Influence is the effect that something has on another thing or on someone.
Influence is the action and effect of influencing . This verb refers to the effects that one thing produces on another (for example, the wind on the water) or the dominance exercised by a person ( "John has a great influence over the decisions of his younger brother" ).
Thus, referring to people, influence is the power or authority of someone over another subject. That power can be used to intervene in a business, to obtain an advantage or to order something. In other words, influence is the ability to control and modify the perceptions of others.
The subjectivity of influence
This concept is subjective and, as such, the perception of one person's influence on another varies depending on the observer. There are a series of situations that are frowned upon by the majority of individuals of the same culture, such as the consumption of narcotics, armed robberies, sexual abuse and murders; Each one has a different level of severity, but all of these actions are considered crimes for most societies. Therefore, if a parent knows that their child has become friends with a person addicted to some drug, they will surely oppose the relationship claiming that they are a bad influence .
Likewise, compared to a studious and hard-working person, within normal parameters, their closeness to another individual will be seen as a potential good influence . However, if we leave crimes aside, given that they threaten the freedom of others and in no way can be seen as a positive act, most customs and tastes can be seen from two opposite positions.
Some examples
For example, a film enthusiast who wants to study a university degree to become a professional editor may encounter opposition from his parents and the suggestion of choosing a traditional path, considered more profitable. Other people with the same vision of life may consider that this young man represents a bad influence on their friends. This case, which seems extreme, is very common in many families and it is absurd that all of them consume art in various forms: they read novels and poetry but hate the idea of their children becoming writers; They love cinema but fear that they are raising future actors.
In the eternal struggle for reason, someone who in a given environment has the power to decide what is right and what is wrong may be considered a bad influence by another person, and the complexity of this web of conceptual differences is potentially infinite. .
The Beatles are a band that continues to influence many rock groups.
Sphere of influence and total influence
The notion of sphere of influence refers to a region where a State or an organization exercises indirect political, cultural, economic or military domination.
In electromagnetism, total influence occurs when all the electric field lines of a conductive surface end at another similar surface. In these cases, the surfaces form a capacitor .
The concept in music
On the other hand, “Influencia” is the name of an album by Argentine musician Charly García . This is his 21st record production and was released in 2002 . The album received several awards in Argentina and made songs like “Tu vice” and “Influencia” itself quickly reach the top positions in the music rankings.
The Puerto Rican Chayanne , for his part, released an album called “Influencias” in 1994 , where he pays tribute to artists such as Julio Iglesias , José Luis Rodríguez , José Feliciano and Sandro .
Finally, it should be noted that the term influence was used, in the past, to refer to the grace and inspiration that God sends internally to souls.