Affluent teens stranded in the Caribbean.  Sounds like a horror movie. 

Advertised as the Instagram event of the century, teenagers desiring stardom get a radical wake-up call.  

The term “influencers” gets passed around a lot these days.  There’s now a cottage industry of millenials getting paid big bucks to Tweet, YouTube and Instagram reviews of products and highlight events.  

The Fyre Festival was born from rapper Ja Rule and mobile app entrepreneur Billy McFarland.  They saw a swath of money to be made by teasing affluent teens with stardom. 

Promoted as a luxury music festival with performances by Blink-182 and appearances by models Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid. Tickets ran from $1500-$12,000.  

But the draw wasn’t the musical acts.  It was the chance to garner social media stardom by tweeting pics of Jenner and others.  The more money spent, the more influence you acheived.  

But the get-rich-quick scheme quickly faded as the promoters forgot to actually create a festival.  Locations were changed last minute from a luxury island to forgotten beachfront next to a Sandals in the Bahamas. 

Celebrity chef prepared meals became styrofoam boxes of cheese sandwiches.  Accommodations went from luxurious cabanas to emergency-relief tents.  

But schadenfreude aside, this is what’s wrong with our culture.  Millenials- like every young generation before them- want to be instant stars without putting in the effort.  

“Just book me a flight to Fyre island and watch my stardom grow.”