Blog Post 9- The Realistic Life of an Influencer

                                           

Throughout the last 10-15 years people have become more and more obsessed with the internet. Making everyday personas like Shane Dawson, Tana mongeau, Sam and Colby, Dixie D'amelio, and many more huge people in the eyes of the public. 

The idea of being an influencer seems glamorous but as Gabi and Niki on Youtube describe in their video “The dark side of being an influencer”, Youtube and social media are highlight reels. People presenting themselves as worthy of attention and trying to maintain a real life and real connections along the way. As an influencer, your primary job is to present an idealized image of yourself to the public. This means carefully curating your social media profiles and content to showcase your best self. However, this also means sacrificing a certain level of privacy and authenticity. Check out Niki and Gabi's video to understand the dark side of being an influencer and what I explain throughout the rest of this blog.

Many people online are forced into looking a certain way and acting a certain way when being in the eye of the public, this creates a harsh double life reality for influencers. They are expected to be perfect and have an enviable lifestyle, but there is societal and social pressure placed on them that makes the experience less extravagant. Look into this article linked below to understand the Pros and Cons of being an influencer within a digital society.

https://powermovemarketing.com/blogs/news/the-pros-cons-of-being-an-influencer 

Influencers often are led into mental health issues such as anxiety, stress, depression, comparison to others success and more, which makes this lifestyle not so fun. As someone on the outside I understand the want to be recognized and have a huge following, or go on cool brand trips and meet all these people. Yet, I can also recognize the pressure of feeling that you are watched at all times and even the slightest mistake could cut your finances completely, leaving you broke and confused. Look into this article titled "How social media is impacting influencers mental health"!!

https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a41946590/influencer-content-creation-hurting-mental-health/

However, to be successful influencers need to be easily searchable and discoverable on social media. Meaning that clickbait such as key words, hashtags, and other optimization tactics. Influencers must be the best at everything, they have to be at the top of fashion, makeup, food, travel or another and create an authentic and humble identity at the same time. Look into this article linked below for some tips to become more searchable online that I believe many influencers follow. As well, look at the image below to see what makes a video on YouTube 'clickable'.

https://www.creative-elements.ca/seo-for-blog-posts/

As individuals that watch the influencers on different platforms, we expect too much out of regular people that have picked up a camera to do something fun. Most influencers online never meant to be famous but one day people recognized them and started to praise them or hate on them, so they became popular. There are also so many more pressures than just this placed on influencers such as having to be consistently active on social media and engaging with followers. This can be a full-time job, with little time for personal life or relaxation. Look into this article about envy towards social media influencers to understand what I next speak to.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15213269.2017.1328312

In addition, influencers are always "on," as their public image is constantly being scrutinized. You get so much attention as an influencer both positive and heavily negative, impacting the way others view you and even how you view yourself. I have also heard so many influencers talk about people faking and pretending to be their friends for financial gain out of them. As anyone in this world, it is always hard to know our real friends but as someone with money this must be very hard to detect. In my opinion just this aspect alone may be enough for people to reconsider the glamorous lifestyle seen online and think about the repercussions of being in the public eye. Check out this video called "are you living an insta lie" to understand if you are living within the pros and cons of the influencer lifestyle.

While the rewards can be great, it's important to remember that success as an influencer is not guaranteed as money will come and go a lot and the job requires a lot of dedication and perseverance. Tune in next week to learn some more about digital media literacy along with me!