Online issues and worries: online influencers

Who can become an influencer?

In theory, it is possible for anyone to become an influencer. However, it can take a lot of time, effort, skill, money or even luck to gain the follower numbers required to make a successful career.

What are the positives of influencer culture?

Whatever your passions or hobbies, there is bound to be an influencer to match! Influencers post a wide variety of content, often across a range of social media. So, whether you are looking for a game or product review, fitness or fashion advice, or want to learn about new ideas and diverse cultures, it’s easy to find someone who matches your interests.

Lots of influencers also use their platforms to promote social change by raising awareness of important issues, or by talking about their own experiences, for example as being part of the LGBTQ+ community or living with disabilities. Influencers have the power to reach large groups of people and help them feel supported.

What risks do I need to be aware of?

An influencer’s income often comes from being paid to promote products and brands online, so it’s important to be critical of the content that you’re seeing, to evaluate the motive or intention behind each post.

Ask yourself:

• who has the post been created for?
• who are they trying to influence?
• is this a promotion or an advert?
• are the views balanced?

Influencer content is designed to draw you in and keep you hooked so that you want to continue following. To achieve this whole teams of people may be involved with one influencer, from stylists and nutritionists to content writers and social media agents. The final images that you see may be heavily edited with filters applied and will have been carefully selected to give a particular impression. Every influencer post is chosen to show you the parts of their lives that they want you to see. It’s important to reflect on your digital well-being and to follow influencers whose content makes you feel happy and included, rather than anxious or self-conscious.

Influencers may also post content which might be inaccurate, misleading, a promotion of their personal opinions or even dangerous or extreme. Illegal and offensive content can be particularly upsetting and sometimes breaks the law.

How can I tell if an influencer is advertising something?

In the UK there are strict laws regarding influencers and advertising. All promotional posts are meant to be clearly marked. In reality however, it may just be with the words ‘#ad’, ‘#sponsored’ or ‘#gifted’ somewhere in the text, so it can be hard to spot.

In the past some influencers have found themselves in trouble when promoting their own or others’ products and brands online, and their misleading or unlabelled posts have been deleted and referred to the Advertising Standards Agency.  

Can I be friends with an influencer?

This really depends on who it is that you are interacting with. The highest profile celebrities are unlikely to reply to your interactions personally. However, there are online influencers who do take time to reply to messages and comments themselves.

Successful influencers have a talent for making followers feel like you’re a genuine part of their life, and you might even feel close to them if they give shout-outs on their channels and mention new follower accounts.  

Always keep in mind however that, to be successful, influencers need their followers and if nothing is being ‘sold’ in their content then what they are profiting from is your engagement on their posts.

I love creating content online, how can I protect myself?

When posting online, you have 2 options: public or private. A public account will allow as many people as possible to engage with your content. If that’s what you are aiming for then it’s important to limit the amount of personal information that you share, especially when it comes to your location and your family members.

Personal information can be revealed in lots of ways, for example in the background items that are visible in a camera shot, so ensure that you have considered this before you upload.

A private account keeps your posts less accessible. However, they can still be shared by anyone who is permitted to view them. It’s safest to only accept friend or follower requests from people that you know, and if you do encounter any negativity then use the block and report tools and seek advice from someone that you trust.

It can also be helpful to think about your online reputation and digital footprint to ensure the things you post don’t cause problems for you in the future.

Going online is affecting my mental health, what can I do?

If you feel that the content you’re seeing online is affecting your digital well-being, mood or self-esteem then it’s important to take a break, reassess the content that you are engaging with and talk to someone about how you are feeling.

You can mute or unfollow the accounts that are affecting your well-being and choose to follow and share accounts that make you feel good, and those that aim to spread positive messages online.

I’m worried about a friend’s behaviour, what can I do?

• If you are worried about what a friend is viewing online and how this appears to be affecting them, then let them know how you feel. Try to explain what is worrying you by sticking to the facts and avoiding blame or judgement. Your friend might not realise the implications of what they are saying or the effect that it is also having on others.
• Friends will often disagree, and this can provide an opportunity to see or hear things from a different perspective.
• Be honest if you do not understand your friend’s point of view and allow them to explain.
• If your friend shares content online or voices opinions that you find upsetting, then edit your settings so that you don’t see their posts on a daily basis and try to focus on the things that you do have in common.
• If the content that is being shared is potentially inappropriate or offensive and might break the site’s community guidelines, or even the law, then this needs to be reported.
• A healthy debate within a friendship can be a positive thing but friendships can also change as you get older, and that’s okay too.