Social Media Stars Don't Deserve Their Revenue | The Odyssey Online
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Social Media Stars Don't Deserve Their Revenue

Posting on social media shouldn't be above risking your life for your country.

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Social Media Stars Don't Deserve Their Revenue
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Social media stars have millions of followers on their social media platforms. On average, one of their posts generates as much as $550,000. For most middle class families, the average income varies between $52,250 and $250,000. For an entire year's salary, celebrities can make up to three times that amount in one post. YouTube stars can also generate up to $300,000 per video. I understand it takes a certain amount of work to gain millions of followers, but the system of income in social media's perspective is completely wrong.

Where could that money go?

Both of my parents are teachers, and only earn an annual income of about $80,000. They have a child in college, three cars to pay for each month, cable, a home, and classrooms to maintain. My boyfriend's father served multiple tours overseas in the Army, and typically Army members only make an initial amount of $26,000 for taking their lives on the front line and seeing the horrors of war and inhumanity. Why does a celebrity deserve more money for posting a photo than our soldiers, teachers, and the people who work to serve and protect?

The short answer: They don't. I'm fine with celebrities and artists to use their platform to bring in some income as they share their passion, but it eventually makes their passion superficial. In our country, more than 45 million live in poverty. Regardless of their own efforts, most that suffer in poverty are not able to afford an education to be able to earn a better income. Most college students graduate college with a debt of $40,000 that can take most of their lives to pay off. Veterans who are medically discharged must pay medical bills and often only get a service check for their efforts. Families who are struggling are forced to apply for food stamps.

I understand that some people take advantage of the governmental system. But what if more people who deserved a better life were able to have every opportunity without the fear of money? That's one of the largest fears in the United States.

Additionally, more people are suffering outside of the United States. One Instagram post could feed an entire impoverished village in Africa. Their funds can go toward the right organizations that make an effort to make the world better. Women in the middle east still have no way of getting an education or the freedoms that we do.

A lot of people also are moving in a direction where they work from home on social media, so it should move at the pace of a general income that is earned by the hard work of that person's business. I'm not against revenue, because that money is capable of going toward a worthy cause.

I want to be clear, I love that celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah are using their powerful voices to change the world a little bit at a time and more and more celebrities are donating toward amazing causes. But it's not enough. A celebrity that can buy a new car for the sake of having a new car could donate their car to a struggling student. The world is capable of change, but only if an effort is actually made.

Veterans deserve more.

Students deserve more.

Teachers deserve more.

Firefighters and police officers deserve more.

No one should ever have to worry about money keeping them from school and feeding their families properly.

No one should ever worry about their next meal.

No spouse should ever have to worry about paying for a funeral of their fallen soldier.

"Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort." --Franklin D. Roosevelt

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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