A History of the Influencer, from Shakespeare to Instagram
By Laurence Scott
Late last year, the Daily Mail identified Ralphie
Waplington as Britain’s “youngest social media
‘influencer’ ”. Ralphie, who is two, has twenty thousand
Instagram followers. For most of his life, he has been
[5] an unknowing model of baby clothes and other infant
paraphernalia. Members of his extended family must
seek approval before posting their own photos of
Ralphie, lest an off-message picture harm his brand.
Ralphie is undeniably cute. But his cuteness only
[10]compounds the sense of unease we feel whenever
we contemplate influencers and their craft. On one
level, “influencer” is an anodyne, commercial label,
describing someone who monetizes an online
following by endorsing products or services – a
[15]celebrity spokesperson for the social-media age.
And yet “influencer” also sounds slightly sinister; the
Influencer could be a Batman villain, alongside the
Joker.
Connectivity is the basis _____ the heightened role
[20] that influence now plays _____ our lives. Digital
technologies soften the borders between people and
create a porousness _____ which influence depends.
In a fairly undisguised etymology, the word “influence”
comes from the Latin for “inflow”, which provides an
[25] image of the way that, every second, our thoughts
now stream _____ one another’s pockets. Admitting to
being influenced, we give up the attractive idea that, as
individuals or societies, we are entirely self-contained.
Influence was worrisome long before it was digital.
[30] The word “influence” appears in a quarter of William
Shakespeare’s plays, in which the condition of being
influenced is rarely happy or dignified. Almost without
exception, Shakespeare gives influence a darkly
astrological cast. Shakespeare’s portrayal of influence
[35] may seem outmoded, but it has an unsettling echo
in the fact that, in many ways, online influence isn’t
directed by human agents. The algorithms that dictate
which videos are recommended by YouTube, or the
hidden engines that prioritize certain social-media
[40] posts over others, are the digital equivalents of
Shakespeare’s remote, “skyey” influences.
Lately, the influencer phenomenon has been mutating
in surprising ways. In December, The Atlantic reported
on people who style their social-media content to make
[45] it seem as though they are sponsored by businesses.
One example is the aspiring life-style influencer
Sydney Pugh, who describes taking a picture of the
coffee she had just bought, then captioning it with a
jaunty declaration of love for Alfred Coffee. Meanwhile,
[50] last year, news reports began to appear about hackers
locking influencers out of their social-media accounts
and charging them ransoms.
In a recent tweet, Pope Francis called the Virgin Mary
“the first ‘influencer,’ ” encouraging others to follow her
[55] #blessed example by spreading the word of God. As
Francis’s characteristically trendy claim reminds us,
influence doesn’t have to be aligned with corporate
interests: there are positive ways to influence people.
Adapted from: https://www.newyorker.com/ culture/annals-of-inquiry/a-history-of-theinfluencer-from-shakespeare-to-instagram
Analyze the ideas in the following extracts:
1. “But his cuteness only compounds the sense of unease we feel whenever we contemplate influencers and their craft.” (lines 09 to 11)
2. “…which provides an image of the way that, every second, our thoughts now stream...” (lines 24 to 26)
3. “Shakespeare’s portrayal of influence may seem outmoded, but it has an unsettling echo in the fact that, in many ways, online influence isn’t directed by human agents.” (lines 34 to 37)
4. “…people who style their social-media content to make it seem as though they are sponsored by businesses.” (lines 44 and 45)
Which row of words relate, respectively, to the ideas expressed by the extracts above?
