“Pilates”, “flared pants”, “high-top Converse”, “powder puffs”, “Drunk Elephant bronzing drops”, “Lululemon jackets”, “Revlon OneStep Hair Dryer”… If you’ve been on social media long enough, you’ve probably heard at least one of these before. And let me guess, you’ve either heard it from the one and only Alix Earle, or some other “Insta- baddie” or beauty influencer.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with some people promoting products on the internet. Not at all. In fact, I love a queen that doesn’t gatekeep, but… when all you see is ad after ad after ad, it eventually works you up. “Maybe I SHOULD buy this product. I mean, if she gets to look like that by using it, it will work for me too…”. Sooner or later, you’ll subconsciously open your notes app more often, but not to vent about your life, but to make a monthly shopping list inspired by the products that are deemed “in” by pretty much everyone on social media. And this, my friend, is just another way that capitalism crawls its way into our brains.
I’m pretty sure all of us college students have heard the word capitalism by now, and how its big enterprises compete against each other by selling their products in the market. But not just any product. Through meticulously studying our society as a whole, capitalists know which exact products to sell, during which season, and at what price. They have many tactics and the one I want to focus on is: “Influencer marketing”. which is as you might guess, marketing products to us civilians through influencers that appeal to different but specific audiences.
We’ve seen this kind of tactic way too often, for example, let’s say that Planet Fitness wants to get more people to sign up for their membership. By using influencer marketing, they’ll specifically go to a fitness content creator and they will ask them to promote the “product” on their social media platforms because they know that the thousands or even millions of people watching their content would actually be interested in being part of a gym. The same goes for beauty influencers. Makeup brands KNOW that the people consuming that media already shop at stores where they sell their products (so that’s already a plus as for accessibility to said article) and they know that these people will, more often than not, buy any product that the influencer recommends because they’ve probably been doing so for a while.
So, is capitalism manipulating us? Absolutely. Is your favorite celebrity/influencer manipulating you too? Yeah, pretty much. And what’s really sad about this, is how young the people that fall into these traps actually are. I mean, we’re talking about 11 to 17-year-olds who probably don’t have a job yet and should try to save up some of that weekly allowance for more important things like college applications, or even a car. These kids have been the perfect target for the phenomenon that I’ve been describing because they’re usually more prone to impulsive purchases and they’re generally just more vulnerable and in search of a way that they can “fit in”.
On the other hand, what’s “dangerous” about this power dynamic between influencers and capitalism, is that at the end of the day, who’s really in charge here? Capitalism or Influencers? Although the way I started out this article seems like I was leaning towards the “Capitalism rules us all” narrative, in my opinion, influencers have taken the baton and they’ve RAN with it. They’re the ones who decide what’s hot or not. They’re the ones indirectly influencing what companies actually sell and what people actually end up buying. They’re the invisible hand here. While it’s entertaining to see these people’s opinions and lifestyles on a daily basis, being bombarded with new trends to follow and things to buy on a weekly basis puts pressure on us all to keep up with them and follow their lead. An activity that keeps making the rich even richer, and results in many of us spending a large sum of money on products that are not as great as we thought they’d be, which ultimately leaves us dissatisfied and in search of the next big thing. Alas! An endless and insufferable cycle.
What I’m trying to get at here is that society as a whole should begin to be more aware of the subliminal messages that social media influencers are sending us with each scroll we make on our screens. We should implement the practice of pausing once in a while before any purchases are made, and really think about what we’re about to buy, why we might actually need it, and if the reason we’re buying it isn’t solely based on the fact that X celebrity has it. The key is to take off the rose-colored glasses and start seeing things for what they really are. Of course, you can buy that cute shirt. Wanna buy those cute shoes too? Be my guest! However, with every decision you end up taking, be mindful of it and reflect on where your money is going.