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How much is fifteen seconds of fame worth?

Growing up, my role models included my mother, Michelle Obama, and Aly Raisman, women I look up to because of their work ethic and amazing achievements. Today, many kids look up to Charli D’Amelio and Addison Rae, two of the app Tik Tok’s most famous stars, young women who in this case are role models simply because of their fame. Whereas I was taught that achieving my goals required hard work, generally academic, and overcoming challenges, today “influencers” on social media preach to young kids that if they make enough “good content,” they will become famous and be successful financially, very successful. I have spent my years in high school participating in sports, volunteering in my community, and conquering a full advanced placement course load so that I can get into my dream college. Today, kids spend their free time repeatedly making Tik Toks in the hope of going viral and getting signed to a talent agency, yet another example of America’s worship of celebrity culture. This phenomenon is not new; America has been dealing with a warped celebrity culture for years. The Kardashians are famous based off a reality show where they exploit and put each other down. Paris Hilton is an international celebrity solely based on her wealth. Donald Trump gained his fame and notoriety through a reality television show,“The Apprentice,” and now as president he has the platform to spew incorrect “facts” that continue to rivet the media. Being young, beautiful, able to push out your image, and on your way to or already rich, are suddenly criteria for social importance.  These social media stars  are famous for being famous, a phenomenon social media apps, such as Instagram and Tik Tok, have amplified. 

Around the world, 800 million people have downloaded the Tik Tok app. Instagram has one billion active users. According to Statista, the average American spends 2 hours and 3 minutes on social media per day. As a Tik Tok and Instagram user myself, I am not saying social media is the root of all evils. Many medical professionals are using social media apps like Tik Tok to put out credible information about the coronavirus during this pandemic. Social media has also provided a great outlet for people to stay in touch during quarantine and to develop their creative talents. However, as I have grown up during the age of technology, I have noticed a significant difference between what made someone impressive when I was in elementary school versus what makes someone noteworthy today. As an elementary schooler, the people on the news were doctors, politicians, and famous athletes. You were considered impressive by the kind of degree you had, or the tier of college you attended. Today, your value is measured based on how many followers and views you have. It is based on how many likes you have accumulated on your platform, or how many viral videos you have produced. 

Tik Tok has created a culture where it is cool to drop out of college to become an influencer. Ten years ago, being an influencer wasn’t a job that existed. Now, kids are putting out content on their social media accounts, begging for followers, so they can prove to their families they can be influencers and circumvent college altogether on a fast track to success. On Tik Tok, I see multiple viral videos of kids asking for viewers to help them hit a certain number of views so they will hit that new benchmark of fame and success. Addison Rae, one of the most successful individuals on the platform with 36.3 million followers, stated in a James Charles video that she “resigned” from LSU to pursue her Tik Tok career. Tik Tok Star Charli D’Amelio has 51.3 million followers, more than the entire population of California. Based off of her popularity, D’Amelio has hinted on her accounts and the Ellen Show that deals for a reality television show and going on tour may be in the works. Going on tour for what exactly? During quarantine due to coronavirus, our social media use has only increased, and each day the message is pushed out to more impressionable kids that they should trade their as yet hazy career goals for instafame, living with a collective of influencers like Tik Toks “Hype House” or “Sway House.” Honestly, I love making Tik Toks because I enjoy dancing and it is fun – I consider it my fifteen seconds of fame, but the idea that our culture is undergoing a shift exacerbated by this quarantine, where we now value influencing over education, is an idea we should reject. Tik Toks and their creators should stay as they started out as fun ways to pass the time with friends and not a replacement for hard work, academic rigor, and a college education.

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Indisputably Essential

According to Miriam Webster’s Dictionary, the definition of essential is “of the utmost importance: basic, indispensable, necessary.” Three months ago, I thought going to the movies was essential. Going to the mall seemed essential. My weekends away from schoolwork were essential. The experience of being quarantined has made me realize it wasn’t the movie release that was so necessary, and it wasn’t the shoes I wanted at the mall that were essential. What was essential was spending time with my friends. It was time with my family on vacation experiencing new adventures together outside of our house. The coronavirus has forced us all to reconsider what is really “essential.” 

While it is for the good of our local community and the world that we stay quarantined to stop this virus from spreading, it is important to consider the effect on our civil liberties. It is now against the law to gather in large groups in public spaces. More than 200 million people across America are under stay-in-place orders. Our lives have been turned upside down to accommodate this new normal. We sit on our couches watching the progression of disease even as new public health ordinances are rolled out, crossing off the list more and more places we can’t go to do what used to be our normal daily activities. As we reflect on these compromises for the good of our neighbors and our friends, we should give careful thought to which of those activities cannot be compromised. And perhaps our local and federal officials can do the same.  Clearly food services should make the cut. Medical facilities should make the cut. But what about gun stores? What about churches? 

 Gun owners argue that they “want to protect their family in case things go the other way” (NPR). While this argument may have some validity during pre-COVID times, the idea that a gun will protect you from an airborne virus is not only illogical, but it is also ignorant and misleading. Since the outbreak, gun and ammunition sales have dramatically increased with panic driven purchases, with advocates using the second amendment as justification. The right to bear arms is not the right to buy arms. 

According to National Public Radio (NPR), the Los Angeles County sheriff has ordered gun shops in the county to close twice now. The decision of whether to leave gun shops open is determined by county, not state, officials, leading to a variety of decisions all over the country. Groups like the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the National Rifle Association are working with the Trump administration to “make sure firearm manufacturers do not experience a disruption during the pandemic” (NPR). While some make the argument that if gun stores close, a pandemic-inspired growing panic to purchase firearms may lead to a backlog in the background checks system and a new population of uneducated, untrained gun owners, this doomsday forecast has not come to be. Drug arrests in Chicago have dropped 42% in the last few weeks since the city shut down. The rate of key crimes in Los Angeles has dropped 30% since March 15. In New York City, one of the hardest hit epicenters of coronavirus, crime has decreased by  double digits. While outside crime has been decreasing, the rate of domestic violence, however, has been skyrocketing (Forbes). Purchasing a gun counters every public health official’s orders to stay at home. While living during a time where each day is a new unknown provokes fear and uncertainty, purchasing a gun will not stop this pandemic and may raise the level of danger in domestic violence exponentially. Guns are not an essential business. And why should our government protect the firearm industry when the rest of the nation is struggling to put food on the table.  The New York Times reports that in the last 3 weeks more than 16 million Americans have been put out of work. Where’s the relief for them?

Amidst debates about firearm stores being essential businesses, new debates have arisen regarding churches, synagogues, and mosques. In Kansas, legislation dictates that people stay at home, except “going to church, buying or selling guns or running a childcare center” (US News). We all understand it’s difficult to have your life interrupted for a virus. We all understand what it’s like to miss activities you used to do. But what has always been essential for some (spiritual life) may be done differently for the greater good. A virtual spiritual community has the potential to offer religious support, education, and community while still saving lives. Both are essential.

Within the last month, our cities, counties, states, and nations have had to debate what we consider essential. We need to urge each other to stay home, to connect virtually, and to go out only for truly essential reasons. We need to urge our elected officials, particularly as the presidential election approaches, to continue to ask these same questions and to make difficult decisions that are nonpartisan and focused on our health and safety.  All of our lives may depend on it.