I read this a lot online, but strangely enough I see the opposite in practice. Young people who grew up immersed in social media are primed to recognize the difference between a rising social media star and the norm. It's the older people who associate any degree of notoriety with ultimate success who struggle to understand the difference between a super star and someone with a lot of social media followers.
> If I had seen the acrobatics you see daily on Reddit or the "casual home musicians" on Youtube, I'd probably have given up all my efforts.
But you wouldn't give up your efforts if you attended a concert of a famous musician, would you? Seeing a video with a million views on YouTube is a step below being a famous musician to young people.
If anything, seeing people gain small degrees of fame and notoriety without going all the way to the top of their field is even more motivating for young people. Seeing different levels of success drives home the point that success isn't binary, it's a spectrum.
I don’t think the feeling of inadequacy from seeing those more successful is generational.
I think it’s more a reflection of the guilt you harbor at that time, e.g. if I just spent a weak procrastinating, I’ll resent successful people more than if I spent a week productive.
To your point of internet and social media increasing the spectrum of success, I definitely think music industry is a great example of that.
> seeing people gain small degrees of fame and notoriety
Small point: "notoriety" is negative (the noun form of "notorious"). Its opposite is "renown". Both notorious and celebrated people are famous and carry, respectively, notoriety or renown.
(I keep seeing this and am hoping "notoriety" will not become an accepted alternative for "renown".)
> If I had seen the acrobatics you see daily on Reddit or the "casual home musicians" on Youtube, I'd probably have given up all my efforts.
But you wouldn't give up your efforts if you attended a concert of a famous musician, would you? Seeing a video with a million views on YouTube is a step below being a famous musician to young people.
If anything, seeing people gain small degrees of fame and notoriety without going all the way to the top of their field is even more motivating for young people. Seeing different levels of success drives home the point that success isn't binary, it's a spectrum.