The Death of The Modern Influencer & Overconsumption

Lately, it feels like everyone and their mom wants to be an influencer. Social media marketing and content creation is a million-dollar industry where influencers have avenues to grow professionally, make more money than they would in a corporate setting, and have access to flexibility in their schedules. Unlike a typical corporate job that may come with limited paid time off, sick days, and vacation days, you can work one day, and be in Greece or Italy the next all while getting paid to do so. With the rise of TikTok, Gen Z is increasingly deciding against pursuing the traditional corporate career after college, or even skipping college altogether. A college education is not as important now to achieve financial freedom as it used to be for previous generations.

In the beginning, influencers are just like us. Maybe they go to school, maybe they work a normal job, and they live in an average-sized house. This is true of influencers like Emma Chamberlain and Charli D’amelio. But then, a video goes viral, and then another one goes viral, and over time, they are getting paid brand deals and luxurious experiences that the average person simply does not have access to. Additionally, the multitude of paid opportunities make it hard to trust an influencer’s opinion after they have amassed a certain amount of followers. It seems the higher the amount of followers you have, the less people trust you because influencers are paid based on followers and engagement rates. It’s easier to have higher engagement if you have more followers, and thus an influencer can charge more for their content based on these metrics. How do consumers know that you aren’t being bought out for your opinion? How do they know they can trust you despite getting a payout of hundreds (and most cases thousands) of dollars per post? This uncertainty leaves people questioning you and what your true opinion might be about a product.

Addison Rae (top left), Monet Micheal (top right), Charlie D’amelio (bottom left), and Emma Chamberlain (bottom right)

Furthermore, there is the question of oversaturation in the influencer marketing industry. Influencer fatigue can be partly attributed to simply the sheer amount of influencers and influencer wannabes. This makes it harder for smaller content creators to succeed. A lot of influencers make overlapping content, in similar styles, in similar outfits, giving similar takes about similar issues in their houses that all look the same. We problem we have influencers who are simply there to make content, but the content lacks the uniqueness and personality of our favorites, and honestly, it’s a bit boring. It’s hard to stand out among the masses, and it makes it hard to succeed in this industry. Influencer marketing also feeds into overconsumption through the increase in microaesthetics, and with the United States now being in a recession, the average person does not have the disposable income to indulge in every new trend and aesthetic that influencers are pushing. Add in the fact that one value Gen Z has is sustainability and concern for the environment and climate change, and you have increased exhaustion over the practice of several hundred-dollar Shein and Zara hauls.

Additionally, there is the question of whether we know too much about the people we admire and how that is leading to the death of the modern influencer. We get so much insight into people’s lives, we get to see intimate details about all parts of their lives, like where they live and their morning routines because they are the content. Celebrity culture flourished in the early 2000s due to there still being an element of surprise with the people we admired, and now, with that gone, it’s easy to feel stifled by the continuous stream of content.

So what can influencers do if they are worried about the safety of the industry? I don’t think that influencing and content creation as it stands is going away anytime soon, however, I do think it’s worth thinking about possible avenues one can pivot to if the industry does continue to change and evolve (or die). Influencers have a lot of transferable creative direction skills that would allow them to truly excel in marketing spaces at great brands and companies. Continuing to hone video editing, market research, and graphic design skills will be important in maintaining employability in the years to come.