AMMAN —
Impact of
social media is significant in Jordan, where many people shared
stories about how influencers and trending geeks helped them save their failing
business.
اضافة اعلان
The latest
example was this week, when a 20-year-old college graduate posted an emotional
story on Facebook, asking people to give a try to her father’s week-old
shawerma shop. Hours later, people thronged
Suhool Sahab in southeast Amman.
A hairdressing
shop owner, who said she lost her business due to personal reasons, insisted
that she would not have been able to make it again without social media.
“I could not get
back on my feet without the help of social media influencers and the Jordanian
people,” she told
Jordan News, insisting she not be identified for
concern that may affect her prospering business now.
“Literally, I
lost everything I had built for years and I was completely devastated,” she
said. “But now, thank God I am back on track and even stronger than I was ever
before.”
“The Jordanian
people are very brave; they stood by me in such a way that my own family did
not,” she added.
Zayna Al-Hamarneh, a social media specialist and content creator, said influencers
have a significant role to play in helping people out.
“When you are an
influencer, you add something to people’s lives, whether you have a platform
with 100 followers or 100,000 followers,” she said. “The number doesn’t matter,
what does matter is really influencing and impacting people.”
“If influencers
want to affect the public positively, they must be accurate and precise in the
information they deliver to the public, and refrain from posting misleading
material, even if the purpose of it is to entertain others,” Hamarneh
explained.
She said
influencers must be “real” on social media platforms, to be “normal, showcase
real emotions, and the ups and downs as they are.”
Referring to
“freezing her eggs”, an inspiring and influencing story, Hamarneh said “my
story was perceived as powerful to people, even though I did not know it was
this powerful.”
As a result of
her story, many women froze their eggs, she said. “Whether they did it for
medical, or social reasons, they took the decision after seeing” her post.
She said she
received calls from doctors, who noted that her post changed the way they run
their business.
Hamarneh said
that some social media influencers tend to ride the wave, showing off if their
post makes a trend, or is socially appealing. But she maintained that social
media users are selective when it comes to supporting a cause, or following a
trend.
Saleh Hamdan,
known as the “Zarqa Boy” who became a social media blogger and influencer
following the tragic incident when his hands were cut off, said social media
influencers adopted his story, bringing it to public attention.
“After the
tragedy I went through, social media influencers and users spread the news
before local TV channels did, about what happened with me to draw public
attention to my case,” Hamdan told
Jordan News.
“Social media has
a very positive side because it sheds light on cases that should become public
opinion cases,” he said. “I thank everyone who was on my side, until I reached
this stage mentally and physically.”
Commenting on his
own responsibility as a social media influencer, Hamdan said: “I always check
whether my content is appropriate for my followers, since children and old
women also follow me.”
“So, I’m always
mindful about the material I post,” he explained.
He said his personal
trainer, Esam Yamoni, was the first to encourage him to launch social media
accounts, and to inspire and influence people.
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