Influencers and Instagram, the two things that a lot of us 20-somethings pay attention to in life – maybe a little too much. As a 23-year-old drowning in tons of homework assignments every week, I want to know where I went wrong. How do I achieve a lifestyle like this? I have come to the conclusion that it is a one-in-a-million chance that I will ever be on the cover of Vogue like Emma Chamberlain or in Poppi’s Super Bowl ad like Alix Earle. And that is OK.
We need to stop comparing our lives to these women. Influencers are not relatable anymore, and, frankly, they have lost a lot of influence on me.
Emma Chamberlain released her first YouTube video on June 14, 2017. My 16-year-old self loved her. She has this funny and kind of weird energy that we all related to at one point or another. As she started becoming this micro-celebrity, and now a full-blown celebrity, I skip her videos and don’t pay much attention to her Instagram posts. I don’t see myself in her anymore.
The age-old critique of social media stars, and even celebrities, is body image and the negativity that comes along with it. We all want the long legs, big butt, small waist and flat stomach. But Instagram is pretty much fake.
According to Pew Research Center, in 2024 it was reported that 78% of 18 to 29-year-olds use Instagram, while 62% say they use TikTok. In 2023, according to King University, a review was published in the Journal of Eating Disorders that showed a strong link between social media and eating disorders in females. Because of “appearance-focused” social media, women and girls are destroying themselves by trying to keep up with what is popular.
The overall message that I want to convey to you is: it’s OK that you don’t have all of the most expensive and popular beauty products. It’s OK to not have a boob job in your early 20s. It’s OK that you can’t afford to travel around the world all the time. I think we need to be reminding ourselves of this more.
Some general tips and advice that I have for you to stop comparing yourself to social media influencers:
- Unfollow people and accounts that make you feel any negative way, or better yet, delete your social media!
- Talk to your friends about their thoughts and experiences on social media.
- Get professional help if it all gets to be too much – there is nothing to be ashamed of!
Influencers are great at what they do. They influence a lot of people to buy things or to look and act a certain way. I do appreciate the hustle and bustle of making a name for themselves, but I think it is just time that we start getting away from the dream of wanting to make it big like these ladies. Let’s make Instagram and TikTok videos for fun, not for fame. Let’s post our outfits and coffees and makeup tutorials for the creativity, not the celebrity.