Why don't influencers like being called influencers?

[questconnect]

Hi all. I was scrolling through Insta this week and a well-known insta-person noted that they did not like being called an influencer. Quite a few other influencers noted in the comments below that they also did not like being called influencers. They preferred a variety of other job titles, like digital content creator. I was thinking about why this is. My assumption is that it's because the title 'influencer' is too ... direct? It sort of highlights the rather transactional relationship between influencers and the people they influence, whereas other job titles obscure it a little? I think it's really interesting because from my point of view even if they do provide good content, their business model is almost entirely based on influencing others to buy things they might otherwise not. And so then I wondered whether this is a sort of conscious distancing from the reality of that title, and the potentially slightly exploitative relationship with their followers it involves, which perhaps doesn't feel 'naice,' or whether it's something else. It seems a bit disingenuous (dishonest?) but perhaps I'm being uncharitable and this is more about recognising their particular expertise or something? This is genuinely not intended to spark any sort of pile-on - I like following many of these people on insta and like to believe I know exactly what the 'relationship' is. I'm just intrigued I suppose.

I think you have described the reason very accurately!

I think that's exactly it. They're selling a lifestyle but presenting it as a snapshot of their life that they're sharing with you for fun. They're not actually sharing it for fun, though, are they - they need the clicks, affiliate links, ads disguised as posts (a bit more transparency over this nowadays, to be fair). It's how they earn a living so I'm not knocking it. But they are sales people, really.

It's because they think it makes them sound vapid and like they get paid a fortune to look pretty and take photos.

They want their work to be recognised as 'difficult'.

Yes, I agree with you.

i think they also think they are so much more than they are: living adverts. And they know the term “influencer” is a bit of a dirty word now. A bit exploitative. They are trying to make their followers feel they are so much more than just sheep blindly obeying.

I was really surprised when they started using that name, it was like they were hiding in plain sight.

I agree. Look at Sali Hughes she still insists she's a journalist, she really isn't a good writer. Her column in The Guardian is so badly written. She's an influencer trying to sell stuff.

Poor things, wanting not to to be solely seen as a conduit for sales. The influencers I have followed start out being genuinely interesting people who share their normal purchases into money grabbing walking ads who don’t give a shit about their original core audience. They then want to be taken seriously…. Personally I unfollow these people..and they ALL do it!

Thanks for your responses. I'm really interested in the psychology of this for the people taking part. In other words, are they fooling themselves, or are they trying to fool others, or a bit of both? Or neither? I would really underline that if I'm accusing them of a certain hypocrisy, then I would apply that to myself too! I'm hypocritical about loads of things. But the people doing this work must know exactly what they are doing, and to outright deny what that is seems ... well, enormously cynical. But what I find fascinating is whether they have in some sense convinced themselves that they have a greater calling than, well, flogging stuff, because to believe otherwise would be sort of ... contaminating to their own sense of self? (And again, I am NOT claiming that I have any great noble calling in life myself, or higher purpose)! Sorry if this seems a bit deep!

Because the word is too thin a veil over "Person who pretends their life, home and body are immaculate and exploits the desires of others to achieve this ideal by marketing products they definitely do not use, selling books they definitely did not write and pushing exercise programs and diets they definitely have not done."

I think it's the potential cognitive dissonance that fascinates me. For example, one recently unveiled their new interior design but also claimed that they had no intention to influence people. And they seem like a perfectly lovely and genuine person - but I mean, OF COURSE this will influence people who will want to copy, or feel a bit shit that their house isn't as lovely, or wonder how much it cost, etc etc.

I'm sure they're not actually kidding themselves! The successful ones must have a certain degree of business acumen.

Yes, agreed. But then I wonder how easy it is to live with the knowledge that there is a level of exploitation going on but at the same time having to pretend that it's not. I guess what I'm saying is that to make this manageable influencers must have to convince themselves that there is no power imbalance. Having said that, I've just remembered that I vaguely know one influencer and last time I saw her she seemed on the edge of a nervous breakdown managing the stress of it. So maybe it's not that easy.