Although the spectacle of influencers flaunting their affluence has long been a staple of social media, there are signs that audiences are growing tired of it. Experts say “influencer fatigue” is wearing on young people who crave authenticity as inflation rises and achieving a stable livelihood becomes increasingly difficult.

According to data from a YPulse study shared with Yahoo News, 45% of people between the ages of 13 and 22 say influencers just don’t have the same power that they used to. About 53% said they were more likely to trust recommendations from regular people online whom they don’t know rather than creators with large followings.

Influencer marketing once offered an alternative to typical celebrity marketing. Celebrities appeal to us as salespeople because of the psychological phenomenon known as the halo effect. If someone is talented or beautiful, we assume they are highly qualified in other ways as well, which boosts sales. Influencers, who are powerful but not conventionally famous, offered a more relatable and accessible alternative. They’re far enough removed from celebrities that we can relate to them — until we can’t.

  • snooggums@midwest.social
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    8 months ago

    Influencer = self employed advertiser. Being a fan of an influencer is like being a fan of the insurance gecko.

    • Psychodelic@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      What do y’all call people that make video essays or make funny skits but make money if ads? I thought most of us understood the game and weren’t hating the players as much

      • RBWells@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Entertainers. That is a job. I had a dance teacher who taught dance, danced professionally, did singing telegram deliveries, dressed in costume for historical tours at old places, she was just an all around entertainer, that was her job.

        Influencer is different, as I understand it, that is more like the content itself is advertising. Like a social media department at a company might hire them. I guess that is also a job, but most people don’t want to watch a ten or twenty minute ad.

        • Psychodelic@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          Fair enough. Thanks for explaining. To me, it seems like influencer is used to put down anyone that makes money from yt, insta, tt, etc.

          That’s almost all the content/format I watch. So it’s weird to think people just don’t care if they get paid because they depend on ad revenue.

          Do you consider twitch streamers influencers or entertainers? I don’t watch many but I’d assume they’re worse in your mind when some have a gaming chair they’re promoting and/or they were directly sponsored by the game they’re playing.

      • DragonTypeWyvern@literature.cafe
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        8 months ago

        Entertainers. An influencer is an evolution of the model, someone who exists to hang a branded product on and make rubes want to imitate them, not someone that provides entertainment.

        • Psychodelic@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          Does everyone know that? Influencer seems to be used for anyone that makes money from youtube, insta, tiktok, etc.

          Also, why y’all so hostile to basic questions? Does everyone here already think the same? No questions allowed? lol. Alright I’m done.

      • stufkes@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Video essayists. I watch them exclusively on YT and it is very important to me that they stick to their area of expertise and don’t include shady sponsorships. I think the video essayist is a very small portion of youtuber that make enough money to get by. Low quality stuff is far more effective at gaming the algorithm.

  • tacosanonymous@lemm.ee
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    8 months ago

    So the kids need a more realistic representation of adulthood?

    My time as a homeowner who barely scrapes by is here.

  • octopus_ink@lemmy.ml
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    8 months ago

    Well us old people were already tired of them when they first showed up. shakes cane

    • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      I distinctly remember a show called Lifestyles of The Rich and Famous, though I couldn’t tell you what celebs were featured. Then MTV had Cribs in the '90s. Influencers are basically just the modern version of those shows, aren’t they?

      • octopus_ink@lemmy.ml
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        8 months ago

        Everyone keeps naming things that were always tiresome worship of excessive consumption and wealth. A good many of us were tired of them then, too.

    • Duamerthrax@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Influences back then were just called Celebrity Endorsements. Or did you think Robert Rockwell wasn’t getting paid?

  • JovialSodium@lemmy.sdf.org
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    8 months ago

    Some unsolicited advice

    • Don’t trust anyone trying to make a living off of selling you anything, even something less tangible like a lifestyle.
    • If you have extra income after living expenses, set a little aside for personal enjoyment and save/invest the rest. The future is uncertain.
    • If you want to travel to far flung destinations and have the means to do so, consider skipping the resort experience. You’ll spend much less especially in developing countries and have a more authentic (relatively speaking), and rewarding experience.

    Edit: Formatting.

    • IninewCrow@lemmy.ca
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      8 months ago

      In the 70s and 80s, if a fast talking guy with sunglasses and slicked back hair and in a checkered suit wanted to talk to you about the latest greatest thing … you knew they were selling something shitty.

      Today we call those people influencers.

