The rise of social media has played a major role in stoking our fires of discontent. Whenever we scroll throughFacebook or Instagram, we are looking at carefully curated windows into people’s lives. Images are often edited and reshot to look as appealing as possible. Smiling happy families in immaculate rooms, celebrations, a new job announcement, a new kitchen, a new relationship.
However wonderful it is to celebrate the good things in our friends’ lives, many of us also follow hundreds –sometimes thousands – of strangers who appear to live lives that are richer, more fun and shinier than our own.These are people who we don’t know personally but who influence what we long to buy, the way we feel and our aspirations. The subtext is that an ‘influencer’ is a betterperson than the ordinary person.
Ubuntu teaches us the opposite of this and says that absolutely everyone on this earth is of equal value because our humanity is what matters the most. Instead of comparing ourselves to others, we should value otherpeople’s contributions to our day-to-day lives. There are some influencers who can have a positive effect on us,though. I no longer use social media and have little access to influencers, but the ones I do have access to – through podcasts – focus on providing their audiences with good content rather than monetizing. They share messages, interviews and advice on a range of topics including mental health, wellness, relationships and careers.
