Reader’s Opinion | In social media, criticism is directed at the wrong parties

Opinion|Reader’s opinion

Supplier Suna Vuori started writing at the Savonlinna Opera Festival (HS Culture 24.7.). The important topic of the story – the state of cultural criticism – was unfortunately left at the feet of the fact that intelligent journalists and superficial influencers were pitted against each other.

The setting has become familiar to me during the 15 years that I have worked in both traditional and social media. There is a lot to criticize on Some, but year after year the sharpest barbs are aimed at the wrong parties in my opinion.

Some undeniably has serious effects: it threatens mental health, the ability to concentrate, even democracy. However, the culprits for this are not the influencers who squeal, but the big companies that design addictive technology on purpose, as well as the algorithms that favor lies and hate speech. According to a study by MIT University, fake news spreads six times faster than genuine news on Twitter, and YouTube’s algorithm directs people to extreme right-wing content.

There were wild claims about influencers and social media marketing in the story. Not all influencers’ content is commercial, and Finnish influencers are exceptionally transparent in their connections. Something about conscientiousness is said by the fact that many even mention that they received a review copy of the book or admission to the event – which I have never seen any cultural journalist do.

As far as I know, one of the influencers who participated in the event mentioned in the story had commercial cooperation with the opera festival. The rest of us were there as media representatives and had paid for our travel and accommodation.

Vuori hopes for a platform where experts could share cultural content that interests them. Social channels, blogs, newsletters and podcasts are just such platforms. In the story, it was implied that every cultural experience shared on social media would be a paid advertisement or at least a sparkling club event, but few cultural operators even have a budget for advertising.

There is reason to be concerned about the silencing of the cultural debate in the media. Perhaps the culprits for that too are not influencers sighing in their infatuation, but the spirit of the late capitalist age, which sees value only in things that can be measured in numbers: euros, pairs of eyes, clicks. Art is rarely the most effective way to collect any of these.

Eve Kolu

freelance writer, author and social media influencer

Helsinki

The reader’s opinions are speeches written by HS readers, selected and edited by the HS editorial staff. You can leave an opinion piece or familiarize yourself with the principles of writing at the address www.hs.fi/kiryotamielipidekeisuis/.