      They were a trend back then, they’re a trend now and will die out when the next trend starts … probably brain implanted advertising inside your dreams or something like that.

      It’s something that every generations grown up with …

      Some babe’s talking real loud
      Talking all about the new crowd
      Try and tell me of an old dream
      A new version of the old scene

      • Ragdoll … by Aerosmith … in 1987
    • rowrowrowyourboat@sh.itjust.works
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      8 months ago

      The last point has to come with a huge caveat. Some of those developing countries are pretty unsafe outside of resorts without a guide or a local that knows where you should and shouldn’t go.

      • JovialSodium@lemmy.sdf.org
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        8 months ago

        There’s certainly more dangers and risk and that’s important to be mindful of, but I don’t agree that it should be limited to having to have a local or a guide.

        Some more unsolicited advice to that end.

        • There are some places it’s not advisable to go. Perhaps due to conflict or civil unrest.
        • There’s more risk if there’s a common cultural bias against you (nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual preferences, etc).
        • Research if and what tourist targeted crimes are common ar your destination, as well as scams.
        • Affluent areas tend to be safer. And still very affordable, comparatively.
        • Don’t carry a lot of valuables. Enough cash for whatever your outing is. I also recommend keeping a travel specific debit card with no international fees and keeping a small balance on it and carry that around. A low limit credit card could also work.
        • Let people back home know where you are and check in. If your country has a consulate there, keep that info handy.
        • Risks for being a target are higher for women because the world is awful like that.

        I know that’s seems like a lot, but it really boils down to being mindful, aware, and prepared.

        Edit: split out conflicts and biases and removed a mansplainy bit.

  • FiniteBanjo@lemmy.today
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    8 months ago

    That’s because the algorithm has grown recursive and shoves the same mainstream shit down everybody’s throat on repeat. Cake is cool but imagine never being allowed to eat anything other than cake.

  • davemeech@lemmy.ca
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    8 months ago

    Probably an old man yelling at cloud sentiment, but I hated them from the very beginning.

    • Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      I’m definitely an old man. And i remember when YouTube influencers started being a thing.

      To this day, I have no idea what the hell a Mr Beast is or any of these famous YouTubers are. And most of them either fade away or get propped up by some bad news.

    • nifty@lemmy.world
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      I am not an old man, and I felt the same. I left Facebook in 2008, don’t have insta, TikTok, or tweet. I also left Reddit in 2014ish.

      I only use HN (on and off to comment on articles), and recently started Lemmy. Will I stay? Idk. Some international acquaintances and friends use WhatsApp, but I’ve mainly quit it.

    • Cosmicomical@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Influencer is a bad name, but I see them as bottom-up content creator, instead of the top-down conventional media. In this sense it’s more democratic approach and there is a wider choice and plurality of voices. But mainstream media is now enrolling them, for instance Reach Plc (who owns the Mirror and the Daily Express) fired a bunch of journalists and hired influencers. So you know, now you’re going to get the worst of two worlds.

  • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    If someone is talented or beautiful, we assume they are highly qualified in other ways as well

    With apologies for sounding like a cranky old man 30 years too early: in my day, we didn’t call thinking that “the halo effect”. We called it being a gullible dumbass.

    • sigmaklimgrindset@sopuli.xyz
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      8 months ago

      The “Halo Effect” has been a known psychological phenomenon since 1907 researched by uh…Wells and someone else who I can’t remember.

      I don’t want to rain on your cranky old man parade, but unless you’re 100+ years old I don’t think it was ever just “being a gullible dumbass”, it’s very much a known societal bias that has been leveraged by the advertising industry. Don’t think you’re immune to it just because you think you’re “above it”.

    • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      We called it being a gullible dumbass.

      The reality is that you’re almost certainly guilty of it. It’s human nature and to be so confident that everyone else is dumb and falls for it, and that it doesn’t bias your thoughts, is nothing but straight up arrogance.

      I can almost guarantee that every person who upvoted your post, and you included, are probably more prone to it than average precisely because you think you are immune, so you don’t bother to consider checking your own bias.

      • otp@sh.itjust.works
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        8 months ago

        Even our fairy tales and popular media often have ugly villains and beautiful (or “pure”) heroes.

      • Olhonestjim@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Sure, we’re all guilty of it, but telling someone that their decision making process is adversely affected by the Halo Effect might not be quite so convincing as warning them that they’re being a gullible dumbass.

        • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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          If you tell someone only gullible people fall for it…well, I’m not gullible so obviously I don’t fall for it. However if you tell someone we are all flawed humans that fall for it, they are more likely to be like “hmm, when does it affect my decision making process?”

          Although I’m under no false assumption that either is very effective. People mostly don’t want to admit that they are ever less than completely rational and objective.

        • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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          8 months ago

          Unless you hate everyone equally, which is almost certainly not the case, then it probably is still true.

      • Cosmicomical@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Being aware of psychological phenomena used in marketing doesn’t immunize you, I agree. But it definitely helps.You end up sounding paranoid to your friends, but you know those are real mechanisms that are used against you.

      • Clent@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Oh soothsayer what does your wisdom say of those of us who saw them as sellouts? Or those of us that aren’t enamored by consumerism? Or both?

        It would appear you are the one who has normalized these things in your mind as you have accepted them as inevitables.

        • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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          8 months ago

          It would appear you are the one who has normalized these things in your mind as you have accepted them as inevitables.

          This is like saying that I’ve normalized car accidents because I tell you to wear your seatbelt, knowing full well they happen.

          The people who think they are not prone to these types of biases are exactly like the dopes who don’t wear seatbelts. Either because they think they aren’t prone to accidents, or are simply just dumb.

          • Clent@lemmy.world
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            8 months ago

            Marketing doesn’t work as well as marketers would like everyone to believe. It works better on people who believe it works.

            • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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              8 months ago

              I’m not sure how one could possibly reason themselves into that position, so I guess I’ll just have to recognize that “you can’t reason a person out of a position they didn’t reason themselves into.”

              • Clent@lemmy.world
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                8 months ago

                Your inability to determine how I have reasoned my way into something is about you not me.

                Your dismissal of my ability to reason this and claim I didn’t reason myself into it, is a contradiction to the first half of your statement.

                It would appear you are caught up by your own limitations. Your choice to project these limitations on others indicates you are incapable of recognizing others have not only different perspective but different life experiences.

                • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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                  8 months ago

                  Instead of just throwing out a lot of empty insults, you could have just demonstrated I am wrong by explaining your reasoning. By not doing so, you just confirmed that I am right. Well done. Thank you.

  • Aniki 🌱🌿@lemm.ee
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    8 months ago

    Branding is important, but brands need to be relatable to resonate with Gen Z.

    Peak Capital Brain Rot.

  • ScruffyDucky@lemmy.world
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    I remember when these kind of people use to be called attention whores on the internet but I guess you can’t use that term when you’re shilling products

    #BringBackAttentionWhores so we can go back to attention whores fatique

    • mPony@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      I think “whores” works well enough on its own, but some would argue whether it’s a gender-neutral term, so I am reluctant to use it.

      • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        Tramp is pretty gender neutral, but its double meaning as a destitute person kind of gets in the way of it having similar impact.

  • twig@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    8 months ago

    This just means the next wave of influencers are going to appear to be “regular people.” There’s no such thing as neutrality or authenticity on communications platforms that exist to sell advertising space.

    • Num10ck@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      im expecting ai generated mass customized ads made exactly for what triggers you, with the kinds of people you want to see/be in the places you want to be in/with the background audio as you like/using the lingo that works on you… it will be horribly wonderful and nobody can share the experiences. and when that fails to work anymore?

  • AgentGrimstone@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    I never trusted what any influencer was selling. An ad disguised as a reddit post was way more effective on me.

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    8 months ago

    Sorry if I’m unable to muster up any sympathy.

    Also the phrase ‘getting tired of fatigue’ tickles me.

      • cryostars@lemmyf.uk
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        8 months ago

        Right, but are we supposed to muster up sympathy for people who follow influencers getting fatigued from following influencers? Really not trying to be snarky just curious

        • KeenFlame@feddit.nu
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          8 months ago

          You can get fatigue from things you choose

          It’s just a technical term for bored

          Your synapses are saturated

          It’s a very useless observation that this also has a tipping point like every other trend in history

      • Paddzr@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Right, I thought it was a comment about how young people brought it onto themselves… This whole concept where they enabled influencers and now it’s on them.

      • PriorityMotif@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        It doesn’t matter if they’re already paying for millions of fake subscribers and fake comments. There’s no secret sauce to this stuff. Just pay the shady account harvesting company in se Asia a few $k and you’ll get a lot of views and clicks.