Category Archives: influencers

I’m An Influencer. This Is The Dark Side Of My Job I Wish More People Knew About

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It’s easy to scroll through TikTok or Instagram and see your favorite influencers sharing glamorous updates, whether that’s opening free gifts, walking red carpets or traveling.

At first glance, it looks like influencers are living their dream life ― and, in a way, they are. They have access and opportunities the general population doesn’t normally get, simply because of their follower count. But on the other hand, social media is a glorified highlight reel, and it does come with dark sides — even for people whose job is to be on social media.

According to a 2023 Morning Consult survey of 1,000 Gen Zers, 57% of them wanted to be influencers. That statistic is a clear example of how this career path is becoming more popular among young adults and the general population. But there are a few downsides you should know first.

To get the lowdown, we spoke to influencers about the dark sides of influencing they wish more people knew about. Here’s what they had to say:

Being an influencer is time consuming

Most jobs feel long and draining, whether you’re working a nine-to-five in an office or scheduled for a 12-hour shift at a clinic. When it comes to being an influencer, although the hours might not be predetermined, the time put in is still the same ― and sometimes even more.

“Being a content creator involves tons of editing, concept development and collaboration with brands,” said Savannah Vinson, a New York City-based influencer with almost 200,000 followers on TikTok. “For instance, a simple voiceover can take me six hours, not including the time spent filming or editing. It’s not always glamorous, even though people often think it is.”

Aside from creating the content itself, there’s also a lot of back and forth that goes on between brands before filming and posting take place. For example, for Vinson, time is spent coordinating visits and planning transportation to different locations in New York City and beyond to capture the content itself.

Not to mention the fact that social media makes us feel like we always have to be “on.” The same holds true for influencers ― you’re never truly unplugged from your job, making the actual working hours much longer than you think.

Social media can be fake

Aside from being time-consuming, Vinson told HuffPost that social media can be incredibly disingenuous.

“Everything looks polished, but behind the scenes, it’s all about angles, lighting and editing,” she said. “I try to show the full experience, but you can’t always trust what you see online. It’s important to follow your gut and remember that things aren’t always as perfect as they may seem.”

On social media, most people post their happiness and successes. Think about what you personally post; chances are you’re not constantly sharing about your conflict with your partner or the criticism from your boss at work. You’re also likely not uploading a photo you feel is unflattering. The reality is that there’s often a lack of vulnerability and truth about the full spectrum of your life, and that can be draining.

“I try to show the full experience, but you can’t always trust what you see online. It’s important to follow your gut and remember that things aren’t always as perfect as they may seem.”

– Savannah Vinson

Influencing can be detrimental to your mental health.

Peter Petrella, an Orlando-based influencer with 85,000 followers on TikTok, told HuffPost it can be hard to navigate strangers’ opinions and mean comments ― and that can take a toll on your overall mental health.

“Speaking online means that you’re speaking to millions. It’s safe to say that no matter what you say, there’s going to be someone that doesn’t agree or doesn’t like what you have to say ― and some people can be not so nice,” he said.

Petrella noted that he had to learn to not let the comments section discourage him and post regardless of what people think.

“Being able to stay true to your own integrity while not letting those that disagree get in your head is a learned mindset that becomes essential when you take the path of becoming an influencer,” he said.

You can’t control the algorithm — and that can affect your success

Although an influencer might have a lot of followers, that doesn’t necessarily mean every video they post is going to perform well.

“Sometimes, most random things go well, and something you thought was going to go viral does not perform as you wish,” said Karina Achaeva, a New York City-based influencer with more than 950,000 followers on TikTok. “It’s truly impossible to control the algorithm most of the time.”

This can be hard for influencers because this is the main way they get followers, but it also can be hard from a business perspective. This is because brands they work with have certain expectations when it comes to engagement (likes, comments, views and more) ― and your income can rely on that engagement. When the algorithm doesn’t surface your content, it can be challenging to meet those goals.

At the end of the day, influencing does come with a lot of perks: it can be lucrative, a way to make your own schedule and there’s obviously the potential for internet fame. But there are still some challenges, similar to any profession. Just remember that everything you see on your feed isn’t always reality.

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People Are Muting Their Favourite Influencers. They Tell Us Why

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Instagram and influencers – it’s difficult to imagine one without the other. I’ve happily followed fashion influencers on Instagram since I first downloaded the app in 2014. And there’s no doubt the limited representation of Black women in mainstream media made me feel connected to Black influencers specifically.

These were the people I ran to for makeup recommendations, to ogle their clothing choices and tap up their lifestyle content, from food to travel. I’ve kept up with everything my favourite influencers are wearing and buying for years.

