Online vs. Physical Presence

As technology evolves, so does the meaning of presence. These days, it seems like just about anyone can become famous with a YouTube channel or a cool fashion blog.

Take Shane Dawson, for example. He makes YouTube videos—mostly comedy skits/music video parodies. With over 2.9 million subscribers and 690 million upload views, he is currently the highest paid YouTube star. So just how much does this 22-year-old make? Umm... only $315,000 per year. Let me repeat that, three hundred fifteen thousand dollars just off of YouTube videos! (What the fu*k are we doing in school, when we could be making bank off of YouTube?!) Clearly his online presence is worth something.

What about his physical presence? 

Existing, occurring, or being present in a place. He exists, online. He occurs, online. He’s present, online. I guarantee 99.9% of the people who comment Shane Dawson’s videos, have never even met the guy, nor will ever recognize him in person. So even though his online presence is worth $315,000, his physical presence, eh… maybe not so much.


Is one better than the other? I'm present online in this blog, but do you even know me in class? You tell me, would you rather have online presence, or physical presence?

- Nina