Cameron Dallas says selfies are here to stay

Cameron Dallas knows his way around the internet.

The 22-year-old social media star has millions of followers on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and Vine (R.I.P.). Now he’s trying his hand at more traditional media, starring and executive producing in “Chasing Cameron,” a Netflix original docu-series, premiering Dec. 27.

The reality series will follow the young talent behind-the-scenes, as he navigates the drama and conflicts on the road with MAGCON, (Meet and Greet Convention) a touring fan fest starring his friends and fellow young social media influencers like Aaron Carpenter and Taylor Caniff.

We talk with the young star about his transition to more traditional media, his favorite social media platform and the future of the selfie.

Tell us about the opportunity to do the Netflix show and what drew you to it.
I have an eight foot by four foot white board I write all my goals on. A year ago, I wrote that I wanted to have a show on Netflix because I wanted to help speed up the process of bridging the gap between social media and traditional media. [I also wanted to] educate people, because there’s a really big generational gap between the millennials and basically everyone else as far as what social media is, what goes on, what’s the power of it [and] how it’s being used for brands. We’re on the forefront and we’re determining the space as we go.

What can your fan base learn about you from this show that they don’t already know from obsessively following you?
Typically [for] fans, what they see is what I put out. What they’re going to be able to see [on “Chasing Cameron”] is what goes on behind the scenes. What truly happens: all the drama between me and the guys and how we conflict and how we handle it, what we say on social media and who’s being truthful and who’s lying.

On top of that, I want to educate the older generation by showing them the business side, how much work truly goes into it.

How are you different from the self that you project online? Are there any aspects of you that might come through in the show?
They can see me stressed out trying to wrangle all these kids and run a business at the same time; flipping the switch between being a talent and being a business owner.

I’m still being me on social media, but at the same time, they don’t see all of me on social media. They don’t see me going on a business meeting with Dolce & Gabbana, they don’t see the drama that happens between me and Taylor [Caniff] because we got in an argument.

A lot of your close friends you’ve met online and then in real life, via MagCon. It seems like more and more people are meeting people online first.

It’s the new generation. I feel like it’s expected. I feel like that meme [“Slide into your DMs”] is turning into real life. Like, “I met your mom through Instagram DMs”; it’s [now] true.

When you were younger did you have any reality shows that you watched, that you were a big fan of?
I was a huge fan of“Rob and Big”.Rob Dyrdek is actually someone I look up to. He’s a skateboarder. Early on in his career instead of taking short term money he would take equity in companies. He’s really good overall about how he expands his business.

Do you have any social justice aspirations?

I ran a campaign for a foster charity. Iraised125,000 dollars through the American Giving Awards, which was super exciting for me. I just did a thing where weraised moneyfor people in Africa as far as building wells and things like that. I’m always looking for new ways to better the communities. I’ve done the Make a Wish foundation, too.

Do you have a favorite social media channel?

Probably Instagram, because I started on it. I branded myself as a model, then I crossed over to Twitter, Youtube, Tumblr, then Vine. Then I made a company, had my first meet and greet in New York and thousands of girls showed up. I was like, wow this is really something. So then I end up forming MAGCON and now I’m just continuing to work in fashion and these different industries.

MAGCON is almost like the boy bands of today.

We [the guys] are really close. We’re kind of grouped together, but at the same time we have our own individual brands.

Do you feel like selfies are ever going to stop being a thing?

When I travel places I take selfies. I don’t think so. People have always taken selfies throughout history. From Myspace until now.