— Joe Shoko
The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
The media is awash with posts of a young man named ‘IShowSpeed’. Presidential motorcades had to be unleashed to accommodate him on his African tour, where he vowed to visit over 20 African countries in a short space of time, with the aim and agenda to show the world that Africa is not as backward or archaic as they presume it to be.
The allure produced by being in the presence of people of renown is not new to our day. The Queen of Sheba trekked from faraway lands to listen to the wisdom of Solomon in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, the adoring crowds heaped praises upon King Herod after he gave a powerful speech. Two thousand years later, who is this man who has gripped the young and old and managed to make them ‘follow’ him whilst he does crazy stunts on his 3-5 hour live-streams?
IShowSpeed made a name for himself by becoming one of the youngest millionaires in the world through streaming and gaming on TikTok. Many were won over by his eccentric and over-the-top personality, which is characterised by doing back flips and comically overreacting to everything he sees.
Sadly, this influential figure with hordes of young followers uses coarse language and displays a worldly lifestyle during his livestreams, which have millions glued to their screens. The glaring reality is that many parents and pastors have never heard about this icon and his influence on young people in our homes and churches.
Here are four dangers of the craze over IShowSpeed and other internet stars like him.
- Promoting laziness
With the prevailing difficulties of many African economies, the need for diligence and hard work is a basic necessity if one is to have a chance at upward economic mobility. Sadly, many young people have ditched the ‘old-fashioned’ route of hard work. Hardly will you come across a young man who aspires to take on the challenge of rigorously applying himself to a painstaking discipline or career so as to better his standing in life.
On the contrary, the young men of our day seek the path of least resistance and the most youthful fun, which leads them to dreams of being a professional video gamer or streamer, all motivated by trying to avoid hard work. The bible warns about the sin of laziness. Those who do not work must not eat, and poverty is the end of a sluggard.
The problem of laziness is only exacerbated by observing the numerous youth who spend countless wasted hours watching a live stream of someone ‘enjoying’ the culture. Our young men need godly older examples who will teach them how to put in a hard day’s labour.
- Creating idols
Whenever IShowSpeed landed in any of the countries he visited in Africa, thousands upon thousands of people, young and old, thronged to where he was and began to chant his name. Some people were on their knees, weeping and clamouring to get to where the young man was. Many lost their dignity on camera just to get a chance to be captured with the man of the moment.
The Bible has a lot to say about idolatry. Idolatry is the worship of anything apart from the God of the Bible, Yahweh, who revealed Himself to Moses. The people of God were prohibited from idol worship (Exodus 20:1-3), and they were warned that those who fashion idols for themselves will become like them(Psalm 115:8). John Calvin called the heart an idol factory, and the internet age just geared us up for mass production.
- Normalising sensuality
As flies are always found close to a dung heap, sensuality is often the company of worldly internet celebrities. The streamer culture is rife with inappropriately dressed women who dance provocatively. Apart from God and the light of the gospel shining in our dark hearts, we have the propensity to behave like beasts, without shame.
Many of the young men who watch those streams see nothing wrong with them and are actually ushered into prisons of lust. They soon forget that immorality is an abomination to God. If they knew the wrath that is stored up for the wicked and immoral, they would shudder and tremble. Older men need to guard the young men entrusted to them from being given over to this sensuality.
4. Legitimising pride
Putting another human on such a pedestal puffs up his own ego and is ultimately injurious to his own soul. Scripture gives us both a timely and timeless warning that pride comes before a fall (Proverbs 16:18). Part of what drives the internet celebrity sensation is the obsession with displays of grandeur, wealth, and extraordinary abilities.
Through a WiFi connection, young men and women are easily discipled by the world to glory in their strength and beauty rather than in their Creator and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Paul asks the Corinthians, “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Cor. 4:7). James reminds his hearers that every good and perfect gift they have comes from the Father (James 1:17). Furthermore, the example of the aforementioned King Herod should ever be on our minds, who—after failing to divert the praise the people gave to him back to God—was consumed by worms and died.
Conclusion
Christians must always be wary of the perils around them. In our age of internet celebrities, the dangers of promoting laziness, creating idols, normalising sensuality, and legitimising pride are ever before us, and the young people in our care. We can overcome this danger by being consumed by the infinitely greater glory of Jesus Christ.
In a world captivated by men of great reputation and self-exaltation, we believers must follow the model of John the Baptist, who said of his Lord and ours, “He must increase, and I must decrease (John 3:30).”