Hello! Welcome to the blog post ALL about the dark side of influencer culture. I have drawn upon a few different academic sources for this post, but I have also used a lot of secondary information - sources are either hyperlinked OR referenced at the end of the article. Please enjoy.
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The Dark Side of Influencer Culture
Introduction
First, let's begin by defining what an influencer is because it's not the same as a celebrity and I know many will argue with me that it kinda is and that's okay, but for the purpose of this post, the definition of an influencer is as follows:
"An influencer is someone who has the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of his or her authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with his or her audience. Influencers are usually active on social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, X, TikTok, and Instagram. Typically, each influencer is known for a specific niche—be it fashion, travel, gaming, beauty, cooking, fitness, or any other interest area. They create content around their niche, and people who follow them are interested in that particular topic." - Influencer Marketing Hub (2024)
I would say influencers are mainly the ones who use their platforms to talk about products and in turn, sell such products. A content creator, on the other hand, is someone who makes content online and although they may promote products or get sponsorships, or earn income from their posts, it doesn't mean that their sole purpose is to sell - it's more about entertaining or providing education. And yes, the lines do blur between the two. I personally feel like there is more of a negative connotation towards "influencers" and that is why we have seen the rise of people who prefer to call themselves a content creator.
With that being said, influencer culture is still on the rise, especially as more and more people can become influencers as a legitimate career path, especially in a post-pandemic world, with increased anxieties and people wanting to work for themselves more. Social media has transformed a simple means of staying connected into a multi-billion dollar industry powered by influencers. With millions of followers, picture-perfect lifestyles, and brand deals pouring in, it’s no surprise that being an influencer has become a highly coveted career. But beyond the glamorous facade of perfectly curated feeds and sponsored content lies a much darker reality that often goes unnoticed.
And, with the crazy sh*t that's happening with TikTok right now, things might just get darker.
The Pressure to Perform
The constant demand to excel as an influencer often blurs the boundary between personal and professional life. Succeeding in the influencer sphere relies heavily on consistent content creation, following trends, and upholding a meticulously crafted image that aligns with the ever-evolving expectations of followers and brands (Vear, 2020). This relentless pressure often leaves influencers feeling stuck in a cycle of perfectionism, where any decline in engagement or departure from their online persona could lead to a decrease in followers, sponsorships, or credibility. The emotional strain of maintaining relevance and staying "on brand" can lead to burnout, anxiety, and disconnection from genuine authenticity, shedding light on the less favorable aspects of influencer culture.
In an article by Javey (2020), many influencers have struggled with criticisms from their audiences, where they really want to take a break. When they do take a break though, their followers tend to go down. One notable example influencer that this happened to was Summer McKeen who took a break from posting due to the backlash and criticism she was receiving. Once she did take a break, she felt a lot more removed from the criticism and rumours, but she did lose a substantial amount of followers. Another example influencer who has struggled with the pressure to perform is Alisha Marie (someone I sometimes watch). In 2018, Marie took a 2-month break from social media - as she had been doing absolutely everything herself, including editing, and felt like she needed to prove herself - not only to herself but to her audience. During this break, she realised that she couldn't do it all on her own, especially facing burnout. She ended up hiring two full-time assistants and a part-time editor, and then started going to the gym regularly as a way to help balance her career and personal life. From my perspective watching her content change, I can definitely see how she has developed as a person.
Michelle Phan, a popular beauty and makeup vlogger stopped making YouTube videos due to burnout. In an article from the BBC, Phan said "It became harder and harder for me to pretend to be happy," she says. "And [as a result] I had become toxic with my relationships and friendships. I had my threshold." - (Kyte, 2021). Phan took a break between 2017 and 2019 and I believe she may have joined either a cult or a New Age community of some sort as there was a YouTube video posted about it:
However, Phan is now regularly uploading podcast videos to her YouTube channel so I personally think that she may be going down the podcast route of telling stories and interviewing people instead of doing all things beauty.
