We all spend a lot of time on our devices these days for so many reasons but social media tops the list. In today’s digitalised society, influencers and their over-the-top lifestyles have become the norm among the younger generation. I know I follow my fair share of influencers across my social media apps and I know you do too.
According to a report by Persuasion Nation about 46% of Gen Z follow over 10 influencers on social media. With this statistic, the influencer culture won’t be going away anytime soon, especially as brands looking to penetrate into the Gen Z market, do so with the help of influencers.
But first, who is an influencer?
According to Collins Dictionary an influencer is someone who is able to persuade a lot of other people, for example their followers on social media, to do, buy, or use the same things that they do. These influencers are often paid or given free products in return for doing this.
There are so many influencers spread out across social media, with diverse niches, ranging from fashion, beauty, and travel to fitness, technology, and social issues and depending on your interests, social media influencers can leverage your following of them to share their viewpoints, beliefs, and recommendations through various types of content like posts, videos, blogs, or tweets.
The influencer star power lies in the fact that they are ’regular-degular’ people, just like you and me, who have managed to accumulate followers who watch and interact with what they post. For this simple fact, their followers tend to listen to their recommendations and imitate their lifestyle as if they were celebrities. But what are the negatives of wholly consuming the lives of influencers from the perspective of a younger audience?
Mental Health Impact:
I think I speak for everyone when I say we’ve all experienced mindlessly scrolling through Instagram, and then stopping to look closely at a random person’s photos from a vacation or a night out with envy and dissatisfaction. The photo typically features bright smiles, aesthetic scenery and luxury wears.
Of course, the posts of these random individuals often trigger insecurities as they boast thousands of likes and hundreds of comments that celebrate their beauty and lifestyle.
Although we know that comparison is the thief of joy, we can’t help but do so, and as a consequence, inadvertently trigger mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.
Unrealistic Beauty Standards:
The above example illustrates the power of social media perception and in the hands of influencers, this perception can become even more misleading.
This is because influencers have the power to distort their reality by simply slapping on filters on their photos to look flawless, promoting body dissatisfaction indirectly. The younger audience, unaware of these tricks can internalize the subtle messaging and develop eating disorders, low self-esteem and body image issues.
Materialism
When we think of the people that wear designer brands, we think of self-made individuals, influencers, and celebrities. An average salary earner doesn’t come to mind because there’s a high likelihood that they may not be able to afford it.
Some influencers are able to convince their followers that they have attained success by being able to afford luxury bags, shoes and clothes but what their young, loyal fans may not know is that sometimes, these purchases could be rentals disguised as one-time purchases.
In summary, the influencer culture of relentlessly pursuing material possessions can encourage their younger audience to prioritize material wealth over genuine human connections and true happiness.
Bottom Line
The influencer culture is not all doom-and-gloom as several benefits have been gleaned from it including the motivation to succeed, promotion of creativity and impartation of knowledge to their substantial audience.
However, it is important for us all to be mindful of the type of content they choose to consume from their favorite social media influencers to prevent/limit the negative experiences associated with it.
