Clout- noun INFORMAL-Influence or power; especially in terms of being known or famous.
Our generation will do anything to be considered known, whether it be for reasons good or bad. But why?
Why is it that many people would rather be known for something such as a scandal or Twitter beef, rather than doing something good and beneficial for the world?
We as a society have this mentality that any press is good press, but it's important to realize that this isn't the case. This world is an ugly place, with people constantly backstabbing each other just to get their names out there.
We have rappers and singers who diss each other just to create buzz on the internet so their records top the chart and they make more for themselves, but the issue with this is creating a brand solely built on putting others down and degrading one another.
I get making money, but where's the love? Why is it that people nowadays would rather get money by being ingenuine, and ugly to others instead of doing it with good intentions in mind that in turn promote a positive message to the world?
Kim Kardashian got famous because of a sex tape, and now she and her family continuously profit off of scandals and drama. Their lives are centered around it, but the clout that comes with it is why their family is known as a hot commodity.
So many people strive to be like the Kardashians and other families who profit off of such things, but we fail to understand that everything we see being portrayed on social media isn't what's really going on behind closed doors.
We think we know these celebrities so we center our whole lives around the idea that one day we will be as rich and famous as them, with other people putting us on a pedestal the same way we put these celebrities on one. Why? Because of the clout that comes as a result.
So many women will hook up with men who are known athletes, rappers, etc. but not because they love and appreciate the man they are inside, solely because of the status and clout that comes with saying "I got with him."
Don't get me wrong, there's no judgment on my end because at the end of the day everyone is their own person and deserves to feel liberated in their decisions, but my question in saying all of this is why live for clout? Why chase it, and why would you let the idea of being known for anything, even something negative, cloud your judgment of what's really important in this life?
We should strive to rejoice in being our own person and living a life for US, rather than living for other people, just to say you did it. Clout has become a word we equate with success. Our society tends to think that even if we are known even for the dumbest things, we are that much closer to being successful.
Think back to how the rapper Bhad Bhabie started. She was first known as the "Catch me outside" girl who disrespected the hell out of her mother on tv. Her clip turned into a meme that circulated on Twitter, and today, she is making millions of dollars rapping, but with the same nasty attitude that got her clout in the first place.
We need to stop excusing bad behavior just because a person has money and clout because doing that will just continue this negative pattern of unrealistic, ingenuine, lifestyles.
You think clout equals currency, but what's all that, if you aren't even truly happy on the inside?