When the spring break Instagram posts hit the ground running, pictures of my classmates in picture-perfect tropical scenes bombarded me as I returned to the desolate surroundings of central Pennsylvania.
As the week progressed, I found myself checking Instagram every 15 minutes and getting more and more bitter. I was filled with the urge to post anything to show that I was having fun too – which I wasn’t. I wanted to misrepresent myself to my classmates and followers. I wanted to create a product.
Social media started as Place to connect digitally with people from all walks of life. Community was the focus. As kids we got into it. I remember days of snapchatting and sharing videos on Instagram with friends, but as I got older I felt a change.
Social media no longer feels like a community, but rather a platform where I can sell a filtered version of myself. Somehow it’s become the new norm to think of social media like a marketplace — a where We are the products that are sold.
This change is mainly due to influencers — People with a strong online presence who persuade their target audience to buy advertised products. As they get more and more followers, their posts have a greater impact and an increase in sales. This new type of advertising is known as “Influencer Marketing.”
The great thing about this type of advertising is that it makes consumers think they are in control. Social media has become the lynchpin of our lives. We see ourselves in control of what we interact with and, more importantly, what we don’t do. This creates a theme for brands, as they cannot easily reach consumers. Influencer marketing is changing all of that.
People listen to their favorite YouTube star, Instagrammer, or TikTok personality when suggesting they buy a product. A study found that 49% of consumers Rely on influencer recommendations.
Big brands are now putting some of their budget into this new marketing, and some brands are starting to pour money into what’s called “creator economy.” On social media, the term is “Influencer” has been replaced with “Creator”. what the New Yorker’s Kyle Chayka is conjuring up Calls“an Internet where we are all artisan blacksmiths, plying our digital crafts.” The Internet has become a tool for each of us to forge our own brand.
Influencers make a living by posting photos of their daily lives and tagging a well-known brand in the corner. Some influencers can do that bring in $250,000 in a single contribution. But where is the rest of us, those who don’t make a living from a few photo dumps? It forces us to navigate social media platforms that have turned into economies.
Influencers rely on likes, followers, and shares to track engagement and generate revenue. These metrics have become what’s known as “social currency” — how consumers gauge the credibility of influencers’ brands. But these are the same metrics that ordinary people use to boost their own social standing and self-worth.
Instagram and other social media apps use likes and shares Create their own reward systems. Indeed, these platforms activate the same part of the brain that’s cheered on when people treat themselves to an extra dessert or earn a few extra bucks playing. When users get a like or share, their brains light up. The Like button has turned into one source of confirmation.
But as social media has become a hub for performance, the stress of always having to perform has caught up with users. Teens spending less time on social media reported less depression and anxiety. With the addition of influencers, users don’t compare themselves to a friend with four more likes, but someone with millions more. studies have also shown that increased social media use can lead to a variety of problems such as depression, anxiety and abnormal sleep patterns.
All of these factors have led to an increased wave of regular social media users mimicking influencers. I’ve watched friends and colleagues tag brands in their Instagram images to create the same viral phenomenon that influencers are known for. To achieve the shine of a well-received Instagram post, users amplify their feed.
But when people copy influencers, they forget that influencers’ feeds aren’t their real lives — they’re products. Influencers benefit from their self-image. As more and more people emulate influencer trends and techniques, they are moving away from their own reality. What may have started as an attempt to get more activity on their site is becoming a personality to keep up with. Influencer culture is no longer limited to influencers — it has become a core of our society and has pushed us all to see our own lives through the lens of social media currency.
Ebonee Rice-Nguyen writes primarily on political, social, and cultural issues. Write to her [email protected].
Comments are closed.