“No man is an island,” goes the enduring adage first uttered by the metaphysical
poet John Donne. Granted, he was staring in the face of Death when doing so,
contemplating how mortality—the ultimate equalizer—brought humans together
in the common knowledge that they would all, sooner or later, die. But he, as a
parishioner, truly did believe in the sense of community fostered by this common
fate. Donne would have interesting things to say about the world today. Many
people use their phones as windows into the world, often in lieu of in-person
interactions. Expectedly, the market has also shifted to better cater to the lone
customer—retirement packages for singles come to mind. I believe that the surge
of popularity in independent media creators and one-person media platforms is
similarly related to modern individualism. As content by individuals for individuals,
one-person media is influenced and influences a culture of being alone.
One reason why people seek out independent creators on platforms like YouTube
and Afreeca TV, paradoxically, is to feel less alone. Individualism has gleaned
much more appeal since the days of Donne, but this does not mean people do not
crave human company. Some creators have made careers on live streaming
footage of themselves studying—many students find it comforting and encouraging
to have someone along the grueling study journey with them. Viewers seek rapport
with people on the Internet who resonate with them, be it through a shared
experience or something novel and exciting that they cannot personally experience
for themselves. There is a downside to this empathy, however—studies have
shown that algorithms on platforms like YouTube and Facebook that suggest
personalized content often result in increased polarization among users, because
they are exposed only to opinions similar to their own. Taking advantage of this
design, some independent creators publish highly provocative content, stirring
up controversy by presenting one-sided opinions as the whole truth. This is a
glaring drawback of individualism; sometimes it veers into narrow-mindedness,
an inability to understand and engage with other opinions.
Related to this personal appeal of independent creators is their credibility. A
common staple of many such creators is “내돈내산,” which translates roughly
to “self bought with own money.” Consumers feel that their reviews are a
better indicator of the quality of the product than formal advertisements by
the company itself. That the individual may have more social credit than the
company is significant for individualism. This consumer trend also concerns
self-representation, as people are also attracted to products for their association
with the creator, wanting to emulate some quality or lifestyle of their favorite
YouTube celebrity. Viewership of one-person media thus is a mixed bag of
imitation and expression, of wanting to be alone but not feel alone—natural
human emotions in a world increasingly concerned with how individuals leave
their mark.
The COVID-19 crisis has added another dimension to this trend. The role of
independent creators during the pandemic is quite important. If independent
creators disregard their influence, flout social distancing guidelines, and contribute
to the bias and distrust associated with clustered outbreaks in certain groups,
they leave a negative impact on our disease-ridden society. But if they perform
the positive functions they have fulfilled so well—such as helping people at
home not feel so alone—the COVID-19 crisis may be alleviated. For example,
upon the adoption of social distancing measures, many were initially at a loss
as to how they would spend time alone. Individual creators quickly addressed
that demand, popularizing activities such as dalgona coffee. In an era of forced
individualism, independent media helps keep people sane, and prepare them
for a world in which they can be together again.
Although one-person media platforms remain a double-edged sword, I like to
think that Donne would not have lost hope in our world. He would have seen
the silver lining, the potential for togetherness in a world fraught with viruses
and fake news, and employed independent media to that end. Who knows?
Donne might even have had a YouTube channel of his own.