Authenticity vs Curated Personalities
Influencer culture has become a powerful force in shaping trends, opinions, and lifestyles, but beneath the glossy feeds and polished personas lies a darker side. The pressure to project an idealised version of life can lead influencers to perform what some might call a "perfect lie" (Nhlapo, 2017). These curated versions of themselves—flawless skin, perfect relationships, and endless success—are carefully constructed to draw in followers and sponsorships. The gap between who influencers really are and who they present themselves to be grows wider, with many feeling they must constantly perform to maintain relevance (Hilsen and Helvik, 2014). This ongoing need to portray a picture-perfect life pushes influencers to manipulate their image, and in some cases, engage in deceptive tactics to keep their audiences hooked.
When authenticity is sacrificed for likes, shares, and brand deals, the consequences can be profound. Followers often feel betrayed when they discover the influencers they trusted have been lying or manipulating their realities. Whether it's promoting products they don't believe in, using fake stories to elicit sympathy, or Photoshopping images beyond recognition, the fallout can lead to deep trust issues (Klishee, 2023). Examples of backlash are everywhere. Influencers caught in scams or promoting harmful products face public outrage and sometimes even lose lucrative partnerships. For instance, high-profile influencers have been exposed for lying about their lifestyles or health practices, sparking massive online criticism. As the veil of inauthenticity slips, it’s clear that once trust is broken, rebuilding it can be nearly impossible (Morhan, 2024).
One specific example is when Kendall Jenner used Pepsi to project a global unity and peace idea. However, it failed miserably and was accused of trivialising both police brutality and black lives matter. And another example is all the times PewDiePie got in trouble for a lot of things - literally too many to list here. Then there are people like Jessica Ainscough whose brand was "The Wellness Warrior" - she had cancer and was promoting alternative cancer treatments. Jessica unfortunately passed away in 2015 at the age of 29. I am not a doctor but please read the alternative cancer treatment Wiki page because it discusses how there is not a lot of evidence behind the treatments. Promoting things like this can have drastic effects on others.
Materialism and Consumerism
I recently watched a YouTube commentary video on FilmCooper's channel where he was discussing the crazy influencer morning routines and a lot of them were very materialistic and consumer-based. Like one guy literally only had drinks in his fridge - like at least 20 bottles of plastic water bottles, 20 iced coffees, and something else. Can't you drink tap water? It's a bit over the top. Or if your tap water is bad, then get a filter. I mean I've had bad tap water before - I'm from CHCH BUT like I still drunk it - sure I bought some water here and there but I never once had 20+ bottles of water in my fridge.
In influencer culture, there is the promotion of an unattainable lifestyle. According to Phillips (2023), "'social media has created a game of “whose life looks more fun.” It has become a way for us to constantly compare ourselves to other people. We, as social media users, are used to seeing carefully curated highlight reels of other people’s lives, which can make you feel like your life is not “measuring up” to others." This can lead to feelings of distress, anxiety, not feeling good enough, and feeling like you're missing out (FOMO). In some cases, especially for children, there may be a lack of critical thinking skills which highlights how someone might not be able to wrap their head around that that life is "curated" for our online viewing pleasure. Some people might even go as far as trying to copy influencer lifestyles by buying their products (being influenced) and wasting money on products they don't really need. Para-social relationships can also lead to strange behaviours such as someone thinking that their favourite YouTuber is their friend and in extreme cases, they may end up stalking them. I don't have a specific example of stalking but I do know that KallMeKris once mentioned she was getting stalked. It could also lead to people going up to influencers and thinking they have the right to touch them. These behaviours can all be very problematic.
Then there's influencers like Shanin Blake - who to me personally is a strange influencer but people seem to love her. One notable example is that she has claimed to cure a kidney infection with good vibes. For the love of God, if you have a kidney infection PLEASE get medical treatment because they can be dire, you cannot cure them with good vibes. Shanin Blake aligns herself with hippie counterculture movements as part of her brand. However, she has also created merchandise that isn't sustainable. I really like the following YouTube clip breaking down everything about Shanin Blake:
Basically, Shanin Blake promotes products that don't align with her brand as a hippie.
