What’s virality to you? A conversation initiator, an aid to your Spotify playlist, or a lottery win? Right now, every possible social media application is optimised to feed on virality. Virality is a quick boost for start-ups, celebrities, people with attention-grabbing skills and some movies (if you know what I am talking about). More than anything, it has been a source of the popularised occupation of social media influencer. Someone’s credibility is dependent on the viewership – and that’s laughable. We are ready to believe anything; all we need is a blue seal of trust. But while we trust informative people within those 60 seconds, the sudden influx of content makes it harder to hold onto viewers. There’s instability. And everyone hates instability, so we resolve to questionable actions.

I wouldn’t mince my words, and while you may not agree with me, misinformation does nourish virality. Who doesn’t love something entertaining (I do)? Politics, religion, celebrity life and Indo-Pakistan stories. Wait, unsolicited advice (nutritionists in my line of sight) too. We do view it, and then there’s more of it. I know you sense I abhor viral feeds; I don’t mean it’s all negative. 

Virality, if considered positive, makes the system all the more limpid and democratic. Everyone knows (almost) everything, and everyone is heard! What would have been masked isn’t anymore, thanks to a rising number of smartphone owners. Yes, not everything on the feed is factual, but it is an information wildfire. It allows access to hundreds of viewpoints; it makes you question your outlook, which is a great way to filter out the truth!

What’s true and what’s not is what we question every day in our TOK classes and through googling what we hear on these virality-feeding platforms, but what about the actual impact? It kind of sounds far-fetched, but social media has impacted economic growth. As consumers, we get more controlled due to increased exposure, and the virality has a Veblen effect on goods, boosting growth. The consumer base has increased significantly as even people from remote areas have access to this asset, information, and disposable income has increased due to remote social media-related occupations, making people spend more.

So, honestly, when we open social media applications in the middle of morning tea while sipping hot cocoa near the amphitheatre, do we realise the hidden impact of our screen time? I didn’t.

Narayani is a staff reporter.

Edited by Aryaman.

Photo: Generated by ai on http://www.freepik.com, prompt ‘The good and bad aspects of going viral on social media’, 13 Sept 2023.