platforms like Twitch, a young boy declared, “I like to watch people I like. They could be not playing a game. They could be watching grass grow and I’d still watch them.”7 With time this establishes a friendship-like relationship between the content creator and the viewer, even if unidirectional. The trust built is obvious. According to a recent study, a third of young Americans trust health influencers more than their doctors. This is not limited to young people—77 per cent of shoppers say they would trust the recommendations of a person they follow on social media for their purchases.8 But is that trust justified? A report of more than 7000 influencers in the UK showed that up to 24 per cent of influencers were found to have questionable and in some cases, fraudulent growth patterns, and that four-out-of-ten engagements MADDI BAZZOCCO—UNSPLASH “ 36 What was once viewed as aspirational . . . is now seen as meaningless. SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • NOVEMBER 2023 are considered non-authentic. All this activity suggests manipulated likes or gaining followers through automation bots or like-for-like groups. A similar Australian consumer law study identified more than 81 per cent of influencers’ posts as potentially misleading endorsements or testimonials, observing a rise in the endorsement of highly addictive products such as betting, nicotine products and alcohol.9 The relationship with the fans can be hard for the content creator as well. Victoria Paris, a TikTok influencer with more than two million followers, shared in an interview for Women’s Health Magazine, “I would hear somebody scream my name multiple times at the top of their lungs and then they’d run across traffic and physically grab me. . . . Now, I hear somebody say my name and I flinch.” Fellow veteran social media influencer Grace Atwood continued, “We can’t take breaks or our numbers drop. . . . If I stop posting for the day, I notice a 30 per cent decline in Instagram story views.”10 To influence has become a dirty word. What was once viewed as aspirational—to be influential—is now seen as meaningless or intrinsically linked with the 16.4 billion-dollars influencers’ industry. Pope Francis even declared recently about the Mary we read in the Bible: “The young woman of Nazareth didn’t appear in the social networks of the time, she wasn’t an influencer, but without wanting it or seeking it, she became the woman that had the biggest influence in history.”11 Think of the people who have most influenced you off the screens. Now imagine them sharing the same exact messages towards you using manufactured charisma in a well-packaged video designed to attract attention. Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). In the Jewish tradition, a student to a rabbi embarked on a personal system of education that would teach the disciple both the rabbi’s interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures as well as his way of living. To follow the rabbi meant to listen, watch and emulate his example.12 In a world starved of authenticity and credibility, it is inevitable we will find some of our role models online, but in our journey to be inspired we can always ask ourselves, does the account only try to grow the number of their followers or are they trying to develop them? Leonardo da Vinci once said, “Poor is the pupil who does not surpass their master.” Working closely with multiple apprentices in his workshop, his paintings are famous for combining brush strokes from both him and his apprentices. Honing their technique while working as a team, da Vinci didn’t just want to have followers—he focused on developing them into future masters.13 Flavius E M Iosif is an orthopaedic nurse based in Tweed Heads, NSW. Originally from Romania, he decided to move to Australia with the hope of having a pet kangaroo. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. , 10. 11. 12. 13. Walter Isaacson, Leonardo Da Vinci. New York, Simon & Schuster, 2017 NOVEMBER 2023 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU 37