Dalla Chickie-Run alla challenge di Casal Palocco: piattaforme, content creator e immaginari

The controversies surrounding the fatal car accident in Casal Palocco have rekindled old criticisms regarding the use of social media by the younger generations. Philosophers and commentators have voiced their concerns in the face of the social, identity, and familial crisis caused by the success of social platforms. Technological dependency, digital narcissism, and the inability to discern the distinction between online and offline realities are purportedly transforming the younger generations into ‘monsters’ obsessed on likes. In this paper, we aim to examine the imaginaries that underlie the social narratives attempting to define influencers, youtubers, tiktokers, and the vast and heterogeneous cosmos of content creators populating the internet. The objective is to reconstruct the mythologies and rituals at play, endeavoring to bridge together media forms and socioeconomic practices. Simultaneously, however, the study intends to shed light on whether and to what extent this imaginary is fueled by the logic of platformization. We contend that the easy gains achieved by the very young by pushing the boundaries of challenges further and further are a determining variable that sustains the discussed imaginary.