A bad case of Influenca

With all that’s going on in today’s society, one thing that isn’t going anywhere fast is social media. It’s fun, accessible to most and has been wholly accepted by the masses; unfortunately not everything that goes with social media is a positive thing, in fact these days you may be able to name more negatives than positives, but there is one particular aspect of social media in 2019 that I cannot and will not get behind. ‘Influencers’. 

When you think of the word influencer you think of the influential people of the world; Nelson Mandela, Plato, Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Rosa Parks, the list goes on. What you don’t think of is a 20-something year-old selling teeth whitening strips to their followers just because they get paid by the company to post a picture. Unfortunately these days teenagers could probably name more social media ‘influencers’ than actual influential people. 

These ‘influencers’ tend to congregate on Instagram, they lure you into their trap with beautiful pictures and seemingly perfect lifestyle but beware, as all is not as it seems. 

Now I am completely aware that this form of business is beneficial to the company who wishes to sponsor the ‘influencers’ and that it works in today’s online realm of advertising but what I don’t understand is why suddenly everyone and anyone is considering themselves an ‘influencer’ when they should be classed as shameless advertisers. They pay no heed to what they are endorsing and have no interest in the product apart from the financial benefits.

What they fail to take into account is the consequences of their actions, they have followers who admire them and maybe, although it’s sad to say, aspire to be just like them. People who believe purchasing the products will get them one step closer to their goal thus creating a new wave of ‘influencers’ like a pointless, never ending cycle. This is not to say that some influencer partnerships aren’t legit, it’s just that most aren’t. 

This new breed of influencer, which has only just become fully evolved in the last year or so, think simply and seem to follow a basic equation for ‘success’: followers + likes = more exposure = sponsored posts = $$$$ 

However as more and more people become infected with, what I like to call, influenca, the public is becoming more aware that it’s all a bit fake. 

This idea of the fake influencer came to life in 2017 when advertisements for a hot new festival started popping up on our instagram feeds. The festival was promoted by big name celebrities and ‘influencers’ like Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and Hailey Baldwin along with tens of others. It was hyped up to be the festival of the year and people instantly spent thousands to party like the celebrities they follow. In the end the now infamous Fyre festival was cancelled as the organisers realised it was far from the fantasy that was promised, unfortunately it was only cancelled after all the guests arrived to see the paradise island wasn’t quite as expected and held closer resemblance to a warzone than a party. 

The story broke and people were outraged but not even this has dented the business of social media influencers and so it begs the question what needs to happen for people to wake up and smell the BS? Because Influenca is real and it’s spreading fast.