Imagine living the ideal life where posting a selfie on Instagram is your source of freebies such as brand-new clothing, jewellery and makeup. Imagine having thousands of people liking and commenting on your pictures, and treating you like a celebrity. Sounds amazing, right?
We often hear about young women and men under pressure to imitate influencers. But how often do we talk about the pressure on influencers themselves?
Instagrammers are put under a microscope by their sponsors to post the most flawless looking picture they could capture. Even though they’re not necessarily paid money for all the brand deals and promotions they do, they are rewarded with clothing or accessories, which is why they spend days trying to keep their clients happy.
The male influencers we spoke to were confident they could handle it. Ben said: “I wouldn’t say pressured, but I definitely would like to please others and give them inspiration with every post.” Murphy was sure of his own boundaries: “I say no to partnerships and ads. And I’m ready to lose some followers if they don’t like what I do. I prioritise longevity and authenticity.”
But a female influencer told a different story. “I always feel pressured on Instagram,” Avery said. “I actually post on my feed only once a month, but I’m pressured for these posts to be GOOD.”
Parva says she used to feel self-conscious about going out in case she didn’t live up to her Instagram image. But after a while this prompted her to “change the way I use Instagram. Before, I used to aim for perfection before posting my photos. Now, I am challenging myself to show other sides of me so that people get to know the core of me.”
All the influencers we spoke to admitted they can’t help constantly comparing themselves to other influencers, although some claimed they used this “as a source of inspiration rather than competition”. They also agreed there are downsides to being Instagram famous, like their phone blinging with notifications all the time, unneeded stress, and their fashion sense not being understood. But the consensus was there are more pros than cons. Murphy concluded: “I’m an introvert and this whole thing just saved my freaking life.”
