Gemma Spake

We have one version of success.

Either you are that, either you are fame, luxury, money, or you're not successful.

That is what society says.

I think this has in part been, and I know has been intensified by social media in two ways.

Firstly, the rise of viral fame that can take somebody from like seemingly ordinary to extraordinary in the span of hours and like

change your life, your status, your bank account balance overnight.

This is the first time in human history that this could be somebody's pipeline, that this could be somebody's life.

And that makes extraordinary or being extraordinary feel so much more accessible.

Genuinely, like fame is

Even like 20 years ago, 30 years ago, fame used to be like a slow burn.

It used to be exclusive and it used to be reserved for people who were really dedicated to a craft or who were perhaps became like sensational stars overnight.

I actually read a study the other day that interviewed like, I don't know, I think like teenagers, like thousands of teenagers who

who are like, and actually even younger children, like 10, 11, 12, 13 year old kids on what their dream job would be.

And the majority of them said like YouTuber, online gamer, or influencer.

This, like the viral fame makes it feel so much more in reach for so many more people to be this extraordinary person.

And that ups the pressure.

The second way I think social media has intensified the need to be extraordinary is that unlike our parents' generation who could probably only really compare themselves to the people that they know or mutual friends or, I don't know, people their age who like made it bigger and who were like in the paper, who were like public figures.

You and I, like we now have the entire online world to compare ourselves to.

We are flooded with opportunities to see how we measure up against our peers, literally everybody, people our own age who appear to be killing it from like all over the world.

Like I don't, you would not have to search very far to find somebody your age from your part of the world who looks like you doing things that are just insanely cool and amazing.