Katie Lingard
In recent years with the rise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I have been drawn into the world of superheroes. Introduced to me by friends, I have gotten into all of the hype of each new release, storyline and new character. I was never a big comics fan and as a younger person probably would have thought they were a waste of time or weird. But alas, here I am a diehard fan counting down the days until the newest battle on-screen takes place.
I have completely fallen in love with the idea of people who have been gifted special powers, using them for good or saving the world from destruction. The depiction of our heroes carrying the weight of making life-altering decisions and the burden to save others by making the right choices fascinates me.
One of my favourite quotes is that of a Spiderman issue from 1962. “ …with great power, there must also come—great responsibility! ” (Lee, 1962). This has struck a chord with me. I looked into the quote further and found that many people of influence have quoted it or paraphrased it before Spiderman. Here is a great article from Quote Investigator exploring the quote further. Many people claim its roots go all the way back to a Biblical reference to the gospel Luke 12:48 which says “…From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” On social media today, one has an opportunity to accumulate followers and friends infinitely and share thoughts, ideas and content ad nauseam. Sure there are the “police” that censor inappropriate content, but what about ethical content? What prevents a person of influence from using their powers for less than good?
A friend and I got into a discussion about this very thing when I was sharing my thoughts on this topic. She pointed out that anyone can be a person of influence. Even with a small number of connections in a network or two, one can bring about small and simple change. We agreed that no one really knows who their circle of influence is or how far it might reach.
So here is my question. Today in a world of influencers and people making money by sharing or endorsing products and brands on social media, what is our responsibility? When anyone can get online and amass a following, and have been given the power to influence others, how can we use it for good and what does that look like? How does one become a superhero influencer? Share your thoughts!
Until next time, dear friends.
Reference:
Lee, S. (1962). The Narrator, Amazing Fantasy #15.
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Algonquin College Social Media Certificate Program 
Hi Katie, I liked your post. I’m with you, I think Influencers should take seriously the influence that they wield. I think one very basic rule that I’d follow, in their shoes, would be to only give honest reviews of the products that you’re promoting and/or, only promote products that you believe in, that way you don’t end up giving bad reviews.
As soon as you mentioned everything in your first paragraph I related. If I wasn’t introduced to marvel I would have never known how amazing it is. I can say the same as you when it comes to being interested in special powers and super heroes. My favourite is venom. As long as you have something to share with the world you can be an influencer. You don’t have to have 2 million followers to be an influencer. I feel like the media portrays that in the wrong way. Over all enjoyable read we have something in common!
Hey Katie! As a diehard Marvel fan myself, I feel like this is the kind of question we think of a little more because we have a chance to see the characters we love so much evolve (when done right) and grow while also having so much power. Each decision they make can have huge repercussions in either direction and that’s what makes it so real.
I don’t really have an answer to your question other than maybe by spreading kindness and awareness? A lot of people use their platforms for their own benefit once they gain significant following. Staying quiet on ”hot subjects” can avoid controversy, but staying quiet is also a choice.
I don’t know if you know Misha Collins who used to play Castiel in Supernatural, but I feel like he’s doing a little bit of that. He’s using his platform to educate people and to call out others. Obviously there is always a matter of opinion, but I think he’s got the right idea about using his platform, gained from popularity on a show playing a really loved character, to talk about real life issues that affect your everyday people. Also he is just a really good dude all around (can confirm, have met him very briefly haha)
In any case, it’s a good question to ask, and a tough one to answer! Thanks for the read 🙂
Hi Katie I really enjoyed reading your message here. I do love that quote as well “with great influence comes great responsibility”. Very true!
Not related to the superheros at all but did you hear what happened to Rachel Hollis? She is an influential writer but earlier in the year got caught saying some not so nice things and was called out on it. Didn’t go over well with her audience. You could say she did have a lot of influence so we just have to remember to be so careful with our words.
Thank you for the lovely read.