With social media playing a larger role in people’s day-to-day lives, brands are capitalizing on getting clicks and impressions through viral posts and publicity stunts.
Duolingo, the free language-learning platform, publicly announced the death of its mascot, Duo the Owl, in an X post Feb. 11. As one would think, many people on the internet had different reactions to this shocking news.
In response to Duo’s demise, famous singer and songwriter Dua Lipa posted on X that read, “Til’ death duo part” with a breaking heart emoji in response to Duolingo’s official statement of the mascot’s death.
The statement reads, “It is with heavy hearts that we inform you that Duo, formerly known as The Duolingo Owl, is dead. Authorities are currently investigating his cause of death and we are cooperating fully. Tbh, he probably died waiting for you to do your lesson, but what do we know.”
On Feb. 24, Duo the Owl was officially resurrected and became the face once again of Duolingo. Duolingo posted a montage video on X of the platform’s users completing their lessons, indicating that those who caught up on whatever language they were learning was what brought Duo the Owl back to life.
In the video, the caption read, “Faking my death was the test and you all passed.”
On the surface, the situation seems like it would not be that big when discussing other companies with similar online presences to Duolingo. However, many brands are now more chronically online than ever.
The term “chronically online” has had different iterations over the years. The earliest concept of this would be terms like “extremely online” or “terminally online.” Both of those have a negative connotation, as they are often associated with people who have an unhealthy dependence on being online.
“Chronically online” is more popular among Generation Z, and it is associated with someone being so deeply immersed into the culture of the internet, that their perception of reality can be affected.
Since many young people rely on using social media to navigate the world and see what others are doing, the platform is a perfect way for companies to get creative with brand identities.
Most of the chronically online brands appear on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and X, some of the most used social media platforms worldwide. With the usage of these platforms, so many companies possess access to an audience who are not aware of their product.
The reason why companies are doing this is plain and simple: being more in-touch with the online world provides them more options to interact with buying customers. By doing this, these companies can further implement products in ways that align with how people currently browse social media.
The companies can also keep up with current events and trends. The possibilities are endless for companies such as Duolingo or even PacSun when operating online.
However, there is one thing to consider when discussing this matter and that is whether or not this pattern of companies being chronically online will or will not eventually lose its audience.
This perhaps is a question that cannot be answered in this modern age. As far as anyone knows, people will continue to feed into something, whatever that thing may be, as long as it gives them what they want in return.
Chronically online brands and the companies that actively engage in them are here to stay for the foreseeable future. For what it is, it is a perfect reflection of our time and how social media has evolved.
