Pers-sional
We grew up believing there is such a thing as a distinction between one’s personal life and one’s professional life.
Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms encourage us to share our personal and private life with our friends/ followers. But if that profile is seen by millions, as are influencer’s profiles, then is that stricktly professional or is it perssional?
Influencers start off by showing offtheir passion for something, which engages people and then manifests into something bigger whereby they are compelled to share their day-to-day lives for people’s constant engagement. The constant need for content compells influencers to share clips from their lives, which car they own, which city they live in, which friends and their political opinions. Their openness is praised by many for transparency but they end up being critiqued as well by many.
Many controversial issues arised over the lifestyle choices these influencers share with their young and impressionable viewers. The way in which they present their lives, it seems as though everything is handed out to them but what people don’t see is that they work behind the scenes. The editing and the content management is considered ‘boring’ content so influencers tend to overshare their enjoyment of holidays, home decor, baking and free time.
Many mental health issues amongst youngsters is heavily impacted by the ideologies that life should be easy going, luxurious and wonderful. It is easy to think that your life is boring when you spend hours seeing other people enjoy private jets, holidays and mansions of their own with their perfect little families. The more one is impacted by this constant bombardment of beautiful lifestyles, one is more prone to seek the impossible perfection in weddings, clothes, image and daily activities. These activities are hardly ever perfect but the constant comparing between the viewer’s life and the influencer’s life which is documented and shared with the public.
From the Influencer’s point of view, part of their job is promoting sponsored content. For many, sponsored content include free trips to luxiurious hotels and resorts. In her Tedx Talk, Aggie Lal, a young influencer with 800 thousand followers on Instagram, shared her story of going from her ‘boring’ life of a waitress to being paid to travel.
“When we saw someone having fun or enjoying themselves, we would feel inferior, inadequate and we would felt like our life was the worst”
In a study conducted by Ebere Chukwuere and Chibuike Chukwuere (2017) on the way in which social media influences people, they concluded that 57 (82.6%) of the females participants suggested that social media had impacted their social lifestyle. One tends to see a nice picture and is more inclined to go there because that is what becomes ideal and then people strive to have it too. The fact that a regular persom has access to such luxuries makes it easier to believe that anyone can have that too.
Everything ‘ideal’ has become luxurious and over the top. Not only does travel need to look like a postcard, but wedding venues, houses cars are also becoming over the top.
The consumer behaviour is changing but along with it, our tastes as a society start changing as well. Being a digital influencer has become a lifestyle in itself as nowadays, (Szczursk, 2017) to sell something you need to show that you use it and that it is good and affective. Therefore, the influencer might be living the role they are given by these travel or design companies.
Is society able to filter what is paid ads and what is not?
Why are we so fixated to have what these people have, and never satisfied with what we have or can afford?
References:
Ebere Chukwuere,J. , Chibuike Chukwuere, P. ,(2017)THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON SOCIAL LIFESTYLE: A CASE STUDY OF UNIVERSITY FEMALE STUDENTS, Ife centre for Psychological Studies/Services, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
Szczurski, M. (2017). Social Media Influencer — a Lifestyle or a Profession of the XXIst Century?
