Feature

The Effects of Influencers and Who People Follow

By Lucia Gabriel

Famous influencers across social media heavily impact the minds of young teens by forming their opinions on certain topics. They promote appealing lifestyles, trends, and products to appeal to their audience. Social media influencers are now able to expand their platforms, and even make money from it. Teens may feel like they have a strong connection to certain influencers that they follow as they share their daily lives with their viewers.  

According to dictionary.com, “For most of its existence in the language, influencer was used to broadly to refer to someone or something with the power to alter the beliefs of individuals, and as a result, impact the course of events.” Recently, the term has been used to describe someone who has attracted a large audience, and they commonly sponsor growing brands.  

According to forbes.com, the top three content creators of 2024 were MrBeast, Dhar Mann, and Matt Rife. MrBeast is an extremely successful YouTuber, who makes videos doing a variety of creative challenges. Dhar Mann is another Youtuber, who creates videos dealing with morals and life lessons, by using understandable scenarios. Matt Rife is a stand-up comedian who became popular on TikTok and is on two Netflix shows: Natural Selection and Lucid.  

When influencers display about their lavish lives and routines, their viewers may feel a sense of connection with them. These viewers will then likely follow their favorite content creators on their social media platforms. As they post their lifestyles online and promote certain products, they bring a certain level of attention to those promotions along with additional followers. Even though what they show online is seemingly appealing on the surface, it can distort reality. The content that they post might not be truly authentic and is often heavily edited and manipulated to curate a particular message.  

Many teenagers follow certain influencers because they get inspiration from them. This could be related to fashion, sports, lifestyle, or any kind of entertainment. Anderson Hall, a sophomore at Ponte Vedra High School (PVHS) said, “I like following influencers to see different fashion trends.” She explained that she follows Demetra Dias and Brookie Yancey on TikTok and Instagram, because they both have good style and influence what clothes she buys. Demetra Dias is a fashion influencer, who has shown recent popularity for her clothing items. According to ypulse.com, “Brands she promotes can see entire collections sell out in hours or less, though her typical per-post rate after working with brands like Steve Madden, Pacsun, and Hollister sits somewhere around $20K.” Brookie Yancey is another fashion influencer, who gives her followers outfit ideas. Anderson pointed out that she especially likes her pink and grey color scheme of outfits.  

Grace Raymond, a sophomore at PVHS, explained that she follows a lot of famous athletes because they inspire her do better. She plays lacrosse and soccer, so she follows Josh Allen, Charlotte North, and a variety of other athletes. Josh Allen is an NFL player on the Buffalo Bills. Charlotte North is a Team USA and professional lacrosse player. When Grace sees posts from these athletes, they give her motivation to achieve her sport-related goals. Olivia Binef, a sophomore at PVHS, follows Ashley Hetherington because she creates Christian content and teaches her supporters more about their faith. Olivia also follows Nicole Laeno, a Youtuber who gained popularity through making content related to her daily life. “Nicole’s experience of being a teen in high school gave me a better idea of how to be organized and productive,” said Binef. Many high schoolers follow certain content creators because they aspire to replicate their lives, even though much of what is displayed online is not always a genuine reflection of their life. Individuals who post on social media often only post the highlights of what goes on during their lives, giving a very filtered view of life.  

“Influencers can have a good impact because they can use their platforms to voice important messages and inspire viewers to be better people.”

– Jocelyn smith

According to izea.com, “On a broader scale, influencer culture has impacted societal norms and expectations… It has sparked conversations about authenticity, as some influencers have been criticized for promoting unrealistic standards or lifestyles.” Many content creators get sponsored by brands, so they promote certain products. Their followers that see these sponsorships then likely want that product, because they can get easily influenced. Jocelyn Smith, a sophomore at PVHS, said, “Influencers can have a good impact because they can use their platforms to voice important messages and inspire viewers to be better people.” She follows a Florida wildlife activist, Fishing Garret, and she explained that he’s very educated about the different species of animals. Jocelyn said, “He brings light to animals because there seems to be a lot of fear surrounding them.” She also explained that influencers significantly impact her spending habits. If she sees clothes that an influencer wears, she gets tempted to buy it.  

Although there seem to be many favorable sides to influencers, there’s influencers who can have damaging effects on their audience. Andrew Tate, a former kickboxing champion and content creator, is a notable example of this. He became popular through posting about his controversial opinions on gender roles. His views caused him to become banned from multiple platforms because he promoted misogyny.  

The effects of influencers will continue to shape the lives of their many followers for as long as they have a platform on social media. There is a growing concern for the trustworthiness of what they post to their audiences.  

Pictured: social media folder of phone

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