That is, until the pandemic.

It was during lockdown when I started feeling less inclined to scroll influencer content. This was partly because my own life, like many others at the time, wasn’t where I wanted it to be. I was job-hunting, while freelancing through a pandemic. It was difficult and I wanted social media to be a form of escapism.

But the content I’d once found aspirational began to feel out of touch. Seeing people the same age as me buying things I couldn’t afford didn’t want to make me want to work harder – it made me feel like I was doing something wrong.

I knew the influencers weren’t really the problem, but I had to control how they were leaving me feeling. As someone who spends a lot of time on social media, it was up to me to decide which content I wanted to consume.

So I started to unfollow or mute some of their accounts.

Like me, Toju, a 21-year old student from Glasgow, also noticed a shift during the Covid lockdowns in how she felt about the influencers she followed.

These were the weeks and months when it was easy to think other people had more space, more time, were being more productive or having more fun than you, despite the challenges we were all facing. Remember when it seemed like every past Love Island contestant ever was in Dubai over Christmas 2021?

“During that time, a lot of influencers were travelling or just living very different lives to me,” she says. “I’ve also recently felt a shift again this year as more influencers have moved towards luxury or designer items in their content.”

More influencers that ever seem to be publishing elevated content, from showcasing their designer clothes and bags to eating out at expensive restaurants and generally living a life of luxury.

Of course, this content can be seen variously as aspirational or a form of escapism. It can also make you feel wholly inadequate in the here and now.

The cost of living crisis is playing out in real time. It’s hardly surprising Toju and many other social media users no longer feel inspired by influencer accounts.

“I can’t even be ‘influenced’ because these items are simply entirely out of my reach and budget, so I gain nothing but feelings of inadequacy from them,” she says.

“I’m seeing more things that would like to have but can’t afford on a daily basis, something I probably wouldn’t see if I wasn’t on social media.”

But the answer isn’t necessarily coming off social media entirely. It could just be changing who you do follow or which platforms you use and for what.

Data analyst, Hena J. Bryan, 25, a content creator herself, says that she’s put many of the influencers she used to follow on mute for over a year now.

“They just don’t align with a lot of the things I find important,” she says. “I think relatability, for me anyways, goes beyond finances, especially as I can afford the things they’re advertising. I want to discover more influencers who offer more than pretty pictures, and I’ve found a few who speak to my interests.”

Bryan creates content about the books she is reading and enjoys engaging with others doing the same. She adds: “I think people should curate their feed. You literally have to be militant and protect your digital footprint/experience.”

If you want to follow influencers, seek out those who genuinely speak to your interests.

SDI Productions via Getty Images

If you want to follow influencers, seek out those who genuinely speak to your interests.

It’s also worth being aware that how you engage with social media shifts over time. Akachi Priscilla Mbakwe, 32, a marketer from south London has lived online since her early teens. “I’ve been following influencers since I was on Tumblr,” she tells HuffPost UK. “People like Justine Skye who at the time were influencers, but the term wasn’t invented yet.”

When she was younger, Mbakwe says she followed people “for aspirational reasons”, and for their fashion and make-up content.

“I started to feel different in the pandemic especially during the resurgence of Black Lives Matter. I saw influencers uploading pictures of themselves whist the caption was about George Floyd – they just looked silly to me.”

There’s self-preservation at play here, too. “I started to unfollow influencers because I realised subconsciously that I was constantly comparing myself to them,” says Mbakwe. “Now I have such a better relationship with myself and how I look and I don’t want to compromise.

“I still look at them from time to time but not like I used to. Also, now I feel that most influencers make the same content. They’re all following the same formula. If you follow one it feels like you follow all of them.”

So, where does ultimate responsibility lie: with the followed or their followers?

Though the life of an influencer looks perfect, influencers themselves will tell you that sometimes it’s far from that. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes and many posters rely on rented or gifted products to project the image they do, some earning little more than the followers who aspire to their lifestyle.

“I don’t feel like influencers should change their content to suit us,” weighs in Mbakwe. “I think we (the consumers) should curate and have better boundaries with our feed if the content you’re viewing is making you feel bad.”

Bryan echoes this: “I believe we should all have social responsibility, but we shouldn’t have to force influencers to do/say things they don’t want to. You’re responsible for what you consume and I think TikTok has created a wave of new influencers who don’t lend themselves to perfectionism and are more relatable.”

With living costs only set to increase, it might be time for be more conscious about the content we choose to see. Arguably Influencers aren’t the ones to blame, just a byproduct of a capitalist society that rewards people for flaunting their wealth.

You have the power to choose who and what you engage with, so be honest about how your Instagram feed leaves you feeling – and make the changes you need.

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