“If you are the parent of teenagers, here are three words that may make you shudder: social media camp,” says Rory Carroll of The Guardian. Well, Mr. Carroll, I’m a 24-year-old college student with no children and those three words make me cringe pretty hard. But I’ve always been out of touch with the self-absorbed ways of social media. I have friends and family, both younger and older, who indulge in the instantly gratifying ways of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, what have you. I won’t deny having my own accounts, but my presence is all but stable. I barely put in the time to answer text messages, much less take and send a photo or video to arrive at the same point. Who cares what I’m eating, how my day went or what I’m feeling at one specific moment. Honestly, I don’t even care.
Okay, I'll accept that I'm not in-tune with the youth of today. I just don't care about they lay-person's life. And therein lies the key, lay-person. I'll admit to following my favorite actors, musicians, and Youtubers. Such persons provide me with a reason to care. And that's just what Nichelle Rodriguez’s SocialStar Creator Camp has set out to do: make the internet care about teens (as young as 13) who have hobbies. It's more
than just a camp for teens who desire to be vain and popular. With an ironic
slogan like, “In our social media world, we often forget the importance of
interacting in a live face-to-face setting,” SocialStar Creator Camp promises
attendees a “stronger viral influence.”
Rodriguez claims her camp is “a business incubator [because]
the sole purpose is monetizing and learning the business.” Tuition will run teens $2,690 for a nine-day fiasco of “tours, technical workshops, instruction
from established social media influencers and advice from companies seeking talent
to promote corporate brands,” however, if attendees need a ride from the
airport, desire a camp t-shirt, or perhaps want an extra meal, that’ll cost
extra.
Social media camp seems almost as redundant as socks when
paired with flip flops. I was not aware millennials needed training on how to
use, utilize or extort themselves on social media. I was convinced technology,
and social media, were a second nature for them. That’s not what
December Ensminger (left) told The Guardian, though. Social Media didn’t become a
serious outlet for her until 14. “I was a late bloomer,” said December, now 18, also wishes to “market [herself] and figure out [her] own image.” If you need strangers
to help you define your image, I’d say you’re a long way from figuring out your
“image,” December.
The social media stars I follow found success on social
media because of their personalities, not vice-versa: Pewdiepie, Grav3yardgirl,
Brandon Rogers, Ryan Doka. Maybe it's a little hyprocritcal to assume these YouTube personalities are completely genuine, but hey, they're all adults, right? Monetizing your hobbies for the sake of fame? While not all the teens attending claim to be looking to become a "brand," it seems like a dangerous,
interpersonal game to play: counting on the acceptance of others to
define yourself, then proceeding to sell the same personality. Fame is a
different ballgame, of course.
For a mature, young adult, I don’t see a real problem with this
type of camp. In fact, I think it's a great idea if they're looking to make a living via social media. Children and young teens are of a different nature-being in the midst maturing in more than the physical way. Communication is very important, especially for children. It's concerning that millennials are growing accustomed to the safety social media provides when it comes to communication, and identity. Watch a little of the MTV show Catfish if you don't think so. “As a species we are very highly attuned to reading social cues,” says clinical psychologist Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair. Face-to-face relationships provide us with the proper means to be successful in building and maintaining social skills.
The Child Mind Institute says,
When friendship is conducted online and through texts . . .
it’s easier to keep your guard up when you’re texting, so less is at stake. You
aren’t hearing or seeing the effect that your words are having on the other
person. Because the conversation isn’t happening in real time, each party can
take more time to consider a response. No wonder kids say calling someone on
the phone is “too intense”—it requires more direct communication, and if you
aren’t used to that it may well feel scary.
Learning how to make friends is a major part of growing up,
and friendship requires a certain amount of risk-taking. . . it takes courage
to be honest about your feelings and then hear what the other person has to
say. Learning to effectively cross these bridges is part of what makes
friendship fun and exciting, and also scary.
So, maybe I’m a little skeptical of such a “scheme.” That’s
okay. I’ve grown accustom to not sharing popular-opinion, though I’ll admit to
be intimidated when making phone calls. But, “dozens” have signed up for this
year’s session (July 8-17)! It’ll be held at the University of La Verne in
California, if you’re interested. Catch "A Lesson in Branding" below-where you'll be absolutely confused as to what's going on.
Final thought: with intent to promote social media careers, I'd say SocialStar Creator Camp could put a little more effort into the YouTube channel with two measly uploads and zero subscribers.
Sources:
No comments:
Post a Comment