In a post-pandemic world and a world where Trump is president of America, again, ugh, having influencers who purposefully spread misinformation, promote terrible health products, and create these curated online lifestyles can have drastic impacts on young audiences and societal values. For example, as I said before, children don't always have critical thinking skills, and teenagers brains aren't developed enough to really think about what is true and what isn't - and things are only going to get worse especially as Facebook announced it's not going to have it's fact-checkers any more - to me, this just seems like Zuckerberg is sucking up to Trump. And I know people will say, well why don't we develop the skills to be able to critically think and do our own research (which we should all do) BUT not everyone is able to or willing to? What about those who may have a disability? The boomers who believe everything on Facebook is true? The people who get so sucked into an idea you can't argue with them (cough, flat earthers, cough). My theory is this is going to lead to a fundamental change in societal values. It's not always easy to distinguish fact from fiction.
We also have to think about social context - where a person is in the world might influence the things they believe. Maybe they haven't read about something before so take it at face value. Or maybe someone is super critical of everything so they just become super cynical and don't believe. There are so many factors we have to think about here.
Also, there is a cycle of spending which is driven by influencer marketing/endorsements, which demonstrates how we can never get away from capitalism, anywhere.
Ethical Concerns
Let's move on now to ethical concerns, which could probably be its own post entirely but we don't have time for that so let's talk about a few things here. Firstly, the lack of transparency in sponsored content. I know there are now laws where you have to clearly state something is sponsored. However, things can get a little blurry - especially when it comes to affiliate marketing. Like, what about all the influencers who might wear something like a pair of earrings and then when people ask about them, they say you can get it through this link. It's still obviously an affiliate link but it's not as obvious as a #sponsoredpost. I highly recommend reading "this article" to see the impacts of this in Australia specifically.
Influencers may also manipulate their followers through misleading claims. I found this following image on Reddit that helps show some tactics that influencers might do to "trick" their followers:
These techniques are often used to create more engagement from one's followers and it definitely works, especially rage baiting - you can check out my blog about rage bait "here."
There is a definite need for stricter guidelines and regulating whether content is paid - YouTube is really good at it but I'm not so sure about other platforms like TikTok and Instagram - it's so easy for an influencer to add in a product to their video or post and not say it's an ad or sponsored but still get paid for it (Pillai, 2024).
One other ethical concern is that of body image. This isn't anything new. Body/beauty standards have always been a thing BUT I think it can be worse on social media - especially if you're watching someone go through a specific process to change the way they look. Merino et al. (2024, p.1396) says "In the age of digital proliferation, platforms like Instagram and Facebook have reshaped body image concerns, often leading to increased dissatisfaction and psychological distress due to constant exposure to idealized images and a culture of social comparison. Physical attributes such as weight, height, and BMI are scrutinized under societal standards of health and attractiveness, contributing to a spectrum of mental health issues including low self-esteem, depression, and eating disorders." They go on to say "Social media platforms inherently cultivate an ecosystem ripe for social comparison, characterized by a relentless stream of polished, edited, and often unrealistic portrayals of life and physical appearance. This digital environment sets the stage for pervasive upward social comparisons, where users continuously measure their everyday realities against the idealized highlights of others. Such interactions intertwine self-evaluation with digital perceptions of beauty and success, profoundly impacting psychological well-being." This highlights how seeing certain images on social media, especially as a passive user can be detrimental to how one sees themselves. But we have to remember, often these photos ARE edited and photoshopped - what we are seeing isn't always real life. There's also ways people post to change the way their bodies look. For example, Bree Lenehan does reality check posts where she shows how easy it is to change how you look in a photo.
I personally like how there is starting to be more and more body positivity online and I hope that continues. But sometimes we just need to change what we're looking at in our feeds so that our algorithm gives us that specific content!
The Impact on Relationships
Okay, so the impact on relationships can be both good and bad, but I think here we are just going to focus on the negatives.
