Social Media Influencers

In the article by Jenni Gritters entitled “How Instagram takes a toll on influencers’ brains” the author argues that social media can have a negative impact on the way people think about themselves. Gritters states that Influencers using social media are constantly comparing themselves to others and as a result their self-esteem can seriously decline and they can suffer from high anxiety. Or, to put it in the words of Churchill, comparison is a thief of joy, as the constant use of Instagram can foster negative perceptions about oneself the more that one compares what one is doing in one’s one profile to what others are doing. However, in the article by Cheryl Wischhover notes, social media influencers have created an industry all their own and have become celebrities in their own right, which big contracts from big corporations routinely coming their way. Far from developing anxiety, these social media influencers are amassing followings, signing lucrative deals, and creating drama to generate more clicks and increase their ad revenue. This paper will show how an issue is never one-sided or as simple as it may seem; in other words, Gritters may have a point about social media causing anxiety for some, but for others who are able to maximize its potential it can be the pathway to stardom, fame, riches and celebrity-status.

As De Vries, Gensler and Leeflang point out, social media is one of the most influential forms of communication of this generation. In fact it is so popular that people are using their status on sites like Yelp and Instagram to try leverage freebies for themselves, such as free food and stays at inns in exchange for posting favorable reviews of the bars and inns on social media. However, as Heather Murphy points out, not every owner wants to exchange his services and goods for “influence.” For example, Gianluca Casaccia, who owns the White Banana Beach Club, wants cash from customers—not reviews on Instagram. He views “influencers” as freeloaders who think influencing on social media gives them status and influence in the real world (Murphy). In spite of what Casaccia thinks, though, young people prefer getting their information on what to buy or what to think from social media than from traditional sources of information, such as TV shows, ads or magazines. The young generation learns to trust people on social media because they can interact with them, message them, get to know them, and so on. It is a way to cultivate relationships. However, there is a dark side to social media that can impact one’s brain, according to Gritters.
The point that Gritters focuses on when it comes to social media is that it creates a culture of constant comparison between users. One person will post something on social media and obsess over whether it gets as many likes or followers as something else that another user posted. It becomes an unhealthy obsession that leads to mental health problems like the onset of anxiety and the loss of self-esteem, according to Gritters. Gritters states, “Many of the 12 influencers I spoke with while researching this story said they felt tied to a static, inauthentic identity. They often lamented their inability to put down their phones and laptops and said they were constantly online. If you want to be an influencer, you need to interact with your audience at all hours; taking a break is considered a big no-no.” In other words, according to Gritters’ research, those who try to turn themselves into social media stars essentially have to live online. They cannot form an identity separate from their social media identity. The person they are trying to be online is the person they must be 24/7. That becomes incredibly difficult and taxing, Gritters argues, because the images and person that one is posting on sites like Instagram is often unreal and idealized. Instagram only portrays one side of life—a side that is often commercialized and meant to be appealing. The unappealing sides of life, however, do not go away, and a person trying to become a social media influencer has to find a way to deal with them without becoming off-putting to one’s followers.
Wischhover, however, tells a much different story. She suggests that social media users actually benefit from bringing the drama. Those who “keep it real” so to speak are the ones who get the biggest followings because they are not hiding anything or presenting an unreal image: they present themselves as they are all the time, warts and all. They know that people online what to interact with others who are real. They know that they can keep the people coming back by just being themselves, and flaunting their petty jealousies, broadcasting gossip, acting catty, and showing themselves when they just wake up. In the world of social media, one essentially invites the world to be part of one’s life. It is not the same as having a makeup crew working on one before one presents oneself to the public. One brings the public right into one’s house and right into one’s bedroom, and if one does it with candor and enthusiasm, one can become a star influencer.
This argument by Wischhover flies in the face of what Gritters is suggesting that social media or more specifically Instagram users are doing. Gritters suggests that Instagram users are trying to be this perfect presentation of themselves that can be tiring and stressful because no one is perfect. Wischhover states that social media users do not even want perfection or that kind of superficial presentation. They want reality. They want drama. They want to see what another girl looks like without makeup or how she feels when another YouTuber calls her out in public. They can relate to the real life images and drama and that is what they want.
Since it is clear that social media is the most popular form of communication going today, as De Vries et al have shown, the arguments of both Gritters and Wischhover suggest that there is more than one way to look at this phenomenon. It may have its positives and its negatives, but those may have to judged on a case by case basis. Some may find social media to taxing on their minds, as the influencers that Gritters spoke to implied. Others may view it as a way to become a star and they may have fun doing it, as Wischhover implies. After all Wischhover states that “drama videos are so popular now that the drama channel creators themselves are getting fame, notoriety, drama, and money of their own, leading to one giant beauty drama ouroboros. It’s yet another data point in the continuing narrative about how the powerful ecosystem of YouTube creators is fundamentally changing how people are communicating and consuming information online, and taking a global industry with it.” Wischhover describes her findings as just one more data point in the story about social media. She does not try to claim that her entry into that story is the whole story or that there are not other sides to it. The picture that Gritters seems to present is that it is an open and shut case: Instagram causes more trouble than it is worth; social media will lead to anxiety and low self-esteem. But clearly this is not the case for everyone, as Wischhover shows, and clearly it is not the whole story.
Gritters’ argument is logical and does make sense considering the sources she provides. However, Wischhover provides another side of the narrative regarding social media. Gritters is negative towards it. Wischhover is positive towards it. De Vries et al. are accepting of it as a new form of communication. All have their angles and perspectives and all of their perspectives can be said to be valid. However, some take on a larger scope or focus on certain aspects while others narrow in on different elements of the social media phenomenon. To say that one side is right or wrong is beyond the scope of this paper. What this paper shows is that there is typically more to a story than just what one side presents. This paper has illustrated how there can actually be multiple sides or perspectives to consider when looking at a story. The story of social media and Instagram is a perfect illustration of that fact.
Works Cited
De Vries, Lisette, Sonja Gensler, and Peter SH Leeflang. "Popularity of brand posts on
brand fan pages: An investigation of the effects of social media marketing." Journal of interactive marketing 26.2 (2012): 83-91.
Gritters, Jenni. How Instagram takes a toll on influencers' brains. The Guardian, 2019.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/08/instagram-influencers-psychology-social-media-anxiety
Murphy, Heather. No, Your Instagram ‘Influence’ Is Not as Good as Cash, Club Owner
Says. The New York Times, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/03/world/philippines-hotel-influencers-social-media.html
Wischhover, Cheryl. Meet the TMZs of beauty YouTube. Vox, 2018.
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/10/5/17937690/youtube-beauty-influencers-drama-channels-dramageddon