Fame Game
Inspired by Siyanda Mohutsiwa's TED Talk on young Africans using Twitter to find their voice. On what we do instead — and what social media could actually be for.
Read the full essay at Songs of the Lotus.
After watching Siyanda Mohutsiwa's TED Talk about how young Africans used Twitter to transcend geography and silence, I had to ask myself: what am I using it for?
The "fame game" is the loop of selfies, filters, and captions engineered not to share but to accumulate. There's no inherent problem with a flattering photo. The question is the intention underneath it. Is this because I like what I'm posting, or because I want to get likes?
Social media's real potential is as a learning tool — for understanding global cultures, supporting communities in crisis, initiating conversations about inequality, the environment, and the political structures we share. Profiles can reflect values or obscure them. Feeds can inspire or discourage. The difference is in what you follow and why.
The goal: a platform that reveals our shared humanity across every difference.