Inside the Outrage Economy: How Internet Influencers Manufacture Drama for Fame & Wealth
Once upon a simpler time on social media, gaining a large following was as easy as sharing quality content on topics you were passionate about. Build an audience that way, then gently monetize through ads.
For today‘s internet influencers, earning 5 or 6 figure incomes is nowhere near that straightforward. Standing out now requires manufacturing drama, outrage and controversy to hack neural circuitry and algorithms favoring extremes.
As emerging mukbang creator Nikocado Avocado discovered firsthand, crazy gets clicks – and clicks convert to cold hard cash. His gradual descent from happy vegan to catastrophically unhealthy junk food addict raking in $200k a month dramatizes the financial incentives promoting online spectacles over virtue.
But how exactly has his outrageous behavior proved so lucrative? And what are the deeper psychological and technological forces enabling this brave new world where fame is defined by shock value above all else?
The Distorted Economics of Influence
Gaming social media to stimulate engagement is nothing new. But in recent years, these patterns have become significantly more extreme given the rivers of gold now flowing to those who perfect the art.
Back in 2014 for example, an amateur influencer with 100,000 highly engaged followers could expect around $5,000 for a promotional brand sponsorship post. Today that same reach commands closer to $10,000 thanks to surging marketer demand. But scale that up to multi-millions of followers in 2022 and branded content deals easily clear 6 figures for a single piece of cleverly constructed "authentic marketing".
When the returns for going viral are so astronomical, it motivates risky, controversial and even dangerous behavior. Nikocado Avocado merely represents an edge case on a spectrum encompassing most internet celebrities today.
Beyond brand sponsorships, Google AdSense or display ads also generate bountiful passive income for creators once their videos or posts start scaling. A single viral YouTube clip can easily clear $10k or more in ads alone at over 1 million views. Again, this monetization potential puts the incentives firmly towards shareable spectacle rather than virtue.
Affiliate marketing also offers generous commissions promoting supplements, apps, services or products. Tempting audiences with "shocking transformation" journeys makes selling workout plans or diet aids especially lucrative.
Nikocado Avocado now runs a thriving Patreon community on top of his YouTube channels where loyal fans offer direct financial support. Reportedly he earns $27k a month this way. Again, this income source dramatically multiplies the return from manufacturing drama to keep subscribers hooked.
Once public attention reaches critical mass, selling personal merchandise is another gold mine. Everything from mugs to hoodies emblazoned with insignia rakes in pure profit thanks to print-on-demand services. Influencers promote their gear heavily.
Finally OnlyFans offers a convenient way to directly monetize the most loyal niche fans via exclusive content subscriptions. Leaking "accidental" adult content then publicly feigning outrage over it keeps audiences engaged with personality drama. Nikocado Avocado made headlines this way.
Combine all these income streams together and it‘s abundantly clear why manufactured spectacle pays. But financial motivations are only half the story…
The Addictive Appeal of Outrage
If carefully choreographed freakshows weren‘t so popular, influencers like Nikocado wouldn‘t bother designing them. But outrage has a addictive, primal appeal. Understanding these psychological dynamics sheds light on why drama attracts more eyeballs.
Scandal, shock and novelty factor light up our brains thanks to neurochemicals like dopamine. We reflexively pay attention to the strange or dramatic much like our evolutionary hunter-gatherer ancestors scanning for threats. Media visionary Neil Postman dubbed this effect "amusing ourselves to death".
Outrage also allows audiences to feel superior while satisfying judgmental cravings. Looking down on fools lets people distance themselves emotionally. German philosophers dubbed this phenomena "schadenfreude" – taking pleasure in other‘s suffering.
Watching excessive behavior that violates social norms provides escapism into fantasy worlds where regular rules don‘t apply. This transports viewers away from their own mundane reality.
Finally, sharing or reacting to outrageous influencer drama offers cathartic emotional release from real world frustrations. Ranting over egregious stunts channels built up anger.
In combination, these psychological rewards make drama almost irresistibly shareable relative to uplifting education for instance. Outrage earns reactions. Reactions signal engagement. Engagement feeds algorithms…
Hacking The Machine For Maximum Exposure
The third piece completing the chain reaction catapulting internet provocateurs like Nikocado Avocado into the spotlight is the opaque social media algorithms determining what billions see.
The software codes running these platforms are designed above all else to maximize "engagement" statistics like session depths, click rates and sharing ratios. Essentially how addicted to scrolling are users?
Controversy, emotion and conflict achieve this reliably. So posts or videos loaded with outrage cues get shown more by algorithms, creating feedback loops towards ever more craziness. "Sorting by most popular" lionizes the craziest content.
Meanwhile educational material rarely has an emotional angler to hook distracted viewers scrolling. Ergo such content seldom surfaces beyond dedicated subscribers, penalized byalgorithms for appearing "boring".
Savvy influencers leverage insider techniques like optimized clickable thumbnail images, searchable titles, strategic hashtagging, collaborations for shared audiences and carefully scripted personalities to ruthlessly game engagement.
Faking drama through elaborate series and reacting to commentary in follow-up videos sustains public interest for months thanks to cliffhanger effects straight from soap operas. Nikocado Avocado deploys these tactics masterfully.
In summary, understanding the financial gains possible, appeal of spectacle and algorithms favoring engagement puts all influences today under huge pressure to sacrifice principles in favor of chasing fame and controversy first. Doing anything less fails to cut through.
The Tragic Villainy Of Nikocado Avocado
Our anti-hero Nikocado Avocado swiftly recognized these dynamics and made a deliberate pivot from obscurity towards manufactured infamy to remarkable financial gain. But at what cost?
His public visible decline from vibrant vegan to unstable drama queen shamelessly destroying his health for viewer counts and dollars presents an uncomfortable window into the soul of society.
What does it say about consumers that millions enthusiastically encourage his downfall by subscribing? Are uncomfortable amounts of schadenfreude and judgment at play wishing disaster upon him rather than redemption?
Perhaps internal psychological projections make his exaggerated personality safely captivating. Nikocado Avocado‘s carefully curated chaos becomes cathartic theater allowing morality dispensation and emotional reframing.
Ultimately the villainy and redemption rests with audiences as much as perfomers. William Shakespeare famously wrote "all the world‘s a stage" – yet today‘s interactive digital platforms blur any lines left separating theater from reality. Judging where the true character lies becomes almost impossible when incentives so dramatically reward extremes.
Escaping The Outrage Funnel
Thankfully alternatives exist for those tiring of the internet outrage arms race. Many educational creators produce thoughtful commentary absent manufactured drama. Passionate gamers share expertise solving problems. Independent filmmakers create artfully. Piano tutors uplift spirits with music. Fitness coaches share healthy lifestyles.
The spectrum of human experience need not descend permanently towards spectacle. But positive content must find supportive audiences ready to engage beyond watching trainwrecks. Eyes wide shut becomes eyes open.
Each viewer‘s incremental attention compounds shaping the landscape. Who we choose to watch informs recommendations shown to others. Small ripples build wave upon wave. There are always more uplifting channels worth exploring.
Amidst the maelstrom of clickbait and controversy already out there, carving out mindful spaces for quality demands some effort. But cultures centered around creative contribution often prove far more rewarding than outrage.
Choose substance over sensation. Select compassion over judgment or projection. Seek to understand before reacting. Recognize exploitation dressed as entertainment. Reclaim what captures your attention.
With conscious moderation and wisdom, we might yet build an internet that brings out humanity‘s best rather than most beastly impulses. But it starts from within each heart, not systems. Transform yourself first, then help transform media.