To be fair, there isn’t an exact definition to what makes a celebrity a celebrity. A celebrity is simply just a famous or publicly well known person. So why are people so reluctant to call influencers celebrities? Influencers are a brand new concept for our generation; no one would have thought that people could get famous on social media a few years ago. 

Social media influencers are people who create content online for entertainment. Most influencers didn’t intend on becoming ‘famous’, but with the power of social media, teenagers can be invited to the top celebrity events for creating online content. People were bewildered when they noticed that many social media influencers were invited to the 2021 Met Gala. Influencers such as Addison Rae, Dixie D’amelio, and more, were invited to the Met Gala this year and it caused a debate. The Met Gala’s audience had a disagreement whether influencers should be invited to these celebrity events. 

Influencers are still hesitant to call themselves celebrities–despite fitting the criteria as a well known public figure–due to the backlash they receive when they do so. However, many believe that the way fans see celebrities will change shortly.

Reality television personality, Kim Kardashian, received a tremendous amount of hate at the beginning of her career because a lot of viewers believed she should not be famous. Now, she is one of the most famous celebrities in the world and is praised for being a trendsetter within today’s younger generation.  Kardashian’s star power has grown so substantially that even her children are considered influential public figures. 

Recently, the impact of many influencers is beginning to branch out of social media and their talents are now being explored through music and reality TV shows which provide them with more recognition beyond the social media world.