We are all becoming a product of our consumption. Opening apps like Instagram, Facebook or Twitter all have a motive. Primarily, what drives their business is to keep you attached to your device. If you are someone who uses their device to get inspired to learn something new, gym routine, recipes for healthy eating, or even how to train your dog. There is a video for everything, but many people are on these platforms because they are bored. Those who are bored seem to use their time on these platforms to see women twerking to new songs, search for juicy gossip from the people they know or once knew, or simply looking for someone to meet and possibly have relations with.
The truth is, a beautiful woman has the power to grasp people’s attention online, @chakabars is an Instagram user who has used the algorithm to his advantage to share information about what is going on in different parts of Africa. To the average person who is using Instagram for their personal entertainment this page may seem there is an element of exactly what drives the blood down south for most young boys. Women, pornography, and provocative content that can bring this page directly to the explore page. The explore page is where everyone feels their sense of relevance. Chaka not only uses content that one would deem as inappropriate, but he does it for people to read things that are happening in parts of Africa, content that goes by ignored and unreported. He raises awareness through his posts.
With so many influencers in the world, with the amount of power they have, you would think these people would be using their influence to raise the awareness that is constantly lacking with the information we are given. There are so many things that are happening in parts of the world that are being ignored because the agenda of these social media platforms are dumbing down our abilities to really ask questions, get involved in actual issues that are occurring. I am part of the problem. I know this because I own an iPhone. One of the greatest things about Chaka are his words, he writes poetry explaining how capitalism is killing the United States, that same capitalism that perpetrates the same hate around the world.
I share with you the following post:
Before getting so caught up into what you are looking at, take the time to understand why he is using the image above. Social media users are more likely to click on a post that is portraying sexual content because society has become so deviant on the use of our devices and pornography. Chaka goes to extreme measures to get his point across, but he does so just to trick the algorithm of social media, since this is a picture that will get clicked on for the content, he goes on to provide some important information we are constantly avoiding. The use of sex is an aspect of the algorithm that is so high precisely because it keeps the users of social media engaged. If you look past the picture, you are looking at and focus on the words you will find this is a simple individual who is thirsty for justice of his people and land. Why is it fair for them to suffer for the greed within a country who is constantly going through inflation, gun violence, and the highest death rate of black people in the world. The picture below is an example of exactly what Chaka touches base on with his content:
Social media has many purposes, I am guilty of the purpose Chaka emphasizes on, for I share pictures of my life on this app that is giving us a feeling of currency, more specifically social currency. We believe that our lives look so much better if we share it online for people to wonder “how do they look so happy?” or my personal favorite “you look so young”. The gratification we gain from posting on social media is becoming our movie filmed by us and shared for the world to comment on, share, and stalk the way we make it appear to be happy. This can be extremely dangerous to the users who live their lives vicariously through you. We are confusing the idea of perception and living happy for yourself, instead of living by these norms in place by social media. It all depends what exactly you are focused on.
We tend to see so many young kids doing ridiculous dance challenges online and enjoying their portrayal of themselves on a first-person view for the world, but how many of those same kids have done something to harm themselves or others just to become famous? They do become famous, doing things that will give them the views and likes they are searching for. The literary style Chaka uses in his work can be closely related to the domains of life. There is evidence in his writing that he is targeting everyone that pretends to know what exactly is going on in the world, his target audience are those of which go on social media because they are bored and like scrolling on the explore page. The goal is essentially to raise awareness on reality, when you are glued to your devices it becomes difficult for anyone to see what is occurring around them.
You can dislike the man for his way of capturing the attention of people, his ability to understand the algorithm makes his point of view extremely valid, for the algorithm is effectively putting his post in front of everyone else. Simply because he shares models doing provocative content online, this is not to say the message he is setting his followers up for is not being lost in translation. If you use the fundamentals of reading you will encounter there is something deeper occurring in his ability to capture your attention. Using social media can either be a distraction or a tool, it all depends on what you use the platforms for. Chaka has discovered a way to grasp your attention even if you are not entirely involved in his content.
Social issues exist all over social media, the problem we are encountering is turning a blind eye on issues that are currently occurring around us. The issue that Chaka is shedding light on with his post is our focus seems to be nonexistent. We care too much about the social trends occurring online, we fail to draw our attention towards issues that matter and require a conversation. Sex is a powerful tool, when used correctly you can draw even the strongest individual to click on a woman half naked. Algorithms exist on these social platforms exactly for the reason we seem to continue to overlook. They take our focus away from issues that require more attention than it is currently receiving.
