“A well done to myself”

[Whatsgoingonnnn]

So in a 24 hour period where there’s a humanitarian crisis going on in Afghanistan, at a time when many key workers have risked their health and worked long hours in stressful conditions, only to be thanked with applause, an “influencer” posts a picture of a £37k bracelet she’s just bought as a “well done to myself” for, as far as I can ascertain, being able to look pretty and appear on a reality TV show. And people all over the internet applaud it.

AIBU to be deeply uncomfortable with this juxtaposition?

Do most people make a contribution to society though ?

I don't follow influencers but if they hadn't worked out a way to make money for individuals and companies then we wouldn't have them.

It's crass but you said "influencer" so... the very nature of that "job" is crass. Don't follow these people - if you do you're part of the reason she has that bracelet and is boasting about it.

*The problem I have with saying she's earned it is that it implies that anybody that doesn't conform to that ideal i.e. is overweight, not classically attractive etc is worth less.

I would say born into it more than earned it, but, privilege of one form or another has always been the British way.*

Presumably she earned this because she makes more than this for PLT. It's like footballers earning mega bucks. There's enough money in football for other people like broadcasters to make big bucks too.

If people were paid according to how important they were to society then people who are poorly paid now would find themselves with the highest wages eg people who work in care homes

I think that influencers are problematic eg the use of filters on images causing mental health issues to consumers and the subject of the images but there is some jealousy that young people have created, cracked and dominated this market. Middle aged influencers are not making the big bucks and are often more time limited when they use their children as their gimmick.

I thought it was crass and somewhat tone deaf given the current crisis in Afghanistan. But on the whole MM seems to be a fairly genuine, hard working and kind person so I can't get too annoyed by it

MM did get lucky, but that doesn't mean she shouldn't be proud and celebrate her achievements. Her buying a bracelet or not won't make no difference to the political situation in Afghanistan - and there is no evidence that she hasn't been donating to causes privately. John Green wrote this about professional youtubers a while back, seems applicable to this situation.

This did not happen because you work harder than anyone else or because you are more talented. You are talented and you do work hard, but you have also been fortunate. You're fortunate to have high-speed internet and access to editing software, and you've also gotten lucky along the way in innumerable ways. Luck does not nullify hard work, but hard work also does not nullify luck.

I recently treated myself to a designer handbag as a ‘well done to myself’ after launching a business through a pandemic and making a success of it. Should I not celebrate my success's due to what’s happening around the world?

I'm annoyed by it for a different reason. She's celebrating being given the role of creative director for a clothes brand. A role which people usually have to have a degree for plus minimum 5 years experience, usually more.

Tons of qualified creative directors will have applied for that role and she got it despite having done none of the work to get there. I think it's shitty of her to act like it's some kind of achievement when it's fairly obvious that it's a publicity thing.

the folk who it upsets.....you do realise that you can ignore her don't you?

I used to work in the industry and that job would typically require 8/9am-6/7pm full time hours, plus all sorts of responsibilities youd have to have years of experience and hard work, working your way up honing your skills.

Maybe she majorly swatted up for the interview or has been shadowing a CD for years and is planning to put in the 50 hours a week plus studying... if so then well done her for progressing her career and I'll eat my words.

I find posts like this scream jealously. Why are you bothered what someone buys with their own money?

Just because shit is going on in Afghanistan doest mean the rest of the world should stop living their lives, or spending their money how they like.
For all you know the influencer could have donated money to the red cross appeal.

The NHS workers just reward is applause. Just applause.

Do you give all of your spare cash to support the NHS charities? Or to support refugees?

If she wants to spend money she has earned on something to make her feel good, that is her prerogative. If we all decided we couldn’t treat ourselves because something bad is happening somewhere, the world would be a very bad place, and the economy would go down the pan.

@Prisonbreak

I recently treated myself to a designer handbag as a ‘well done to myself’ after launching a business through a pandemic and making a success of it. Should I not celebrate my success's due to what’s happening around the world?

