The word influencer, adopted from the Anglo-Saxon language, refers to a digital movement capable of teaching, guiding and influencing a large mass of followers. A role that was once performed by disciples and later by highly respected teachers in society. Let’s see the role that today’s digital media influencers (represented by younger people from different countries, mostly) are having compared to teachers of the past, professionals with a vocation and respect situated at the top highest in society for centuries.
The influencer of our day
One of the main characteristics of new influencers has to do with age. They turn out to be very young people with little experience in many subjects, but with excellent communication skills in digital media . They know how to reach a target audience, because they do not worry about reaching the whole world even though many finally do. They are original, extroverted and in short they have rebelled a bit against the formal and established society. Thus we find influencers in fashion, sports, TV … who break schemes and show new paths.
What is worrisome in some cases of these new influencers is the vacuum in the message they transmit, or many other cases in which negative values and violent or dangerous messages have been transmitted , capable of breaking any type of social ethics. Will this be an everlasting problem?
The influencer of the past
The influencer of the past did not reach the great masses so quickly, since telecommunications and the internet have greatly influenced this difference in scope. However, the great similarity is that they managed to attract a group of people from whom they got their respect and attention. Like today’s influencers, they were billed as schematic breakers and not much loved by mainstream established society, and little by little they were called masters. Another difference is age, since in the past teachers were mostly related to people of mature age, although this was far from being the general trend.
The teacher had a growth curve in society for a long time, but today it seems that this curve has declined. Indeed, according to the OECD, only 8% of teachers who are practicing today claim to feel valued by society and by their closest environment.
A sad reality that has already managed to mobilize hundreds of groups and organizations around the world in order to vindicate the role of the teacher in our society as a true influencer , capable of attracting, teaching and entertaining people in a positive way, especially to the youngest.
A key towards the revaluation of teaching
A person considered an influencer is one who enjoys reliability, trust and experience (to a greater or lesser extent) around a certain topic, offering that experience and knowledge to others through the networks. Consequently, is there a better influencer than a person who is dedicated to teaching?
After all, we must not forget that the profession of being a teacher is not simply given a title, but also the true vocation and the illusion for a better world and for some inhabitants of that world capable of getting ahead and continuing to fight for well-being. and development in the future. If, in addition, the teacher manages to equip himself with innovative techniques and didactics capable of attracting the attention of students and generating interests and concerns, he will be closer to being on that podium of influencers that the youngest and most admire so much in another era enjoyed by those who had the mission of teaching and educating others.
Perhaps in the presence in social networks, much closer (unfortunately) to today’s students than libraries, that key is found so that teachers can once again enjoy that influence and credibility that they enjoyed in the past and can thus regain their rightful place in society.
