Stop Doomscrolling and Comparing: Why Social Media Influencers Are Not Role Models

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In today's society, our daily lives have become more dependent on social media platforms than ever before.

Influencers are the biggest contributors to what makes social media so captivating and entertaining, and they range from celebrities to regular users who have built platforms. We have seen the rise of stars such as Charli D'Amelio and Addison Rae, and follow individuals like these regularly.

Even though social media can seem like an enjoyable and carefree place, influencers are a major contributor to its harmful nature. Social media influencers are not role models because they are deceitful, promote unrealistic health goals, exploit youth, and are a contributing factor to teen self-diagnosis.

Deceit

Social media influencers have developed a reputation for being deceitful, and money is the driving factor behind it. Many people consider influencers to be the "future of advertising," because they are able to promote products in ways that don't feel like normal advertising.

Influencers make brand deals to earn an income. Typically, the more followers an influencer has, the easier it is to make brand deals, which is important because companies are willing to pay a substantial amount of money to advertise their products.

However, this opens the door for dishonesty and misleading claims towards their potential partners and audiences.

As stated before, influencers are highly dependent on their followers to earn a sustainable income. If they don't have enough followers to get brand deals, fraud can allow them to fake their following and deceive brands.

According to HypeAuditor, 49% of all Instagram influencers worldwide were found to have used fake followers at one point.

Many influencers have been caught purchasing fake followers in order to boost their appeal. In this way, they hurt businesses, who essentially waste money on those who don't have a real online presence and engage with authentic audiences.

Unrealistic Health Goals

While influencers are known to have a negative impact on businesses, they also promote unrealistic health goals to their followers, especially impressionable youth.

There is an overwhelming amount of influencers online who intentionally mislead their audiences into believing that there are ways to "hack" their fitness journeys. One of the best examples of these fitness influencers is Chole Ting.

Ting has an extremely large following, on many platforms, which include Youtube, TikTok, and Instagram. She promotes unhealthy fitness goals through her workout videos, usually titled with false claims (that are not physically possible), such as being able to spot-reduce fat.

There is no denying the fact that there are some fitness influencers that spread proper education and knowledge online. If Ting was making true claims about what her workouts could do, she would be a great influencer to follow and take advice from, as the content of her videos is fine.

Nonetheless, the fact that she has been able to reach so many people and mislead them through her

false claims, makes her a dangerous source.

According to bannerhealth.com, unrealistic fitness goals and expectations can damage mental health and lead to issues like body dysmorphia, anxiety, depression, and self-doubt.

This can be especially harmful to children and teens, who tend to be more susceptible to believing these lies.

Exploitation

Many family influencers today have received backlash for exploiting their children online, and at times this can be heartbreaking to watch.

Family influencers, like the The LaBrant Fam, have been called out for exploiting their children online. Originally creating this account in 2016, parents Cole and Savannah Labrant will post family content anywhere from several times a week to several times a month on YouTube.

In 2019, their earliest controversy surrounded an April Fools prank that some say was taken too far.

In the video, Cole and Savannah tell their oldest daughter Everleigh that they would be giving the family dog away because he was too much to take care of. As the video went on Everleigh became upset, eventually causing her to break into tears.

Heartbroken and distraught over the loss of her puppy Carl, Savannah ends the prank by whispering, “April Fools.” After finding out this was a joke, Everleigh was left crying and speechless.

While some may have found this prank harmless and amusing, many individuals online were quick to attack the young parents for their lack of empathy and carelessness. Pranks like this can be extremely harmful to children, destroying trust rather than building a relationship that feels secure and safe.

According to an article written by the BBC, child psychotherapist, Melville-Thomas states, “The parent puts the reward they will get – hits, views, likes, or something, online – higher than stopping to think about how their child will respond.”

Child exploitation is a slippery slope and can lead to many further issues down the road. In the case of the Labrant Family, this "harmless" prank was only the start of their long history of controversies online.

Self Diagnoses

Even though social media is used by all ages, different ages are affected differently. In teenagers, influencers have greatly contributed to the rise of self-diagnoses.

TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms used by teenagers today. Furthermore, influencers tend to be teenagers and young adults who can easily earn their audience's trust.

Although well-intentioned, the vast majority of influencers are not reliable sources and have allowed misinformation pertaining to mental health disorders to be spread online.

According to the New York Times, some youth will choose to believe TikTok over their therapist, and for several sessions, they will “keep pushing the same agenda.”

The reasons for the escalation of this issue are numerous. The need for peer acceptance online seems to be particularly important in today's world, as some teens simply want to make friends or have a place to identify themselves.

Final Thoughts

Influencers have opened the doors to make social media a captivating environment. Unfortunately, with their rise, we have seen how powerful they can be on audiences of all ages, and the negative effects they cause, particularly in teens.

Influencers can be deceitful, promote unrealistic health goals, and are a contributing factor to teen self-diagnosis. As a result, all teens (and even adults) must stay mindful about who we listen to and what advice we take.