Shafaq News/ It is as if life has become nothing but virtual worlds. Social Media is no longer just a tool for getting to know what is going on around the world, but it is also turned into a profit-making tool -not only for companies but also for ordinary people in a phenomenon that has become questionable and confusing.

It is true that the COVİD-19 pandemic has pushed millions of people into social media -and has made nearly four billion people live many hours a day in the virtual world. Due to social distancing, the risks of the pandemic, working conditions, or to spend time in forced detention in their homes. But the phenomenon of the unbeknown people seeking social media and becoming popular through its platforms has escalated dramatically, to such extent it became an alternative to traditional media (television, radio, newspapers, and magazines).

Due to the success of many individuals in The Social Media platforms -such as Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Twitter, and others, it has encouraged many to follow suit; not only because of the love of fame but also because of the financial returns that an individual can achieve if he or she knows how to make his way in this virtual world.

It is clear that accounts classified under the framework of entertainment, music, fashion, and food are the most popular in the world -and in the Middle East as well, while the popularity of accounts concerned with political, economic, social, or scientific affairs is declining. This fact raises serious questions about the major shifts in people's moods, about the patterns of global interest that social media imposes on societies and individuals, and certainly on government policies, and the impact of all this on human life.

A double-edged weapon.

The phenomenon of invading the social media platforms is not just a passing social situation, and requires a lot of scrutiny and understanding, "The world of Social Media is a double-edged weapon, it provides a financial income -albeit not simply or easily, but it also allows inexperienced and unqualified activists to emerge on Social Media", Malak Khalil, a social media official told Shafaq News agency.

Khalil said the problem is, "social media celebrities should have some special skills that distinguish them, such as the singer’s voice or a nice charisma, but the world of social media has often offered wide opportunities for those who do not have a beautiful voice to present themselves as singers; taking advantage of the set of steps required by its platforms to gain the opportunity to progress and fame -regardless of the nature of this fame and its reality".

Malak gave an example of a woman who became famous on social media recently as a poet, and she seems convinced of it and promotes herself on this basis..She has become widely known to the general public, but no one recognizes her with poetic or literary competence.

The trick job.

Asmahan Choukeir, director of social media sites, told Shafaq News agency, "The videos on YouTube and the photos on Instagram fool us and do not represent the daily lives of influencers, but rather a job they are good at”.

It often requires nothing more than creating a YouTube or Instagram account and then following the necessary promotional steps -using the appropriate hashtags and spending money on promoting your posts and sharing them with a large number of people..But also, more importantly, choosing content that is attractive to viewers or potential followers, whether in the entertainment, cooking, or private family activities that thrive on social media sites -for their ability to attract all family members by removing social barriers between the publisher and the recipient.

Many times, people have been surprised by shocking news about social media celebrities. A few days ago, for example, British YouTuber Landon Clifford, who created a channel that is watched by more than a million people, committed suicide because of depression, anxiety, and "lack of likes" -as his wife clarified on YouTube.

In June, Indian Tik Tok star Siya Kakkar committed suicide at the age of 16 in New Delhi. Kakkar is best known on Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat, but she has become more known through dance videos on Tik Tok, where she has more than 1,100,000 followers. In May, The Star of The Japanese reality TV show "Terrace House" on the Netflix platform, Hana Kimura, committed suicide after she was harassed on social media.

Social Media’s Mafia

Celebrity suicides in the virtual world are numerous. But there is another form of this world's paradox. Recently, Kuwait, for example, has been plagued by a money-laundering scandal involving famous figures on social media.. Several newspapers have published the names of more than a dozen of them, accusing them of acquiring jewelry, precious watches, yachts, luxury cars, and other boasts of these celebrities, many of which have been brought about by an organized money-laundering network contributed to the irrational swell of their bank accounts; to the point of attracting the attention of the security authorities towards them.

