The world witnessed the first ever Meta Influencer in January 2022, triggering the eternal paranoia of humans against machines taking over our livelihood.

People of all ages believe they are special enough to face the apocalypse in some way. People used to believe that if religion and scriptures were the best form of entertainment, human civilization would collapse due to natural disasters to atone for their sins. With the introduction of personal computers in the early 1980s, ‘computer phobia’ arose, in which the aggression was focused on computers, thereby eradicating all forms of human labor.

Soon followed the era of the early internet, when the new pace of the world became digestible to the average person. However, when these xenophobic species were exposed to concepts such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, they grasped only hazily and were completely terrified. We cannot draw a complete picture by connecting the dots; instead, we fill the space with threatening possibilities of the next apocalypse.

So, Do Humans Have A Chance This Time Against the Intelligent Machine?

The world witnessed the first Meta Influencer in January 2022. You can’t read the story of 21-year-old influencer Kyra, who was conceived six months before her social media debut, without giggling.

Kyra, a model and lifestyle influencer, struts through social media in trendy outfits and human-like captions, informing her followers about her next flight or adventure and flaunting and inspiring through her yoga moves.

According to one of her captions, “Hello, my name is Kyra. I’m from the metaverse, but I’m now in your world. Just like any of you.”

Sure, it’s entertaining to watch a human-like persona speak her mind and share her life, but don’t think of her as anything more than a human-like persona with no life behind the photos you see.

This pure fascination will never change to connection. You will never believe her to be anything real, which is why the fear of more people like Kyra taking over the jobs of influencers is unfounded.

The Influencer Economy Is Sustained By Two Factors

People relate to them, and brands capitalize on this relatability by using them as a conduit for their products and services.

Gaurav Taneja, India’s most popular vlogger, famously endorses his favorite protein brand, ‘My Protein.’ His brand endorsements are a natural extension of his personal brand. An international company, such as ‘My Protein,’ collaborated with him because they knew his audience identified with his commitment to fitness and had seen him consume the product through his vlogs. This collaboration is the result of the audience’s trust in Taneja as an accomplished bodybuilder.

When Selena Gomez tells her fans that she is traveling the world and that a specific shampoo is making her life and hair stress-free, or when Kim Kardashian tells her fans that a clothing brand makes her feel confident, it is only convincing because Selena Gomez has hair. Kim Kardashian is a human being with an emotional mind. The concept of a “influencer” is inherently human.

When you watch Kyra perform her yoga stunts, you can’t help but notice that there is no practice, no falling, no learning, and no human experience behind what she can do, and it’s instantly unreal.

When we reach a point in our virtual existence where we regularly buy and sell properties and products for our ‘avatars’ in a forsaken virtual world like the Metaverse, we no longer have a need for the Metaverse creators.

This is not to say that this leap in futuristic creativity is without value. It’s enthralling, exciting, and entertaining. However, it is not influencing, human, real, or threatening to the true social media influencers. Perhaps in the future, we will have a real place in our hearts, shelves, and lives for the metaverse influencers selling us digital products, but we cross bridges as we come across them.