One school principal was shocked to learn that the number one ambition of several of his students is to eventually become a social media influencer.
The St. Catherine-based principal had expected to hear the high school students stating traditional careers, when he engaged them one day in a chit-chat as he canvassed the school compound, but that was not the case. The conversation forced the not so tech-savvy senior educator to go and research the job requirements of a social media-influencer.
“These children don’t want to be lawyers and doctors and those things anymore. They want to go and make quick money,” he told the Freedom Come Rain.
Indeed, creating content online has become more alluring than a traditional job for many young people, not only in Jamaica.
At least 57% of Gen Zs in America would like to be a social-media influencer, according to pollster Morning Consult; 53% describe it as a “reputable career choice.” Gen Z’s are those between the ages of 13 to 28. But this group is not alone, a study by the same pollster found that nearly half or 41% of adults overall would choose this career as well.
As is the case internationally, the new craze in Jamaica is to find fame and fortune online. Unfortunately, many are realizing that it does come at a cost. For some, the payment for online fame has been their life. On Monday, 25-year-old Jabari Johnson was killed during a live stream on TikTok along Red Hills.
Reports are that about 6:30 p.m., Johnson was engaged in a TikTok match on live stream in the vicinity of a shop in his community when he was approached by a man on foot armed with a gun. He was shot multiple times in the head and upper body by the gunman who then escaped in the area.
Johnson is the son of a popular artiste. A screen record of his killing has since gone viral and has re-ignited fear in the online space which has witnessed several such killings in recent months.
Xavier “Niah Gang” Fogah, 23, was gunned down on Panton Lane in St. Catherine last year December, as he participated in a TikTok “match”, which allows creators to co-host together. Moments before his shooting death, Fogah and his co-host were exchanging confrontational remarks about their ability to locate and harm each other.
Fogah, had gained popularity for his freestyle rap performances and controversial social media clashes. Prior to his online fame, his primary source of income was selling egg and plantain sandwiches. As his following grew online, so did his wealth and he then acquired a BMW. Several of his social media postings featured his four-year-old daugher. Many of his followers suspect jealousy was the motive for his killing.
Fogah’s murder follows a disturbing pattern of violence against Jamaican social media personalities. In September, University of the West Indies student Keauno Watson was killed during a TikTok livestream. Several other influencers, including Nigel “Big Meech” Walford and Aneka “Slickianna” Townsend, have been killed or injured as well. TikToker Marlon Samuels also known as ’41 Buss Head’ was shot and killed on TikTok live in December in St James.
With the latest killings, social media influencers are being encouraged by their followers to not make their location known when live streaming.
