Social Media Influencing Exposed

Woman Wearing Black and White Polka-dot Shirt With Black Short Shorts Holding Black Leather Tote Bag Sitting on White Concrete BenchPhoto byElias de Carvalho / Pexels

Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a kid tell you they want to grow up to be a social media influencer.

(You can’t see me over here, but my hand is raised.)

What is this way of life and career to which so many modern kids aspire? Those who want to become influencers often talk about how the lifestyle canopen travel and self-development possibilities, as well as help them make a lot of money.

But then there’s the other side of the jobthat is social media influencing that people rarely talk about: the side thatcan lead to burnout and depression for influencers, as well as poor mental health and problematic behaviors for the influenced.

Problematic behaviors on both sides of the screen

Many people have the idea that becoming an influencer can be an easy part-time gig. For some people, this may be true. For other influencers, gathering followers and attempting to monetize their contentcan be a more-than-full-time job that comes with huge pressures and even online harassment.

Influencers make the most money when they have the most engaged followers. Many of them sayengagement only happens if they produce non-stop content. If they take a break, their views drop, and their platform algorithms start to promote them less. It’s an ugly cycle, and one that means“taking the weekend off from work often means returning to do the same job on Monday for lower pay.”

In addition to burnout, many influencers report thatthey get the highest response (and most money) when theyengage in dangerous or unhealthy behaviors online,like showcasing their alcoholism (in a positive, humorous way, mind you), or overdoing workouts or unproven health regimes.

Those are just a few of the dangers facing those who create the content. For those who view and interact with their favorite TikTok and Instagram stars, there can be other dangers as well.

There’s a growing consensus that social media use, particularly among young people, can be disastrous to their mental health. In recent months, the U.S. Surgeon General has gone so far as to issue an advisory thatusing social media “can also have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.”

Some influencers themselves recognize the insidious andnegative effect that consuming too much influencer content can have on their followers. One influencer who counts 1.3 million followers across her social media platforms recently commented thatinfluencers are, at the end of the day, doing a job. And doing that job might involve making claims that border on the fraudulent: they “may claim that their diet and its aesthetic outcome improved their mental and physical well-being when it did not, and in fact may have been detrimental to both.”

The troubling flexibility of truth in social media influencing

The same social media influencer quoted above also notes thatit is becoming nearly impossible for followers to determine what’s real in Internet messaging and what’s been edited or completely created.

The influencer, Lydia Keating, describes how images and videos can be easily manipulated using software. She describes other creators who “recently exposed an editing software that allows creators to lengthen their legs, shrink their waists, smooth over textured skin, and re-sculpt their faces in not just photos but also videos.”

In this way, Keating notes,people are becoming increasingly desensitized to seeing bodies that appear real but have been changed in every way.

The more overt dangers of toxic influencers

Many social media influencers overstate the benefits of using products and use software to create unrealistic versions of themselves, but some influencers take things a step further. For many influencers, promoting toxic beliefs and lifestyles is what makes their brand lucrative.

One such hugely popular influencer is Andrew Tate. Studies have shown that “eight in 10 boys aged between 16 and 17 had either read, listened to, or watched content from the misogynistic ‘success coach.’” Tate’s life advice is often controversial, particularly many things he has said about women, including “I think the women belong to the man” and “female promiscuity has always been disgusting and frowned upon.”

Following such overtly toxic influencers can have a disastrous effect on viewers’ mental (and even physical) health. Researchers are now starting to document influencer followers’ behaviors, such as extreme attachment to social media personalities. They’re finding that such one-sided attachments and social media overuse can lead to “feelings of anxiety, depression, and lower self-esteem in vulnerable youth.”

Escaping the influence

In future years, it will become ever more important to become an engaged and questioning Internet user and social media follower.

Once you’re more aware of the risks to your (and your childrens’) mental health, it may be easier to take steps to lessen your dependence on social media influencers.

Experts suggest that your first step should be learning to recognize more toxic influencers. There are severalhallmarks of such content: toxicinfluencers may use more shaming language; they promote lifestyles that are obviously difficult to follow or are unrealistic; andthey promise that only they know the truth and what they are telling you is “secret” or shouldn’t be shared with others who aren’t also followers.

Many kids may still want to grow up to be social media influencers. It’s up to all of us to help ensure they know the risks of the career, both to themselves and to others.