The behind-the-scenes of Instafame

In a technology based, smart phone addicted 21st century modern society we live in, a new sort of fame has risen, social media stardom.  

Thousands of people worldwide have risen to the top of social media, gaining thousands of followers and likes every day on many different sites. Instagram, Youtube, Twitter, and many more apps and websites that are classified as social media serve as platforms for people to post their art and talent for the world to see.

Some people work and strive to gain followers and likes on social media. They constantly work hard behind their posts and content to gain a larger audience. It can be very hard to gain followers on social media, and people are often not successful.

However fame can come completely by chance.

Lily Adlin, a freshman at Dougherty Valley, has recently gained a large following on Instagram for her makeup videos tutorials. She has over 16,000 followers on Instagram and gets over 1000 likes on her pictures and videos. She never intended to become famous on social media, contrary to what it may seem.

“I made a couple of videos before, and I made this one video that really blew up on Instagram” Lily reveals.

Often times people gain recognition when they least expect it. Her pictures before she was discovered had around 300-400 likes, and now she has over 47,000 views on her latest video tutorial.

There are many perks to having a large follower count on social media.

“I often am sent free products from makeup companies for me to use in my tutorials and pictures” Adlin tells us.

Companies will promote, or sponsor people to use their products or mention the company’s name in a video.

Despite what it may seem, it is not all glory and fame.

Adlin shares some very awkward experiences she encountered because of her makeup account.

“Sometimes girls in the bathroom will randomly compliment me on my makeup or people will randomly recognize me. A couple of people at the mall have noticed me too… and it’s very awkward”

People often forget that behind their mass amounts of followers and likes, they are regular people too.

Adlin hopes to one day open her own makeup line with her name as a brand, similar to what many other makeup artists have done recently. She has high hopes and goals for her future in the beauty community.

Within the last few years, social media has become a great space for companies and people to gain exposure and fame. Talented artists, actors, singers and dancers utilize social media as a tool to gain exposure for their work. Anyone can potentially become famous, and it can often happen at random.

Social media fame is a brand new concept that is completely unique to the 21st century. It is a fresh and new concept that we as a society are still exploring everyday.