By Tatum Vickers | LTVN Reporter
In a world where classrooms and social media compete for our attention, it’s hard not to wonder who shapes us more: the traditional education system or the influencers we follow. Both play a major role in how we see ourselves and the world around us, but the balance between them is defining Gen Z as they enter the workforce.
Think about it — your friend tells you they learned something new about pop culture, wellness, sports or even politics. Your first guess probably isn’t, “Oh, they must’ve heard it from their sociology professor.” More often than not, it came from a YouTuber, podcaster or endless scrolling on Instagram reels.
Even if you’re not fully replacing news or academic advice with a 15-second clip, the rabbit hole of information found on the For You page can feel just as influential, if not more, than a lecture you barely remember the next day. The way we talk, dress and think about success is often a reflection of the online personalities we consume on our social media platforms, rather than the institutional traditions we grew up in.
But before parents and professors start to panic, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
The career pathway of being an influencer is the equivalent of buying a lottery ticket. Even if immediate fame and fortune aren’t easily achievable, every time you post, you’re essentially gambling with the odds of going viral. Continuing that consistency, you’re bound to build a platform of like-minded people within the span of months, granted, sometimes years.
Social media also provides a platform for those with entrepreneurial spirits to thrive. I grew up watching Shark Tank, which at the time was a unique opportunity for those with business ideas who didn’t have the means to start their own company. A little over a decade later, and we’ve entered a world where anyone can pitch their idea with hopes of being discovered, even without traditional degrees.
On the other hand, institutions do undoubtedly have guardrails. A professor holds a Ph.D. and has peer-reviewed work to support their claims. A church has centuries of theology behind its teachings. But influencers thrive on relatability and clicks. Their power depends on how well they can get us to buy in — literally and figuratively.
While some view college as a system that only views students as statistics, the same could also be said for influencers who see their followers as consumers.
Many of us probably came to Baylor with expectations shaped by social media. Maybe you thought everyone would be hyper-religious, or that life would look like a nonstop reel of sorority recruitment videos. And sure, some of that exists. However, the real college experience is deeper and more personal than what influencers often portray.
Institutions, for better or worse, still hold the responsibility of providing us with the full picture.
Stereotypes about people or places aren’t so different from the way we already form opinions based on who we follow. Just because an influencer says something doesn’t mean it’s the whole story, let alone even true. At the same time, just because an institution claims authority doesn’t mean it’s automatically relevant.
Maybe the better question isn’t which one shapes us more, but how we balance the two. Influencers give information a face to relate to, a personality with which we can feel a connection, but institutions can keep it grounded. If college is about trying new things, maybe it’s also about learning when to take a professor’s word over a podcaster’s and when to question both.
