We all know social media can be a hard place to exist. The mean comments, the cyberbullying, and the constant exposure to the rest of the world can be a lot to handle. As social media users, we often create a parasocial relationship with influencers and TikTokers.
We love their content, so we keep watching, liking their videos, and commenting. I know I certainly do when I’m on TikTok. Yet, because these people show us their lives, we often feel like they owe it to us to show us everything.
This means that when influencers do something we don’t like, we tell them. This is often done in aggressive, offensive ways that people think are just silly little jokes. At the best of times, influencers brush it off. But at the worst of times, it destroys their mental health, and the person we fell in love with watching is lost.
Chris Olsen is a victim of these attacks. He rose to fame on TikTok during the pandemic with his then-boyfriend Ian Paget. The two made silly videos that gave people a little humor in their day and faith in romance during a worldwide pandemic.
Although the videos featured both of them, it was Chris Olsen’s account that was gaining traction. When they broke up in 2022, the dynamic of his followers changed. Mean comments and a follower decline affected his mental health. The cyberbullying was constant, and it reached a peak after their breakup.
In the past, he decided to private his second spam TikTok account. Immediately, the internet noticed. If there’s one thing people absolutely hate on the internet, it’s FOMO (fear of missing out). The gates were closed, and a community was built.
As someone who watched Olsen from afar, I enjoyed his content but never followed him. Yet, he was always on my FYP on TikTok. When the gates closed, I felt the absence and was immediately jealous of the people inside. I requested to follow (just like many others), and on September 24, he made his account public for people to follow again.
The rules are simple when following his spam account. No sharing his content outside of this account, and no negativity towards him, others, or yourself, or he will kick you out. As a Club Chris member (Instagram and TikTok because I have intense FOMO), I can’t discuss what he posts, but I’ll tell you it’s quite refreshing.
Despite having over five million followers on TikTok and over 400,000 on Instagram, it has become a safe space. On this account, Chris Olsen has been open about his addiction struggles and his sobriety path, which has allowed people to follow suit. Comments are filled with people supporting each other and genuinely having a place to come and be vulnerable.
Club Chris is setting the standard for social media etiquette. As social media users, we can often forget that the people we’re viewing on our phone screens are real people. They aren’t characters on a movie screen who can’t see what we’re saying. They don’t owe us their lives, and they owe even less if we destroy their mental health. I hope Chris Olsen’s little corner of the internet gives inspiration to others to do the same.
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