AIBU to ask if you think 'INFLUENCERS' deserve the criticism and backlash they get?

[FloatingForest]

Do you think it is unfair the amount of criticism influences/social media and content representatives get? (pre and during the covid pandemic)

There has been a massive backlash in those who are currently travelling in Dubai/Maldives and posting photographs on social media - I have seen a lot of hate that has been generated - do you think it is a fair response?

Before covid, it seemed that many influencers were ashamed to admit what they did as a living as there is a negative stigma.

Not a journalist - interested in your thoughts and experiences!!!

They also contribute to the myth that young people have to have a perfect body. They do a lot of damage.

I just find them all terribly vacuous. They all look the same, post pics in the same bikinis, in the same pose, saying the same stuff. It's just so mindless and dull. It doesn't affect my life at all, how they spend their time, but I think they've come out of the pandemic looking completely detached from reality, self absorbed and frankly, pretty dim.

I think the problem is that some I fluencers give others a bad name, I don't see every one on youtube classed as an influencer.. They are entertainers and yet they are thrown into a group they can't get out of, a group known for fakery and bad behaviours but that isn't an influencer that's just a number of bad people.

It's a job and if they can do youtube/insta whatever and make millions a year then why shouldn't they. I think a lot of people are just jealous.. I've seen people wish Influencers dead and say there all fake and liars and money grabbers etc but it isn't true its just there are a lot like that but wishing them dead is wrong I mean they aren't exactly doing anything terrible.. So what if they lie about their life.. Do people in real life tell the truth about debts or wages or arguments or that they broke down and ate a tub of ice cream.

@VeryQuaintIrene

Really, it's much more embarrassing that people apparently choose to be "influenced" by them or pay them any attention at all.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

People need to stop giving these idiots the attention they so crave.

I have just thought of this!

So pre covid myself and my dp went on a city break to Venice, we are cheap skates (ha) so grabbed some pizza from a side vendor and sat outside.. we were looking out on to a popular bridge where people were taking photographs of each other.. fair enough.. anyway there was this young woman (early 20s?) And her poor boyfriend was stood there taking photographs of her whilst she adjusted her pose each snap.
We continued eating and 5 mins later they were still there.. for a laugh we timed how long they were stood there of him taking photos.. this is no exaggeration... 33 minutes!!!!!!!!! In the same spot.. with continuous snaps. He must have taken THOUSANDS of photos of her.

Not sure if that is relevant.. but I think it goes to show how staged social media is and I agree with a previous poster its very damaging. Not only do some take hundreds of photos for the one shot but they get edited so much.. unrealistic and harmful to the current and future generations!

Yeah they do deserve criticism. Especially if they have children and don’t protect their children’s privacy.

Influencers make their money selling by stealth. They plug into all the same insecurities and use all the usual emotional and behavioural manipulation tactics that traditional advertising does (I used to work in the industry), except it’s very unregulated. The ASA is pretty toothless when it comes to ‘influencing’, so influencers get away with doing all sorts of shady shit.

I don’t like it when I see dismissive comments like ‘I’m embarrassed for anyone who pays attention to influencers.’ Thousands and thousands of people have been duped into spending thousands and thousands of pounds because influencing is targeted selling by stealth. It’s designed to make people buy things - it’s not an accidental side effect, it’s the point. So you can’t blame people when it works.

I actually live near an influencer with 4m followers. I sometimes see her around our area, staging things for her Instagram stories. What you see online never reflects the real life version.

They are fucking pointless imo and I cannot bear their smug, over inflated, plastic horse toothed faces and their plastic titted and arsed varnished hamster bodies when I read the news online. I'm not interested in any of them or whatever shit they market to saps who cannot think for themselves so need the guidance of these dimwits.
Yeah I think they deserve the backlash, but if people didn't sign up and didn't buy the shit they endorse then pop would go that influencer bubble.

Yes they do deserve it, useless people

A few friends of mine are teachers and told me most of the children wanted to be youtubers/influencer when they grew up- I wonder if the bubble will burst!

It blows my mind that this is an aspiration children genuinely have for themselves. 🤯

Yes they deserve it and more and if this burst the bubble then the quicker the better

It's all very Debordian. Society of the Spectacle.

No sympathy, they choose to live by the opinions of other they can die by them when it becomes clear to all that they are selfish tone deaf knobbers with barely a brain between them.

With any luck covid will kill off the whole concept.

it is clearly easy money for them - but there's no law against taking money from the stupid. The trick is to educate your kids not to be stupid by not giving useless 'influencers' any input in their lives. Then they will just fade away.

I put them only slightly above scam callers and MLM sellers in the hierarchy of general wastrels.

It depends.

If we are talking about influencers in Dubai they deserve all the hate.

If we are talking about say, a cleaning influencer, and commenting on their body or mental health - absolutely not okay.

I watch youtube a lot and follow people on there who use it to make a living from the way they r living boatlife , vanlife etc, i have unfollowed a few who r just trying to act like this pandemic isnt happening. People who r documenting their life sensibly i am interested in.

@ButtWormHole

It depends.

If we are talking about influencers in Dubai they deserve all the hate.

If we are talking about say, a cleaning influencer, and commenting on their body or mental health - absolutely not okay.

I agree with this

@VeryQuaintIrene

Really, it's much more embarrassing that people apparently choose to be "influenced" by them or pay them any attention at all.

^this.

The people that follow then must have nothing about them whatsoever

Influencer = vacuous nonentity. I'm beyond shocked that adults 'follow' them.

Total vacuous nonsense, I have no sympathy for them at all
I did have teens and I do try to talk to them about how worthless it all is.

They agree I'm really hoping it will change and these shallow arses will realise they are utterly boring and superfluous to the world as whole

It’s so dismissive to call the people who are influenced ‘stupid’.

The MO of the influencer is to specifically target the new, isolated mum tipping into PND and bombard her with sleepyheads, YoYo Zeno and a tonne of mummy merch. Or the 19/20 year old girl with a history of disordered eating, who wants the abs, hair and tan of a Love Islander (and the perfect lifestyle to go with it too).

Not everyone has a really robust self-esteem and/or the sufficient objective distance from it all to be able to regard it all with disdain.

I’m assuming anyone calling people thick for following influencers has never seen an advert for something and thought ‘that looks good, I might try that?’

Not a jot of sympathy for these Zlisters or other celebrities seemingly untouched by the pandemic who haved ponced around the world for winter sun(e.g. Robbie Williams / Beckhams/ Lewis Hamilton) while it's the plebs duty to sit at home, save the NHS, home school their children while actually working.

I do have enormous sympathy for the young people at home instead of at college / university who can't do their gap year or club18-30 experience at the moment. It mustn't help their mental health to see pictures of these so-called influencers 'living their best life'.

I'm ashamed of society that they even have a place in it, tbh.

Influencers my arse.

I think the criticism is absolutely justified and deserved. They aren't exempt from the rules we're all subject to and could use their position to enforce a positive message (as I'm sure lots do) but instead choose to portray a message of complete irresponsibility in the name of vanity and validation. And young people are often impressionable enough to continue to look upto and aspire to this absolute bollocks.

I don’t have sympathy. They make their money by sharing their (apparent) lives on social media. If they do unwise, illegal or tone deaf things they will get comments. Taken literally, if they’re trying to influence people to travel unnecessarily during a pandemic they are irresponsible at best.
Maybe I’m just too old to get it though. When I was a teen we called people who behaved in those ways posers, and it wasn’t a good thing!