Halloween has yet to come and the audience is already focusing on what’s next: Christmas, then Valentine’s Day. Ralph Lauren Christmas is taking over TikTok. Again, we find ourselves following trends to show rather than following traditions and customs that represent us.
How many times have we found ourselves thinking, “I have to take a picture for my story”? From ten-year-olds shopping at Sephora and chasing social media appreciation, to twenty-year-olds comparing each other’s lives and doubting their own. A year ago, when TikTok was about to get banned in the United States, many influencers just went for it and confessed a secret; one of the most famous ones was Meredith Duxbury – who became famous for the amount of foundation she would put on – admitting she wiped some of the layers off, or Charli D’Amelio admitting she “doesn’t get the hype either,” possibly referring to her not understanding the interest she gets from her audience.
Last year and this year, many influencers got exposed for their lies, such as Tara Lynn, who is now begging brands for collaborations and rage-baiting her following by saying she is upset as she cannot afford a concert when her audience, mainly middle-class young professionals, are struggling to reach the first level of Maslow’s pyramid: needs and necessities. Many others are dying with the trends they were born with, such as Hubs.life, whose goal was to normalize the “typical 9-5” and now abandoned everything to become what he used to advocate against, or wisely used their following, as Kiki Chanel on her YouTube channel, who creates a space where everyone feels a little more… normal.
Around me, and around us, we keep noticing people getting bored by social media: seeing the same content, the same influencers, knowing the tricks behind an ad – everything is slowly becoming our enemy, but we still cannot stop using it. I myself, despite my job in the marketing field, needed a break from social media because it was simply not efficient for me, for my time… for my life. We constantly watch others’ lives and compare ours, not considering that, if we just lifted our heads from our phones, we could look in the mirror and see how rich we truly are.
Now, how could I explain this on an Insta story?
