https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NRXx6U8ABQ
Why Are We Letting Randomers and Ring Lights Shape Our Reality?
For most of human history, expertise had a fairly obvious entry requirement; if somebody wanted to offer medical advice, they generally got qualifications from medical school. If they wanted to discuss finance, they would usually have spent years learning how financial systems actually worked. If they were offering legal advice, engineering guidance, nutritional recommendations or psychological insights, there was a reasonable expectation that they possessed some knowledge beyond simply owning a smartphone and a strong opinion. Then social media arrived and quietly tore up the rulebook…
Today, a significant proportion of public discourse is shaped not by recognised experts but by people whose primary qualification is their ability to attract attention. They stand in front of ring lights, position themselves carefully within the frame, perfect the art of speaking with absolute certainty and deliver information to audiences that often number in the hundreds of thousands or even millions. Whether that information happens to be accurate can sometimes feel like a secondary consideration.
What makes this phenomenon particularly fascinating is that it has happened so quickly that many people barely seem to notice it. We have become accustomed to receiving advice from strangers. We scroll through videos while eating breakfast, waiting for trains, sitting in meetings and lying in bed at night. Over time, familiarity creates trust; faces become recognisable, voices become comforting. Before long, viewers begin to feel as though they know the individual on the screen, despite never having met them, let alone checked their ID. This sense of familiarity can be remarkably powerful because it encourages people to lower their guard and accept information without applying the level of scrutiny they might use elsewhere. After all, if somebody appears in your social media feed every day for two years, begins every video with a cheerful greeting and occasionally shares details about their personal life, it is easy to forget that they remain a stranger. A stranger with a camera is still a stranger – stranger danger !
Unfortunately, social media has created an environment in which confidence frequently outranks competence. Algorithms are not designed to reward expertise, because they have been designed to reward engagement. A measured, evidence-based explanation containing nuance, caveats and acknowledgements of uncertainty is often less attractive than somebody confidently declaring that they have discovered a hidden truth that experts supposedly do not want you to know. The result is a digital landscape filled with characters who would have struggled to gain credibility outside of their bathrooms, but who now command audiences larger than many traditional media organisations.
The fitness influencer who recommends supplements while possessing no recognised qualifications in nutrition. The cryptocurrency evangelist who predicts economic collapse every six weeks before unveiling a revolutionary investment opportunity. The relationship coach whose romantic history resembles a motorway pile-up. The entrepreneur whose main business achievement is selling courses about becoming an entrepreneur. The wellness guru who claims ancient secrets can cure modern ailments. The productivity expert who appears to spend every waking hour making videos about productivity rather than actually being productive. The list goes on…
There are beauty influencers offering dermatological advice despite having no training in skin health and use heavy filters before posting. Parenting influencers dispensing child development guidance based entirely upon personal experience. Property influencers explaining housing economics using simplified theories that would leave professional economists reaching for the remote. Lifestyle creators promoting detox products despite the fact that the human body already possesses organs specifically designed to remove toxins. Financial influencers recommending complex investment strategies to audiences who may struggle to understand the associated risks. Travel influencers portraying luxury lifestyles that are often funded by sponsorship deals rather than the methods they are supposedly teaching. Want to lose that muffin top? It’s all about fasciae don’t you know, or if that doesn’t work, use TaiChi walking…
Meanwhile, viewers absorb all of this information at astonishing speed open your app to a lecture on nutrition, scroll down and you will someone chopping onions, or condensing the works of Shakespear into bitesize videos. Five seconds later somebody is explaining international politics before recommending a protein powder and a cryptocurrency exchange. At no point does anybody stop the conveyor belt and ask whether the speaker has the slightest expertise in any of these areas.
Part of the problem lies with our tendency to associate popularity with credibility. Human beings are social creatures; we often assume that if large numbers of people believe something, there must be a reason. Social media exploits this instinct with cut throat precision; follower counts become proxies for authority. Millions of followers create the impression that somebody must know what they are talking about. In reality, follower numbers merely demonstrate that somebody has accumulated followers and not because of their intelligence, expertise, honesty or accuracy.
Verification badges have suffered a similar fate. To many users, the presence of a blue tick creates an impression of legitimacy, however verification does not transform opinion into fact. It does neither grants expertise nor does it certify knowledge. A verified account simply confirms that the account belongs to a particular individual or meets platform requirements. It does not magically confer wisdom upon the owner.
If anything, the modern creator economy has exposed how easily appearances can influence judgement. If somebody “informs” while standing in a cluttered kitchen wearing yesterday’s dressing gown, audiences may be sceptical. Place that same person in a stylish studio with carefully adjusted lighting and suddenly their nonsense appears strangely compelling – a polished background, professional lighting and confident delivery can make even the most questionable claim sound persuasive.
The commercial incentives behind this ecosystem make matters even more complicated because the polished marbles are financially rewarded for pulling in the punters and their income may be further increased by sponsorship agreements, affiliate commissions, advertising revenue, subscriptions or product sales. None of those income streams necessarily reward accuracy, they only require attention. The creator who persuades ten thousand people to buy a product earns money whether the product works or not. The monetiser who generates outrage may earn more than the expert who provides balance because platforms are not designed to elevate truth, but to maximise engagement.
There was once a clear separation between celebrities and professionals. Nobody expected a television presenter to perform surgery or a pop star to advise on pension planning. Yet social media has blurred these boundaries to the point where some people appear willing to accept guidance on almost any subject from almost anyone, provided they have sufficient followers and a pleasing camera setup.
Perhaps the strangest aspect of all is that genuine expertise has never been more accessible: universities publish research online, professional organisations provide guidance, qualified specialists share information freely across countless platforms. Yet many people bypass these resources in favour of a video entitled “Everything Doctors Have Been Hiding From You” presented by somebody whose greatest achievement appears to be the ability to dance whilst telling you about how rubbing your nose with both index fingers will stop you getting wrinkles…
The next time a social media personality confidently explains medicine, finance, psychology, politics, nutrition, business strategy and the future of civilisation within a three-minute video, it may be worth asking a few simple questions.
1.What qualifications do they possess?
2. What published peer reviewed evidence supports their claims?
3. Are they informing you or selling to you?
Those questions are neither cynical nor unfair. They are simply sensible.
A ring light can illuminate a face, but cannot illuminate expertise; a verified account can confirm identity (assumning it has not been stolen…), but that cannot confirm competence. A million followers can amplify a message, but cannot make that message true. In an age where almost anyone can become a monetiser, the responsibility for critical thinking rests increasingly with the audience. The technology may be new, but the principle remains timeless. Before accepting advice that could influence your health, finances, relationships or worldview, it is worth remembering that popularity and expertise are not the same thing. They never were, but some of us have simply become blinded by the light…