The money of these celebrities has been seized and they were banned from traveling. Some of them have been involved in transactions over five million dinars (more than 16 million dollars) a year. "Those who tried to corrupt our youth, morally and behaviorally, have fallen. Those who have fooled people that honorable jobs and legal earnings are humiliating, have fallen”, a Kuwaiti citizen tweeted.

Regardless of the accuracy of the assessment of this Kuwaiti citizen, this does not change the fact that the celebrities of social media have a strong presence and great influence on ordinary people.

"Some people can not become celebrities in the fashion world, as it imposes heavy financial burdens on them in terms of expenses and luxuries. These media phenomena create burdens and pressures on people who want to enter this world because they are affected by its influencers..They may not have enough money, and that often makes them willing to do anything to achieve their goal of fame. This is crazy”, said Malak Khalil.

Asmahan Choukeir told Shafaq News agency, "some people are dragged to copy the five-minute content they watch on their 24-hours day. The inability to do so makes them –the followers- disappointed and dissatisfied with their life”.

Netflix recently launched the documentary "The Social Dilemma"; it has a traumatic effect by addressing the negative impact of social media on people, ideas, and trends -including on their psychological and mental stability, in the words of former senior employees of the world's most prominent electronic platforms.

But an important question remains regarding the financial motivation that led many people around the world to give up their jobs to make financial profits across virtual world platforms.

"Social media sites generate millions of dollars a year for the most popular account holders..YouTuber Ryan Kaji ranked first in the world in 2019 for the most lucrative influencers with 26 million dollars”, Asmahan Choukeir told Shafaq News agency.

American Roman Atwood earned 8 million dollars after he posted his comic strips, which were viewed more than a billion times – including a video that was viewed 83 million times.

"It's not an easy task. Successful accounts require a full-time effort to write texts, photography, editing, and, most importantly, natural talent”, choukeir said.

Profits

Several studies indicate that youTube's average profit rate is between 30 cents and 3 dollars per thousand views. However, this is determined by a range of other factors, including the geographic location of the viewers, the time spent watching the video, the level of interaction with it, the content of the video itself, and the success of its owner in promoting it.

For example, YouTuber in Saudi Arabia can make more profits than his competitors in other countries in the region, for the internet users in Saudi Arabia are more than 20 million users; so the chances of entering, sharing, and watching a YouTuber’s video are greater than a YouTuber’s from Bahrain.

YouTube has more than 2 billion users worldwide. About 90% of Internet users in the U.S. between the ages of 18 and 44 use YouTube. 9 out of every 10 digital video viewers in the U.S. use YouTube to watch digital videos. YouTube expects to generate more than 5 billion dollars in advertising revenue in 2021.

It also means that videos produced by a YouTuber in the U.S. will be the focus of greater attention from companies and advertisers; thus, generating greater revenue for the video owner.  

Overall, it is the ad companies that choose the videos, and then Google -which owns YouTube, pays a percentage of the revenue for that ad to the You Tuber who created the video.

Iraqis use YouTube more than other popular websites, and it is estimated that more than two million Iraqis, out of eight million Iraqi internet users, spend long hours on YouTube.

Recently, Iraqi YouTuber, Louay Sahi, said he was not making millions of dollars as it was rumored to be, but about 1,000 dollars a month from the ads on his channel.

The prices of ads’ broadcast in YouTube videos are generally determined by three criteria, the number of viewers of the video, the volume of demand for ads in the channel, and the price of advertising according to the market available whether in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, U.S., or other countries.

So the idea of going from a bankrupt YouTuber to a millionaire is not as easy as many imagine, and the way to do it is long and hard.. It is not a success for the majority.

As a general standard, the profit rate of YouTube views in Arabic is lower than those published in English, its global audience is certainly greater and therefore the likelihood of watching them is much higher.

After gaining a large number of followers and interacting with his videos, the YouTuber must open an account on Google Adsense dedicated to digital advertising run by Google, and then link the account to his YouTube channel. YouTube pays when You Tuber’s video is watched, i.e. when you click on the video and watch the accompanying ad inside.