Something’s shifted. Maybe it’s the pandemic, maybe it’s the Instagram algorithm, or maybe we’re all just finally ready to be honest with ourselves – we’re getting tired of influencers. There’s been a distinct change in attitudes towards influencers and the content they provide us with. Many of us don’t really want to be influenced anymore, and more importantly, a lot of us just can’t afford it.
Social media made the lifestyles of the rich and famous much more accessible, and as a result, the lines began to blur between regular people and celebrities. The result? Influencer culture.
We all know what influencers are: people who’ve built loyal online followings that create content based on a range of interests, like food, fashion, travel, lifestyle, makeup and more. Brands partner with them, paying up to thousands of pounds per post for them to present their products to their followers. Influencers, and the lifestyles they present, are basically walking, talking billboards.
Personally, I follow quite a few influencers on YouTube and Instagram, for makeup tutorials and tips, fashion and hair inspiration, skincare tips and sometimes just to see a snapshot of a life slightly different (and usually, significantly more glamorous and interesting) than mine. However, lately, I must confess that I’ve become quite disillusioned with influencers and their content.
I have influencer fatigue. And I’m not the only one: according to the influencer marketing platform Traackr (via Vogue Business), people are engaging less with influencer content. While the number of active users and sponsored posts across makeup, skincare and haircare increased in the last three months of 2021, engagement has fallen quarter over quarter.
It started with a general disillusionment toward celebrity culture. Take Coachella; once an event that would have us all glued to our phones to see what ‘looks’ celebrities had put together, this year it barely made any noise. As we slowly adjust to post-pandemic life, it seems that influencers are speeding ahead.
We’re growing tired of voyeuristically observing lives that are so overwhelmingly far removed from our reality. Not when the cost of living and inflation are higher than they’ve ever been before, and wages aren’t keeping up with them. Not when the pandemic rumbles on with no real end in sight. Not when we’re becoming increasingly conscious of the long-term environmental and ethical impact of overconsumption. We just aren’t buying what they’re selling; and with social media’s obsession with luxury – luxury bags, luxury shoes, luxury holidays, luxury skincare, luxury makeup – a lot of us can’t even afford to.
As I said before – influencers often lie in the grey area between regular people and celebrities and are increasingly moving closer to the latter. We went from Zara and Missguided outfits to Jacquemus and Bottega Veneta. From EGO and Public Desire heels to Versace and Amina Muaddi, all seemingly overnight. And I get it – business is good. The influencers are in a different tax bracket now, and the brands are simply reflecting that. However, I can’t really get ‘inspo’ from outfits I simply cannot afford to replicate.
I’m 21, and a student and a lot of the influencers I follow are in their late 20s and 30s. I’ve had to realise that I simply can’t afford to be anymore – we’re at completely different life and financial stages. And that’s okay. It’s unrealistic and unfair to me to feel inadequate for not being able to attain the lifestyles they present.