If I see a shiny thing, I want it and I’ve been like, since I was a kid. However, it’s one thing to spend your own money on a glittery gadget but quite another to shell out your hard-earned cash on a risky venture such as a cryptocurrency NFT (non-fungible token) game. This is what hundreds of Logan Paul fans did last year and the entire saga beggars belief.
The CryptoZoo FOMO
FOMO – fear of missing out
Logan Paul, the YouTube superstar and influencer, is known for his publicity stunts which include boxing matches, sports drinks, and more recently his forays into the murky world of cryptocurrency and NFTs. In 2021 he launched CryptoZoo – “A really fun game that makes you money…”. A year later the game never materialised despite hundreds of his followers spending thousands on NFT eggs. One US man alone spent $40,000 and others, many thousands of dollars. As of today’s date, Paul has instigated a buy-back where investors can apply to get their money back. But there’s a catch – applicants must waive the right to sue Paul and/or CryptoZoo and all claims must be submitted by 8th February.
Logan Paul has a combined total of 32 million followers on social media and in 2022, together with KSI, launched a sports drink, Prime Hydration which is said to have an annual turnover of $1.2 billion in sales and sponsorship deals. With cash like that on hand it begs the question, why was Paul so reluctant to deal with the CryptoZoo debacle more rapidly than he has?
This drink has taken the market by storm and when there was a shortage in Europe, buyers actually stampeded in shops to get their hands on what was left.
As one commenter suggested, if Logan Paul were selling dog food, the result would be the same. The power of influencers is incredible and one wonders if said influencers realise the power that they wield. There have been incidents of social media followers indulging in bizarre behaviour, buying goods simply because an influencer was promoting something shiny. But the question remains – if I asked you to put your hand in a raging fire for sixty seconds or eat a live cockroach for a tasty reward, how would you reply? Many would simply follow the cursed suggestion because, as far as they are concerned, said influencer has become God.
It’s the same with parting with your hard-earned cash for some dodgy scheme – think twice and listen to your gut instincts. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
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The idiocy of the population – even those with good educations – never ceases to amaze me.
When you think about it, the younger generations are being raised on electronic devices before they can even walk. To them, that is the real world.
So people like Paul and all the other influencers who dominate TikTok and the other social media spaces are the equivalent of Cult leaders of the truth to these kids. This is all they really know and many of whom know nothing beyond these screen boundaries. If you’ve ever watched High School students on YouTube being asked the most obvious basic general knowledge questions in the street and having absolutely no idea, you can easily understand why so many Western countries are in the financial state they are already in if this is the quality of citizen voters.
Hardly surprising that people like Paul can then wield so much financial power over their disciples !