Obtaining fame through social media is a frequent phenomenon in the current age, with numerous individuals becoming recognized due to the Internet. As the access to online social platforms continues to expand, various people gain an opportunity to become famous by posting different content. The present paper focuses on the example of Misha Osipov, a young kid who gained online public attention through YouTube, explaining how online democratization contributed to his fame and discussing online privacy and reputation.
Misha Osipov is a boy who gained international recognition after a recording of his chess game with a worldwide chess champion, Mikhail Karpov, was released on YouTube. The video of Misha expecting to play with Karpov was posted on February 4th, 2021, and rapidly gained almost 20 million views on YouTube. After the video’s success, Misha became recognized in the world of chess, securing a high professional rank. Despite his Internet success, Misha continues to focus on his future in chess only.
It is essential to acknowledge that the social media fame obtained by Misha is largely dependent on the existence of the virtual world and the growth of online democratization. Although the video was initially aired in 2016, it was only noticed by the YouTube community in 2021. As online platforms are becoming increasingly popular due to Internet access, Misha’s play might not have been noted if social media did not exist. With numerous people able to view this clip, Misha was soon recognized by both chess and social media communities, suggesting that this event positively influenced Misha’s life. I wouldn’t like to be made famous through a public network, as it implies a tremendous amount of both attention and negativity from large numbers of people.
From my perspective, while online privacy should be given considerable attention, online reputation appears to be highly overrated. Online privacy is essential for protecting personal data and preventing leakages that could tremendously disrupt a person’s ordinary life. Online reputation, on the other hand, is a reflection of a person’s private life, and it is not only overemphasized by employers but can also be used against the person in question.
While managing online reputation is necessary for the current Internet environment, I strongly disagree with the idea of potential employers utilizing information from social media to gain information about future employees. As social media is utilized for communication and connection with other people, it is a part of everyone’s personal life and should not be used for assessing professional qualities. Nonetheless, considering the current hiring trends, it is essential to maintain a positive online reputation to avoid employment issues.
It is beneficial to protect personal information posted online to manage one’s online reputation.For insurance, one should ensure that personal photos and videos can only be accessed by friends or family, reducing the possibility of data leakage. Another effective strategy is to utilize software that identifies security gaps and notifies the user if the information posted on particular web resources is unprotected or could be leaked.
Given the discussed ideas, the position presented in the infographic is highly beneficial for ensuring that one’s employment potential and personal information are protected. Nonetheless, following this perspective limits the actions that could be performed on social media, decreasing one’s involvement in the virtual world. Thierer’s stance, on the other hand, is advantageous for preventing societal tensions and the spread of false information. Nevertheless, a tremendous limitation is that the public’s trust in digital information will diminish, meaning that humanity will lose an efficient method of information sharing.
To conclude, it is evident that online popularity and reputation are valuable concepts in the contemporary age. The content posted on social media, from textual to visual information, can tremendously impact one’s life, advancing successor leading to negative consequences. However, such a rise to fame hinges on the idea of online democratization, a concept that explains how the Internet’s accessibility continues to grow, promoting the emergence of new trends.
References
Martin, K. (2016). Understanding privacy online: Development of a social contract approach to privacy. Journal of Business Ethics, 137(3), 551–569. Web.
Medium. (2021). Misha Osipov | A Real Prodigy? Why is He Called So? Web.
Shahrokhian, D. (n.d.). Why do I hear boss music? (original) [YouTube]. Web.
Wilson, A., & De Paoli, S. (2019). On the ethical and political agency of online reputation systems. First Monday, 24(2). Web.