Opus 2024-214: New Terms: Influencer

I keep coming across this moniker, “influencer”.  Whom do they influence?  For what reason does anyone listen to them.  Usually the person pictured is too young to have any wisdom and I see no reason to believe they have any knowledge.  

To be honest, I am a skeptic.  Don’t confuse that with being a cynic.  I am willing to listen for a moment at least.  You never know.  Someone might actually have something to say.  The skeptic in me runs a gestalt test on what they say.  Some people might call it a Baloney Meter.  I ask myself, “Does this fit in with the things I know to be true?”  Usually I don’t need to get beyond the click bait.

I am thinking that this word, “influencer”, may be another example of how the elites are trying to rework the language.  I came across this statement on the topic in a John Ringo novel,

“Abby earned credits as something called an ‘influencer,” which, as far as Cade could tell, meant that she photographed cute or weird things with her phone and talked about them.”, p. 137

By this definition, an influencer does not influence.  They entertain and amuse.

We live among people who want quick, easy answers.  I understand there is a relatively new medication for diabetes.  It is in short supply because it also causes weight loss and all the people who don’t have the discipline to cut down on the calories go for the quick fix.  When people go to the doctor they want a pill, not a lecture.  When they go to church that want an entertaining speech that does not upset their day.  These are the masses.  These are the ones who listen to influencers.  

That would not bother me so much but they have the same one vote I have.

Ringo, John.  Beyond the Ranges.  Riverdale, NY:  Baen, 2024.

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