From publishing to music and fashion, social media allows us to promote ourselves and our achievements in a wide range of industries. And these days, a big social media following often means a greater likelihood of being offered exciting professional opportunities.
This is increasingly the case in the film industry, too, according to actor Gemma Arterton, star of St Trinian’s and Quantum of Solace, who said she has taken a stand against it by deleting social media apps from her phone.
“I have a friend who’s been told she has to put up more ‘outfit of the days’ and regular pictures of her food because a lot of the casting for film happens on social media," Arterton said in an interview with The Observer.
"The money people go: ‘Well, they’ve got 3m followers and that actor has only got 1,000, so…’ But I’m determined to do things differently," she added.
"And that’s only because my earlier career informed me. I know now what I want to talk about, what I want to explore. That’s women’s place in the world. And all the stuff that I’m producing, all the stories that I want to tell next, are about that exact thing.”
Arterton is active on social media herself, with 139,000 Instagram followers and 62,700 Twitter followers.
Earlier this year, Oscar-winner Emma Thompson also spoke out against the trend of actors being cast because of their social media following. She said it worried her that actors with "big followings" are being cast "so the studios can use their followings to sell their movie".
"The actors are becoming attached in the sort of business way to their social media profiles, and I think that’s a disaster," she added.