Steemit Engagement Challenge | S14W1 | Do You Want to Become Popular?

Hey Steemian friends!

Oh this is a very hard personal choice. I love these types of contests because then we can really look deep down our soul. I think the very idea of becoming popular is like a double edged sword, isn’t it? After covid, I love my low key lifestyle but seeing the perks of popularity are tempting. Let’s see whether answering these questions could bring some clarity to me.

👉 Do you want to become popular or not? Justify your answer.

Well, my first thought was “NO”! It is too much attention and I gave up all such attention grabbing life style, if there was any for me. I've intentionally distanced myself from the chaos of a connected life from the people I’ve known. I preferred this life style after covid and loss of a loved one.

However, then I thought all the changes I could do with the popularity. I could leverage fame to make a positive impact, right? Ain’t that the best way to influence people for the better! because people listen to what popular fellas telling them. Also, this has to be the easiest way to earn a dime or two. Then the answer would change to “YES”.

Yet it is a double edged sword, so, I would give my final answer as “It's a tough call and I really don’t know! I will not seek it but if it comes in my way, I will handle it extra carefully.”

👉 What do you think, the way of becoming popular matters or not?

It is not in Sri Lanka. Mind you, we have robbers, murderers, thugs and drug dealers in our parliament, reaping public votes every year with popularity. I also heard saying something like “There's no such thing as bad publicity”. Any negative publicity can generate curiosity and discussion and suddenly you are famous among the people! Do you think people will remember anything you do after a few years? Here in Sri Lanka nobody cares a thing after a week.

I also think media thrives on negativity. No matter how noble you are and what good deeds you have, if it is not marketing enough the story will quickly overshadowed. If you don’t believe check all the social media you use. Ain’t narrative matters more than the story itself?

👉 In your opinion, which qualities make a person popular?

When I think about someone being super popular like "Mr. Beast," I reckon his secret recipe for popularity is just he is so darn generous. He's tossing thousands of dollars around, doing crazy stuff, and people love it. So, being Generous, having loads of Confidence, and Thinking up new and cool things are the take away from him. And, oh yeah, having a good sense of humor doesn't hurt either.

Now, if we switch gears to our politicians, it seems like being smooth talkers, able to handle any situation, and having no shame in their game are what gets them noticed. So, this recipe can be different from each one but these are probably the major qualities one must have.

👉 The pros and cons of becoming popular.

Pros :

• Spreading that Positive Vibe: Popularity brings thousands of true followers and supports. These people will listen to you, so it is up to us, use that fame for good. With more positive vibe the world will be a better place.

• Money: Let's be real, being popular often means cashing in. We get sponsors, deals, and all sorts of money making opportunities coming in our way.

• Shouting Out for a Cause: Popularity gives us a loudspeaker. We can shout about things that matter to this world and people, and they actually listen. We can influence people to do collective cause. That's a big win.

Cons:

• Privacy Invasion: Popularity comes with a cost and no more personal life. Because everyone's got their eyes on us. Everything we do will be on media instantly. They don't care our permission or our personal space. The worst part is we still have to give a smile and encourage them to do so.

• No wrong steps: Public opinion is like a rollercoaster. One day they love you, the next day they might not. Navigating this opinion rollercoaster can be a wild ride. We have to be very calm to ride it.

Thank you for this interesting contest @hive-109435 (Steem4Bloggers). Looking forward to taking on the next week’s challenge. I would like to invite @kunwal, @butterfly-jt9 & @yancar to participate in this contest.

Thank you.

Peace to all 🙏

^{All the images have been developed by Midjourney / Dall E and photoshoped by me. Proper sourcing has been ensured for any other pictures used in the content.}