Fame is a Niche Internet Microcelebrity
By Stella Speridon-Violet
In the wise words of Mikayla Nogueira, “Try being an influencer for a day.”
Sourced Through Pinterest
And honestly? Girl, I am.
I think in a sense, most people who post online are. But, it’s not in the “drop-everything-and-move-to-LA” kind of way anymore. People want to be known enough to be on the guest list at every club, but not known enough to be criticized for using a plastic straw.
Which is why everyone suddenly has a “thing.”
You’re not just a person, you’re a DJ, a Depop reseller, a Pilates princess, a Substack writer, a girl who’s friends with Bassvictim. Everyone is building a micro-brand in real time and pretending it’s effortless.
Because the dream is never just attention, it’s controlled attention.
To get invited, but only to the coolest spots. To be known, but not overly consumed. And mass influencer culture completely fumbled that.
We watched people hit millions of followers and completely collapse. And, not because they changed, but because the audience didn’t see them as relatable or human at all, just a projection.
Everyone expects something different from you, and somehow you’re expected to deliver it all at once.
It’s a losing game.
Sourced Through Pinterest
So naturally, people decided that wasn’t “the dream” anymore. Being an influencer is tacky anyway; you’re a sellout that should never be invited to high-profile events. And god forbid you try your hand at a different creative field because nobody will ever take you seriously.
It’s funny how the world switches up so fast. We all loved MyLifeAsEva in 2014 and craved the culture old Influencers created. And now, all we want is to be seen as cool with a mysterious source of income.
People idolize these not-quite-A-list, not-quite-influencer, middle-ground celebrities all the time, think Devon Lee Carlson or Emma Chamberlain (before she interviewed celebs at the Met Gala with Vogue and adapted into true celebrity-hood)
There’s something safe about them. They can walk down the street and get a coffee and not be swarmed by paparazzi, but can be the star of a new campaign with Louis Vuitton on the same day.
I saw a tweet once that said, “the concept of being a “niche internet microcelebrity” is hilarious to me. Imagine being some loser 19-year-old in real life, but people consider you a god on some obscure subforum dedicated to Wario or whatever. It feels like an episode of The Big Bang Theory, except actually funny.
And yeah, it is funny. But it’s also kind of the point.
Sourced Through Pinterest
Because being a microcelebrity means you’re famous enough somewhere, not everywhere. And that “somewhere’ is usually a lot more forgiving.
You’re not constantly being evaluated by people who don’t understand you. You’re not constantly getting ridiculed by people who don’t know you. You don’t have to preemptively sanitize your personality in case it gets screenshotted out of context.
You can be a little off-putting and inconsistent, but everyone understands because they see you as a person rather than a product, and that makes you just that much cooler in their eyes.
It’s not about reaching everyone, it’s about reaching the right people. The ones who get the references, the tone, the exact frequency you’re operating on. The ones who won’t turn on you the second you post something they don’t necessarily agree with.
I write articles constantly, some wildly controversial ones, according to some. But the people who have stuck around can actually have healthy conversations.
Take last week, for example, I posted on TikTok that I’m writing an article about Gen-Z men using Catholicism as a new third space, and one of my mutuals didn’t seem to love the idea, which is totally okay. But, instead of unfollowing me and making a 12-part TikTok about how I’m a horrible person, she and I actually had a really deep talk as two former catholics about the religion and listened to each other’s opinions in the DMs.
It didn’t cause an uproar in the online community, and I didn’t get cancelled for sharing a controversial opinion because I am not famous, yet…
But see, there will always be in the back of my mind “yet.”
Sourced Through Pinterest
If all it takes is one viral moment to “blow up,” how will my digital footprint affect me? Will people from middle school come out and talk shit or pretend they really knew me? Did I retweet something when I was 12 that will ultimately run my career as a hypothetical influencer into the ground?
Because when you reach a certain peak of fame, nobody is there to understand you; they’re here to interpret you.
Which is why, maybe for the first time, people are intentional about staying small. Not invisible or off-the-grid, just contained.
Because if the last era of the internet taught us anything, it’s that being known by everyone isn’t power. It’s a one-way ticket to complete and utter scrutiny.