Influencer culture has created a unique environment where carefully curated online personas often overshadow genuine human connections. For example, the constant need to capture and share moments online can lead to partners or friends feeling neglected or like secondary players in someone else’s personal brand. It’s not uncommon for influencers to prioritise their audience over their personal relationships, which can cause resentment and misunderstandings. Think about the family vlog channels where parents exploit their children for views. Let's talk about Ruby Franke - she literally ab*sed her kids, malnourished them. Like what? How can you do that to your own children? Franke ran a parenting advice channel on YouTube, yet she would take her children's bedroom's away. Apparently, even her sister/business partner knew and didn't do anything. Honestly, it's very hard not to put bias here because I couldn't imagine someone doing that but it did happen.
Social media platforms have made it easier than ever to compare our lives to others, and influencer culture exacerbates this issue (Midgley et al., 2014). Peers may feel inadequate or jealous when comparing their achievements, lifestyles, or appearances to those of influencers they know personally. This dynamic can create tension in friendships, as one party may feel left out or undervalued compared to the influencer’s online audience. Additionally, influencers themselves may experience jealousy when comparing their growth or engagement metrics to their peers, which can strain professional and personal connections (Paunovic, 2021).
Conclusion
In conclusion, this blog post has discussed the dark side of influencer culture exploring the following factors: the pressure to perform, authenticity vs curated personalities, materialism and consumerism, ethical concerns, and the impact on relationships.
I hope you enjoyed reading this post (kinda half academic, half casual language but that's me). I think that we should all be aware of social media and definitely learn to critically think about what we are consuming more. Question everything!
Much love,
Ash x
Readings/References
Hilsen, A.I. and Helvik, T., 2014. The construction of self in social medias, such as Facebook. AI & society, 29(1), pp.3-10.
Merino, M., Tornero-Aguilera, J.F., Rubio-Zarapuz, A., Villanueva-Tobaldo, C.V., Martín-Rodríguez, A. and Clemente-Suárez, V.J., 2024, July. Body perceptions and psychological well-being: A review of the impact of social media and physical measurements on self-esteem and mental health with a focus on body image satisfaction and its relationship with cultural and gender factors. In Healthcare (Vol. 12, No. 14, p. 1396). MDPI.
Midgley, C., Thai, S., Lockwood, P., Kovacheff, C. and Page-Gould, E., 2021. When every day is a high school reunion: Social media comparisons and self-esteem. Journal of personality and social psychology, 121(2), p.285.
Nhlapo, B., 2017. The Effects of Idealised Images on an Individual’s Aspirations to their Ideal Self (Doctoral dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand).
Paunovic, M., 2021. Attractiveness of social media influencers–is it always beneficial–the role of social comparison and similarity (Master's thesis, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (Portugal)).
Pillai, S.E.V.S., 2024, March. Identifying Sponsored Content and Misleading Information in Native Advertising. In 2024 4th International Conference on Data Engineering and Communication Systems (ICDECS) (pp. 1-6). IEEE.
Vear, A. M. (2020). The influencer experience: Identity performance, commodification, and agency in YouTube influencers. The University of Maine.
https://thesun.my/malaysia-news/sue-influencers-who-promote-harmful-cosmetics-public-told-KG12368929
https://klishee.medium.com/the-dark-side-of-influencer-marketing-a50ddfc658c8
https://blog.hollywoodbranded.com/6-examples-of-influencer-marketing-gone-wrong
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/20/ruby-franke-youtube-vlogger-prison-child-abuse
Such an insightful post! Social media can be a great tool, but it’s important to stay critical and mindful of what we’re consuming. Loved the balanced tone—thought-provoking yet approachable!
I loved this. What a great read.
An interesting read! Definitely agree that people need to be more aware of the issues you've raised here ❤️
Influencer culture can blur the line between genuine recommendations and paid promotions, making it harder to trust what’s truly beneficial. It’s important to be discerning and question whether a trend actually aligns with your needs or if it’s just marketing in disguise. Authenticity matters, and not everything that looks perfect on social media is as it seems in real life. Thank you for bringing this to the table for conversation!
This is such a needed topic in our culture today! Thank you so much for shining light on this!