By ADRIAN HERNANDEZ
STAFF WRITER
When the internet was created, people were given the right to use the platform freely. Little did they know, the establishment of the internet would have lasting impacts on modern society, such as the creation of new jobs.
In recent years, people increasingly view free public access to the internet as an opportunity to publicize themselves to a broader audience. For example, people can be bloggers, youtubers, streamers or online businessmen and can be very successful in their careers. From media platforms such as YouTube to Twitch, content creators commit many hours to consistently create quality content with new and creative ideas that anyone can admire and enjoy.
Yet, internet personalities are looked down upon by many people in society. In particular, the older generations disregard these internet-based jobs as “real jobs” due to their fear of change uprooted by digital age. However, this should not justify the denunciation of internet personalities. Internet personalities are treated as undeserving people who do not deserve their fame and lifestyle, but these people have earned their success and should be treated as such.
Though social influencers sometimes serve as negative guides, the number of detrimental internet personalities is small compared to amount of good deeds and charitable acts they have done. Many admired personalities organize fundraisers for charities and great causes annually. For instance, there is an annual fundraising event on YouTube called Project for Awesome that encourages online users to post videos promoting charities close to their heart. According to Matthew Patrick, the creator of the popular YouTube channel Game Theory, the YouTube and Twitch communities raised $20,000,000 for charities in 2018. This shows how much online-media jobs can make great and powerful impacts to the world through these platforms. To initiate change, only one person needs to speak up and act; these personalities have served as such leaders and utilized their fame to help many people across the world. Not only do they raise much-needed funds, they also bring people together to support amazing causes that most probably would not pursue in the first place.
Another notorious internet job is blogging, which is also commonly seen in a negative light. To many people, bloggers may be seen as untrustworthy and sensationalist writers who spread falsehoods about others, only consider their own views and exploit people for their own gain. This is ironic considering that blogging is intended to showcase one’s own opinions and viewpoints. In reality, the majority of bloggers are just regular people trying to put themselves out there or improve their writing. Considering that people make their living off of blogs or use blogs to help small business grow, it is especially disheartening when others discredit their hard work.
Furthermore, blogging is a purposeful internet-based profession because bloggers provide people with different perspectives on a multitude of topics, ranging from politics to make-up products. Always getting information and opinions through big media companies and news outlets can narrow your perspective, but with blogs anyone can see different opinions.
There are also people who own online businesses and are attacked by older businesses because of the traditional concept that real businesses need to occupy a physical place. However, the internet has made creating new businesses for aspiring businesspeople more accessible. For example, starting an online business has many benefits such as saving money and increasing a company’s appearance of professionalism. In addition, the internet allows people to work from home, have more freedom and pursue businesses ideas with fewer risks and greater stability. However, being a online business men is also smarter considering that the revenue is growing. According to a Forbes article, there are over 100,00 online retailers in the United States that are generating at least $12,000 per year in revenue and the number is expected to increase in the age of online shopping; the number is bigger world wide. According to hostingfacts.com, the e-commerce industry will make about $3.45 trillion in revenue during 2019.
However, no matter how much people explain how internet personalities and online businesses are going to pave the way for a promising new age, people will still degrade internet-based jobs. Once one person makes an inexcusable mistake or one blogger spread despicable lies, a few people will always make things seem worse than they seem. The only way we can fix the distasteful views is to spread the countless benefits that these jobs have contributed to society, so we can drown out the pessimistic words that are being said about these people. When the internet was established, no one could have imagined all the great deeds it would inspire, but no one would have thought that the great deeds would be slandered by people who were to scared of change.