Social Stirrups — Analyzing our online social world is a web-exclusive column, in which Kendra Nelson delves into the hidden meanings of our online social media world.  Read more of this column here. And check back soon for more bi-weekly content!

[dropcap]O[/dropcap]h the glorious trends that come to us via social media! The only place where a catchphrase can catch fire faster than your tinder match. Damn Daniel happens to be one of the latest viral video trends, in which a young gent named Daniel is hilariously mocked for his fashion choices — in particular, his white vans.

Along with the video going viral, the demand for white vans spiked a bid on eBay for an astounding 11k. That’s more dollars than followers most of us can get on our instagram accounts. It’s clear that not only does social media have the ability to entertain, but it also has the capacity to start fashion trends, encourage social movements, and drive sales in a more accurate and profound way than ever before.

That being said, it’s becoming ever more difficult to distinguish between what is advertising and what is entertainment. Netflix, for instance, is able to provide its subscription service at a lower cost than cable due to the product placement within its programming. You can’t skip an ad if it is included in your show; which is precisely what this viral video does.

People “create both the content that draws them to the site and detailed information about their tastes, behaviour, and patterns of social relations,” which is essentially labour that enables companies to pinpoint their advertising, as relayed by Mark Andrejevic, in his text The 21st Century Telescreen.

Assuming that ‘Damn Daniel’ isn’t staged — it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve been duped by a viral video, such as the harlem shake, which was picked up by countless companies as part of their marketing schemes — Damn Daniel is just another example of people ‘working for free.’

When clips go viral and gain the status of Internet meme, they are capable of grasping the world’s attention, even if it doesn’t last for very long. The immediate effects are staggering, and in this particular case, the effects are free advertising for Vans. What more could a company ask for?

Here we see the Vans Twitter account giving @josholzz and @daniel_laraa the thumbs up, as they both saved the company potentially millions of dollars in advertising costs when their content blew up on all social media networks.

Spoiler Alert!

If you haven’t seen any new workaholics close your eyes!

Even comedic mainstream shows are offering their commentary on the way we relate to social media and the advertising therein. Workaholics recently poked fun at the social dynamics that social media can create, influencing the quip trio to turn against each other. Each was given a specific image of themselves to project online in order to build their ‘brands.’

Once they had each garnered a following it was their duty to sell their followers haphazard items. Moral of the story: social media tears friends apart. Just kidding, but seriously, if comedy is making fun of it, we know its effects are a big part of our society.

Overall, it appears our online personas are becoming larger than life. Our realities have become warped inside this online world. We all know that instagram is basically a Sears wish list catalogue specially tailored to our interests, so why do we keep up with the charade? Apparently it all comes down to us not minding being bought and sold, as long as we are entertained in the meantime.

P.S. Shout out to the unnamed SFU artist depicting their rendition of the ‘Damn Daniel’ trend close to residence on campus. Exceptional talent!