So you want to know the answer to the question: “What is clout chasing?” Well, that’s a relatively easy one. It means when someone does something with the sole intention of getting likes and followers on social media to bolster their following.
What is Clout Chasing
For example, posting pictures of themselves at places like Starbucks or Trader Joe’s might be considered clout chasing because it shows they have money and privilege (predominantly white).
But there are many other ways people can engage in this activity, such as by posting photos of themselves engaged in charitable activities for which they receive praise from others.
In some cases, these posts come across as more genuine than those who post pictures simply showing off wealth or bragging about how much free time they have.
Is Clout Chasing a Type of Activism
It’s more about following and liking for like’s sake; to gain followers and attention rather than being a change agent.
- Clout chasers can be found on social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or Youtube – either trying to get people talking about their latest posts or videos by commenting on other posts from influencers they want to follow them back.
- They might also use hashtags that are popular with influencers to show up in their feeds. Some even take it one step further by using bots (computer programs) that automatically comment on specific posts with automatic messages, including more attention-seeking.
Demystifying Clout Chasers
In short, clout is money or social status. More importantly, clout chasers don’t typically believe in what they are doing. They often display some of the following characteristics.
- Narcissism
- Lying
- One-sided thinking
- Denial
- Gullibility
Often, activists are told that they need to have a solid online presence to be successful. They’re encouraged to use social media and other forms of digital activism as their primary source for outreach and organizing.
This is not always the best advice, however. Instead, many activist organizations prioritize offline work because it has proven more effective at reaching people who might not otherwise be exposed to this type of movement building.
Activists should do both types of work – but when considering which one will take priority in any given situation, it’s essential to consider what you want your outcome or goal to be first before determining which form of activism is the most suitable choice.
The emphasis on “clout chasing” can sometimes feel like a trap for those trying to make a difference.
What people say about Clout chasers
The urban dictionary describes clout chasing as a person who only hangs with specific types of people. Or starts drama because of what’s popular.
Ask yourself if the previous description describes you.
If you wonder what people say on Twitter, some of the tweets we found about clout are highly agreeable. You can make your conclusions.
Violet sees you cosigning racially charged tweets and trying to play nice with some pretty nasty folks while claiming to be an “ally” to the people they’ve hurt.
— Rosie (The Nazi Hunter) Posie, BSRT, RRT, RRT-NPS (@hostilevagina) December 26, 2020
Violet calls it clout chasing.
You get the side eye. pic.twitter.com/qq6RuAfdkh
Please do not be self centered, ego bragging, clout chasing, over 2020 I seen a lot of people action not match the words they say. Please pay attention and always remember be humble and true will get you a lot further in life. Because it can all be gone in a flash.
— livinproff (@livinproff) December 26, 2020
Everybody chasing clout
— 𝕭𝖔𝖍𝖊𝖒𝖎𝖆𝖓杰𓃶 (@TheGiziFx) December 27, 2020
Clout: pic.twitter.com/crqotSbeFU
I think the central focus of feminism is about empowering women… Not clout-chasing men…
— blackbox😈 #EndSARS (@DISCRETEboi206) December 26, 2020
Is there a Silver Lining to “Clout”
When humans first transmitted radio signals, the art of modern clout chasing was born. We could go back to the orators of ancient Rome or the pre-roman days, but nobody needs to hear all of that.
Humans have always depended on interpersonal relationships and politics.
On the other hand, clout chasing is very impersonal. It’s almost as if the ranter is rejecting the notion of placing too much value on their daily face-to-face interactions. If my previous statement is true, that has broad ramifications for such a person’s trajectory going forward.
At their very core, a change agent has a deep-seated rejection of their peers, teachers, and institutions. Where nothing anyone does is ever enough, and even winning the war of change doesn’t feel good enough. That’s why every political cycle, we see the same things.
Clout Chasing and The Economy
Clout is a big business now. It’s all over cable news; it’s been in the sports world and pervasive in politics. More importantly, ranting is so exposed it turns into a guilty pleasure for the masses. They don’t take any of it seriously, but they keep going back for more.
In all honesty, I’m not making a case whether this is good or bad, just that it is. Clout is what feeds the masses, which inevitably and inherently want to be fed.
So the problem then exists, as previously explained. There is a great responsibility in how excellent or lousy clout chasing can shape minds.
As an illustration, another thing worth looking into is finding out how much room for error there is. And that’s not going to be a one size fits all situation. There are different personalities and different styles.
The Clout Chasing “disconnection”
What does it say about civilization when we let an apparent disconnection exist? In essence, we are saying the ranter can sell themselves out for money, and the people ranted at are willing to eat it up. Then absolve themselves of any role in the charade.
Besides all of that, we use the disconnect to pick and choose who gets fortune and who gets canceled with no rhyme or reason as to why we do so. Therefore we expect absolute consistency whenever we feel like it but never offer the same in return.
The point of this essay is not to reject the game, only to play it better. To take a shot at the whole idea of shock-type news while also shocking in our ways. This is a light effort for me. Nevertheless, I feel that sense of responsibility to do better and sell myself out on my terms.
The Rammifications of Clout Chasing
Perhaps ranting as a phenomenon is a human’s way of finding a natural balance between chaos and order. In that sense, it’s an unsolvable problem on the level of many other paradoxes.
So unless a major paradigm shift guides us, we can predict the things mentioned here won’t change.
For one thing, we know that perceptions do change, sometimes very quickly. But the universal patterns that exist in nature don’t change. And mass psychology overrules any other methodology.
Conclusion
Clout chasing is when you spend hours on social media looking for influential people to follow and connect with. You do this because you want them to see your content and hopefully share it or engage with it.
The ultimate goal of clout chasing is to get a shout-out from the influencer, but they’re just taking up time that could be spent creating more engaging content. It’s also important not to use an influencer’s post as an opportunity to market your product or service in the comments section underneath their post without permission – this is called “comment spamming.”