Did you post it on social media? That’s what the OP took issue with

@helentomelon

I'm annoyed by it for a different reason. She's celebrating being given the role of creative director for a clothes brand. A role which people usually have to have a degree for plus minimum 5 years experience, usually more.

Tons of qualified creative directors will have applied for that role and she got it despite having done none of the work to get there. I think it's shitty of her to act like it's some kind of achievement when it's fairly obvious that it's a publicity thing.

Yes, me too! I spent 10 years slogging away in fashion retail as a buyer and eventually sacked it off as I'd hit a ceiling at 35, despite experience and a degree.

@ToykotoLosAngeles I know right! Imagine having been rejected for that role and finding out it was a bloody love island cast member/influencer who'd got it over you. In practical terms, I wonder who's going to do the actual job but not get the credit/title for it... because that's a huge role. MM seems thoroughly lovely and is clearly savvy and focussed but she simply doesn't have the experience to have got that role fairly

As mother of young children (2 girls and a boy) this does leave a sour taste.

I don't begrudge someone having wealth but I do despise what these people represent. I worry that this taps in to impressionable children and teens who think "what's the point in studying and working hard and having a career when you can just look good, be on a reality TV and afford gifts that cost my than one of my parent's earns in a year"

It's very difficult to explain the importance of hard work, dedication and determination when we are bombarded with people who earn "easy money" and trade on their looks and physique.

It's a very precarious time to raise children.

And yes sorry, I totally missed the point the the opportunity given doesn't appear to have been earned in the way it should have been.

If I had her money I would absolutely treat myself for working hard. Why shouldn't she? How do you know she dosnt donate to charity and hasn't sent money to charities in Afghanistan and if she hasn't then so what, its not her problem to sort out just cos she has money. I say this as a totally broke keyworker who can only dream of owning a bracelet like that. Good for her I say.

Good for her! The original op the two things are completely unrelated.
I don't care what celebrities, or social media influencers are buying with their money. I also don't care what they earn. It's none of my business to know what they're spending on what. If she wants to show off after securing a huge contract, then go her.

I think anyone taking pictures of designer purchases and posting them online has to be a bit of a dickhead, really. Same for anyone posting photos of their naice car’s steering wheel / a coffee with their designer bag arranged behind it / their wrist with a £30k watch on it. That said, it’s got nothing to do with world peace.

Don’t be ridiculous. At any given time in the world ever there is horrendous shit happening, and yet people continue to take pride in their achievements.

A valid question might be whether that influencer is going to use her position to challenge PLT’s use of slave labour in producing their clothes, rather than some irrelevant twaddle about whether it’s ok to buy expensive things when people are dying elsewhere in the world.

No problem with her buying the jewellery. More posting about it to millions with the message “I get to have this because I earned it”. Because the connotation is “you don’t, because you haven’t done enough”.

Why does it imply that? Somebody saying they earned something does not automatically imply that other people didn't. If I said "I'm going to treat myself to a bottle of champagne on Saturday because I've worked really hard this week", that wouldn't be anything to do with whether anyone else had or hadn't worked hard, or what other people did or didn't deserve.

And how arbitrary to pick one person out of the many wealthy people in the world who display their wealth publicly in a variety of ways! And to tie it in with the situation Afghanistan is just bizarre.

As others have said, the events are unconnected, but I do find this kind of thing crass. If I decide to give myself a "well done" in the form of a nice purchase, I keep it to myself. There's no need to announce to the world "look what I bought for myself as a well done to myself for being so great!" And the more expensive the purchase, the more crass it becomes in my opinion, because it's rubbing it in the faces of people who equally deserve it but can't afford it.

Tons of qualified creative directors will have applied for that role and she got it despite having done none of the work to get there. I think it's shitty of her to act like it's some kind of achievement when it's fairly obvious that it's a publicity thing.

She can't be doing a CD role in the traditional sense

If she wants to spend money she has earned on something to make her feel good, that is her prerogative.

I agree with this but then I do find it wrong that the money she's earned through a brand deal is a brand that underpaid it's workers & they were working without covid protection.

I have zero interest in so called influencers, l couldn't name one, do what l do and don't participate. Life is a lot more peaceful.