15 Seconds of Fame
Irania Carrazco
The reality of online stardom
In the last few decades, the internet has transformed how we experience fame, making it both easier to attain and more complex to manage. In the past, fame was reserved for those who succeeded on traditional mediums like television, music, and sports, where the gatekeepers were industry executives. As reality TV and mass media lowered the bar to gain notoriety and created more and more celebrities, it gradually became much easier to gain your ’15 minutes of fame.’ Today, with a smartphone, internet access, and one viral clip, that ’15 minutes’ has become more like ’15 seconds,’ as anyone can suddenly find themselves in the spotlight. This shift has created a new type of fame, driven by social media and the instant shareability of content, where creators—whether YouTubers, influencers, or podcasters—can reach millions in seconds. But this fame comes with its challenges, from the pressures of constant engagement to the burnout many face when trying to stay relevant. As fame becomes more accessible and fleeting, the line between admiration and overexposure blurs, reshaping our culture and redefining what it means to be in the public eye.
I’m sure you–the reader–have noticed this change in online fame, or maybe even experienced it first hand. I’m sure you’ve also seen how effortless it has become to interact with famous folks over the Internet, regardless of whether they are renowned celebrities or run-of-the-mill influencers. Fame on today’s internet varies depending on content and platform, encompassing content creators like YouTubers and Twitch streamers, social influencers on Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly known as Twitter), as well as artists on DeviantArt, bloggers, writers, podcasters, and more. But today’s fame has a distinct flavor from the celebrities of yesteryear. Historically, the owners of mass media companies and industry executives had a massive influence on who became famous: those lucky and talented enough to capture their attention were the ones who gained popularity. From those talents, fan bases of celebrities were built through the love of their craft, growing more over time, attending events, buying official merchandise, writing fan letters, and anything that would support their favorite star. Gaining fame was such an uncommon experience that most people believed having it made you special; it would take a team and connections to create a star for mass appeal and craft a household name. Nowadays, getting famous is accessible to anyone with internet access and a phone.
“How come?” You’re probably wondering. We’ve all shared something at some point; we see something we enjoy online and share it with family and friends, regardless of its context, and they share it with people they know. The engagement of comments, likes, and shares of a post tells the platform that it is content worth staying online for. This is what creates a viral clip, which in turn, creates viral individuals. While some fade into obscurity, others successfully use viral moments to launch real careers or make themselves into celebrities. Our ability to make people famous demystifies fame as the people who gain attention from the social cycle are just like us: human. They are flawed with their aspirations, dreams, families, worries, and trauma. What they decide to share over the World Wide Web with total strangers grabs the audience’s attention because we can relate to similar circumstances.
However, like traditional fame, digital fame has a downside. Those who seek fame online habitually seek validation from total strangers, often relying on engagement more than the opinions of close friends and family. Moreover, gaining those lucrative 15 seconds of attention can motivate people to do ridiculous things, whether embarrassing, offensive, or outrageous to earn a viral moment. When successful, they gain more popularity than those who perform with talent and hard work. Additionally, short-form content makes for a more shallow relationship between the creator & audience while still revealing a peak into the creator’s personal life. Those folks who build their popularity online can be susceptible to focusing on building their fame through follower count or the number of likes on posts, letting the algorithm rule over their lives and creating the illusion that the number of followers equals the number of people who genuinely care about the creator themselves rather than their content. BBC’s article, The Pressures – and Rewards – of Being an Influencer, touches on the burnout influencers face when trying to keep up with content demand and the benefits of admitting said burnout. It mentions how Michelle Phan–renowned for her makeup and beauty YouTube channel–had quit making videos due to burnout. Ms. Phan states, “It became harder and harder for me to pretend to be happy…And [as a result] I had become toxic with my relationships and friendships.”; Phan also mentions the daily stress she felt, constantly running out of ideas and remaking content multiple times a day. Keeping up with online fame can also be physically and mentally demanding. Continuously posting content, keeping up with the trends and competition, and creating content that isn’t meaningful to the creator can be draining. And if posts and profiles aren’t kept up to date, losing connections with followers and brand deals is almost guaranteed. The social cycle made by the common folk has built a taxing head space of continuously farming content to keep up with the demand, leading to a burnout that most–if not all–digital celebrities have faced.
In today’s world, the internet has undoubtedly influenced pop culture and allowed regular people gain digital fame more quickly than traditional methods. Individuals genuinely create and post content they love and share with others; other people simply do it for their fifteen minutes of fame. With numerous apps and technological systems, keeping up with fame can be demanding; success ultimately depends on whether creators wish to continue being genuine.
