Kylie Jenner has almost $1 billion in the bank and over 150 million fans ogling every image of her so-called life, which she posts on social media.
According to a new report released by social media analytics firm, D’Marie Analytics, Jenner’s posts are now worth more than $1 million (£737,800) each. …
This figure makes Jenner the ‘highest-valued influencer currently on social media’. … Across each of her social media profiles … Jenner boasts a total of 154,775,091 followers.
(The Independent, May 4, 2018)
She often poses in narcissistic fashion. But her eyes betray a deep emptiness inside. Indeed, she rarely smiles. Never mind that is probably because she also fears the plaster she wears as foundation might crack, revealing her true face.
Truth be told, lipstick on a zombie comes to mind when I see her perfectly airbrushed images. But it’s not complicated.
She personifies a perverse version of the #MeToo social phenomenon. It manifests in far too many women thinking that, with the right photoshop app, they too can look and be “liked” like a super model.
As it happens, I have written about this phenomenon in many commentaries, including “Facebook/Instagram ‘Like’ an Infectious Disease,” January 24, 2014, “Zuckerberg Designed Facebook ‘Like’ an Opioid,” November 13, 2017, “Confessions of Facebook/FAD Pushers Continue,” December 14, 2017, and “The False Reality of Social Media. Duh,” November 4, 2015, which includes this observation:
[She’s] the poster girl for all that is so wrong with social media. Her fake lips, fake boobs, and fake butt are the signature traits of what passes for beauty these days. But her doe eyes betray how hollow she must feel inside.
I pity Kylie, and her ilk. And, by the way, you are of that ilk if you’ve ever stared adoringly at the image on your smart phone as you snapped selfies to photoshop for social media. Just know that, like her, you are not impressing anyone … in real life.
To be fair, in the image that provoked this commentary, Kylie is probably trying to convey sadness over viral gossip about her live-in BFF sleeping with her big sister’s baby daddy. Got that? (I won’t dignify the other stars of their modern-day freak show by naming them.)
The problem, however, is that a browse of Kylie’s Instagram shows her looking equally empty in nearly every image.
I know some of you will find this commentary mean. But, trust me, it’s complimentary when compared with the comments she invites trolls to hurl at every image she posts. Frankly, there must be more than a little sadomasochism involved in continually publishing pictures of yourself and, effectively, begging people to “Like” each one.
Ironically, there’s also something profoundly unlikable about this norm-busting trend. And I clearly don’t get this zeitgeist of showing off so shamelessly. But even self-obsessed narcissists must know that this practically begs trolls to trigger every insecurity they’ve ever had about their looks. Surely this is the cause of much of the anxiety and depression that is now pandemic among users of social media …
In any case, I actually feel sad for Kylie. But my sadness is suffused with pity for this … “poor little rich girl.”
Related commentaries:
False reality of social media…
Confessions of Facebook pushers…