Clicks Vs Credits. Is Digital Fame Real Fame?

I had the chance to witness the Oscars red carpet for the first time from a fairly close distance, and I'm struck by the phenomenon that is celebrity culture. I wasn't surprised that it existed, but rather I was surprised by how alive and large this culture is. But even more importantly, it made me wonder: does this same phenomenon exist for internet celebrities? Does it translate in the same way? There weren't many internet personalities in sight on this red carpet, btw. And going down the rabbit hole in my brain, my desire to write about it was born.

When I think of fame, I always think of the way sociologist Matthew Deflem defines it: "A social process in which a person acquires public recognition due to notable achievements or media exposure." Let's do a quick breakdown of that definition: "notable achievements." The award season has concluded, and with it we have all heard or read the news that some of these awards have a quota of invited content creators because many of them are getting paid to generate content (mental lol). But does the strategy work? We have read that some of these celebrities do not agree with these creators being invited to the award shows, perhaps because they are annoying, perhaps because they have no business being there, perhaps, perhaps, many perhaps. The reality is that for many of them it is work, for others it is just having a fun time, but what is happening? Why, if they both have "public recognition," are they not perceived in the same way? I have a wild guess and I will say that the keyword here is talent, and let's take Deflem's "Notable Achievements" as well, perhaps (The perhaps) the public does not perceive the fame of a singer in the same way as that of an influencer. It could be because the influencer's fame is perceived as easier to achieve, "everyone goes viral these days," "anyone can be an influencer," but how many can objectively reach the notes of "What was I made for?” (it's rhetorical. mental lol 2)

But then is fame different? Well, as the Gen Z wannabe that I am, I went to Chat GPT to ask what was going on with this fame thing and its "accumulated knowledge" told me that they are different but that they complement each other at some point . What? OK chat GPT, but then to get people to sleep a day early at a venue to see you walk down a red carpet for a mere 20 seconds, which I don't think anyone would do for a content creator and perhaps the only one who has that? power in the internet space would be Mr. Beast, (but I might be wrong) this is a dialogue, to achieve such a phenomenon is it necessary that content creators eventually evolve into other fields that involve what is perceived as talent (singing, acting, dancing, painting ,etc) or is it necessary to turn to charity or philanthropy? Or is it that creators are not bothered and this level of fame does not interest them?

I want to conclude by saying that perhaps the answer lies in the power of the communities of these internet personalities, creators, influencers, streamers. Is your community alive? Can you prove it? Do they listen to you? Personally, I increasingly follow niche creator accounts that are perhaps small but that interact and share things that are relevant to me and I also find people on their platforms who are like-minded on certain topics. I believe that is where the real power lies for them, in nurturing that community, even though many don't see it. And I think of many examples where it seems like maintaining communities is a titanic task, which is why I believe that the trend of "digital fame" culture, if not in the short term, but in the long run, tends to disappear. If you don't innovate in the digital space at the speed it's going, you’ll disappear and perhaps even worse, you’ll be quickly forgotten.

What do you think?