you were young?"
Much as I poke around in my memories, I sincerely can't remember ever emulating or "wanting to be like" anyone of some kind of public fame.
Which isn't to say that I haven't had an interest in or to some degree followed a few sports figures along the way when I was younger and more into soccer, golf and track and field. But I was more interested in their excellence than any attendant celebrity status.
I am not sure what all that say about me (if ANYthing!) but it makes me sit back and ponder the fact that such a large percentage of the world seems to be spoon-fed their ideas and preferences by other people rather than arriving at them through the journey of self discovery.
My parents had their faults and were often what undoubtedly amounts to "horrible parents," but one thing I will forever be grateful to them for is that they insisted that I always think for myself. I think back to being quite young — less than ten years of age — and how I could never "get away with" having anything because "everyone ELSE has one!" at school. I had to justify and understand why I wanted something, independently of what the greater trend might be. I wasn't prohibited from following a trend, mind you... I just had to understand why I wanted something.
As an adult, I have come to recognize that there's an awful lot of... "wasted resources"... I have not ever invested myself in, simply because I couldn't get them to make sense, regardless of how "hot" public opinion might have insisted they be.
There was no "great minds think ALIKE," there was only "great minds think FOR THEMSELVES."
I'm sure it makes me a lousy "consumer!"
And it certainly makes me a lousy consumer of who tiktok thinks I should be following... they should be recommending me other cat video producers, not some talking heads I have barely heard of!
Thanks for reading and have a great remainder of your weekend!
How about YOU? Do you care about — or follow — celebrities? Do their opinions influence yours? Do you think they know what they are talking about, or are they just "paid talking heads?" Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
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Created at 20210925 10:32 PDT
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