The World Of Sharmishta Panoli And Other Social Media Influencers
By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
9 June 2025
"In a country like India where IPL cricketers are treated as gods, no wonder, social media influencers are also viewed as demi-gods."
A Reader In A Leading English Daily
Sharmishta Panoli, a content creator, has been arrested over alleged controversial comments she made in a now-deleted video.(Instagram/sharmishta_19)
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Nowadays, a new term has become quite popular. The term is, Social Media Influencers. Who are those people who are also called Online Content Creators? Social media influencers are individuals who build a following on social media platforms and often collaborate with brands to promote products or services. They create engaging content, interact with their audience, and leverage their reach to influence buying decisions. Influencers can be celebrities, bloggers, vloggers, or individuals who specialize in a particular niche. Influencers create content like photos, videos, and blog posts, and interact with their audience to establish authenticity and expertise.
These online content creators or social media influencers such as the controversial Sharmishta Panoli, Ajey Nagar, Kritika Khurana and hugely popular Dhruv Rathi influence viewers by creating new posts and videos, which are often controversial, at regular intervals.
Now the point is: What makes these people so popular and why do scores of viewers not only watch their posts and videos but they also get influenced by what these influencers say on their WhatsApp, Instagram and X ( formerly Twitter) accounts. Psychologists and sociologists believe that the masses are drawn to demagogues despite knowing that the demagogues are insincere people. The reason is our proclivity to be swayed by the glib talkers and those who are endowed with the gift of the gab.
S T Coleridge's famous theory of ' willing suspension of disbelief ' also works here. The best examples being Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, among others. Though they were all dictators and despots, they could influence the masses, thanks to their oratorical skills and histrionics. Agreed, the charm of these despotic demagogues is short-lived, it's enough to create a mass hysterical frenzy that helps and encourages these despots to survive long enough to wreak havoc. Contextualise this in the current times.
Social influencers are mild demagogues, if not outright despots, who often create a (false) aura which blinds the gullible people. If you notice, nowadays, our political, social and general thinking is influenced by social media content. Since masses have allowed themselves to be deceived by uncensored and unverified content, the online influencers take advantage of it. Mind you, these influencers are very shrewd and clever people who know their onions. They quickly catch the popular trends and present them in their own way peppered with slang and words from the popular, nay street, lingo. They try to make you believe that their (influencers) versions are the most authentic ones and the gullible masses also believe in that.
These influencers ride on the crest of majoritarian inclinations. For example, the controversial social media influencer Panoli encashed on the perceived success of Operation Sindoor and the ongoing mood of the nation. She, therefore, abused Pakistan, Muslims and the revered characters of Islam. In short, these individuals thrive on viewers' support and the ongoing national spirit because their countless viewers demand what these influencers provide through their posts and videos.
Sociologists and psychologists are of the view that our attention span is fast sinking and our conventional mediums of information viz, books, newspapers and serious conversations are paving the way for snippets and quick takes. Sociologists call it 'Encapsulated Quickies.' So, in lieu of reading a proper book or a broadsheet, the masses rely more on the quick takes and visual inanities churned out by these influencers. We've no time to read and ruminate. We've become gluttons for visuals and games for deception. Online content creators also know what their viewers want.
Viewers want sensationalism and anything that can give them instant gratification. A volley of cuss words and incoherent homilies are enough to keep the indolent viewers glued to their touch-screens and the main objective of these influencers is served. Mind you, influencers are not crusaders. They're mercenaries.
Readers are well aware that all YouTubers, social media influencers and online content creators earn handsomely by uploading their banal stuff. Since it's a source of income for them, creativity is more often than not compromised. You cannot keep providing high-class stuff day in and day out. Mediocrity is bound to creep in.
Furthermore, the primary aim of these influencers has never been to give something worthwhile. It's just Veni, Vidi, Vici type (I came, I saw, I conquered). All these influencers are like cheerleaders of IPL. Ours is a carnival culture. We tend to act frivolously when we should be serious.
Getting influenced by the influencers' versions of truth and facts is proof of our frivolity. It doesn't occur to us that a 22-yr-old young girl saying anything on social media should actually be condemned by the whole country. Au contraire, people are supporting her. Nowadays people, precisely the viewers, see all these influencers as their extensions and mouthpieces. They feel that what they want to say is being expressed by these influencers.
In other words, a sense of relatability and vindication works here which lets the influencers survive and thrive. Moreover, unlike western countries, we've no proper media restrictions and benign vigilance on influencers. Our social media influencers like Dhruv Rathee, Ranveer Allahabadia (BeerBiceps), Prajakta Kholi, Rohan Joshi among others must learn from the western world's social media influencers like Dwayne Johnson, Huda Kattan, Taylor Swift etc. There're ethics and professional behaviour in all spheres and sectors of human life.
Our influencers must follow those rules, values and morals. Last but not least, our online content creators should realise that one can influence people without resorting to frivolity, cheapness and gimmicks.
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A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/current-affairs/sharmishta-panoli-social-media-influencers/d/135810
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