Photo credits: kimoji

The rise and power of social media has shaped this generation, from the way we document our lives to the way we communicate, with its power even transcending to how one becomes famous. Gone are the days where people were celebrated members of society for their contributions to film, say, or sport. Instead today we glorify those who have utilised social media to become famous for the sake of it, thus creating the ‘self-made celeb’. An example not to be ignored is, of course, Kim Kardashian – a name known across the globe. Similarly, YouTube stars like Zoella have replaced actors and sportsmen as our household names. But why.

Since catapulting to fame on American reality TV show ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’, Kim Kardashian has become the epitome of the social media era and the embodiment of the ‘self-made celebrity’. Through her expert utilisation of various social media platforms, she has launched herself to an incomprehensible level of fame, totalling over 85 million Instagram followers. She is an example of enhancing existing fame to an astronomical level, enabled by her ability to stay one step ahead of the curve and being the first celebrity, at least that I know of, to jump on the metaphorical ‘emoji bandwagon’. She almost claims the phenomenon as her own, through the creation of the ‘Kimoji’, adopting words such as: ‘slay’ and ‘lit’, as well as initialisms like ‘bae’ as if she coined them herself. Admittedly emojis have been around longer than Kim Kardashian and are used far more widely than she is liked. By blending her own name with the noun to create an eponym that embodies modern communication, she has highlighted the transition society has made in terms of language. Similarly, highlighting the shift in how we engage with entertainment, YouTube stars like Zoella embody a modern era of celebrity, never previously imagined.

Therefore, social media platform not to be overlooked is undoubtedly YouTube. The world would have never guessed the immense popularity of ‘bedroom stars’ talking to their cameras about what make-up they were wearing or what video games they play. Nevertheless, YouTube has fast become one of the most influential platforms of entertainment, with the queen of the movement leading the way: Zoella. With over 11 million subscribers and 9 million Instagram followers, Zoe Sugg seems to have nailed the YouTube thing – again we ask the question ‘how’? Zoella appeals to the masses as the girl next door, but does that necessarily equate to the level of fame she has acquired? The rise of YouTube has inevitably aided ‘vloggers’ like Zoella to achieve an otherwise unimaginable level of fame. Whether it’s a good thing, well – that’s your choice.