A disturbing trend: Influencers with loads of privilege who don’t work regular jobs frequently reporting how burned out they are from “doing it all.”
It’s a new trend, and I sure hope it goes away fast: Influencer Privilege Fatigue.
This applies to young adult women influencers on Instagram, TikTok and who may have podcasts who talk as though their job requires near-heroic feats and stunning time management skills — even though they don’t have kids and work far fewer than 40 hours a week.
• No “real” job; get to set their own schedule.
• Can take vacation whenever they please, which is typically at a luxury resort at a prime vacation destination.
• Abundant freedom; they’re childless and aren’t tied down to a 40 hour/week grind.
• Often get to mingle with celebrities.
How exhausting could editing the latest reel be while you’re in your Versace robe?
They Can Take a Break Any Time
Many influencers live in too much of an online world, making them out of touch with reality.
If they’re so “burned out” and “exhausted” from their chosen line of work, then they need to get off social media for a bit, go outside to get fresh air and perspective, and just feel the grass for a change.
They’ve been overly invested in Internet drama, inventing their First World problems, caught up – actually, entangled – in a digital world for which they see no other alternative for existence.
They need a break from screens and to reconnect with the real world for better mental well-being.
Instead, they continue living in their digital reality, giving life advice while falling apart like a taco over the slightest glitch in day-to-day living.
Now of course, there are influencers out there who are actually well-grounded and not forever seeking validation from strangers.
It’s just that some influencers want everyone to believe that their profession is so incredibly difficult, when in fact – they have it quite easy when compared to the vast majority of women.
What’s unfortunate is that they’ve somehow managed to snag hundreds of thousands of vulnerable women into their vortex of cringe.
We might say, “But hey, they must be doing something right if they have half a million, let alone five million, followers!”
- Well remember, there’s eight billion humans on this planet.
- Most people can’t appreciate just how much even a single billion is.
- Thus, the right strategy could eventually get someone 500,000 followers, and it often grows exponentially from there.
- Keep in mind that the million followers of an influencer with a given platform are also pretty much the same million followers of many more influencers with a similar platform.
With aggressive self-marketing, good looks, an enviable level of wealth, and a touch of serendipity (good luck) at the get-go, a young woman could amass a large following, especially if her platform targets susceptible women struggling with their mental health, self-worth and body image.
Simply put, there’s a lot of young adults out there who have fragile mental health, and much of this might very well be tied to growing up with a lot of exposure to social media, to which they then regard as the be-all, end-all barometer or yardstick for how they should look, how they should dress and style their hair, their mannerisms, how they should perceive themselves, the whole nine yards.
I have a niece of around 30 who’s detached from all the social media influencer nonsense.
I wish I had screenshot it, but one day she put a post on her Facebook that parents should be teaching their kids how to hunt for worms, bait a hook and fish, rather than how to navigate social media.
She had it spot-on. Wish more young adults thought like her.
To Sum It Up
An unsettling trend is sweeping through the influencer world: Young women with massive privilege, no kids (which means less stress and more freedom) and no experience in regular jobs — yet claiming they’re “burned out” from … well … the unexpected editing they had to do for an Instagram video?
Or maybe they’ve had to work more than 14 hours a week for the past several weeks?
Perhaps they lost 2,000 Instagram followers last month and now have only 498,000 followers? Heavens, life is tough.
They live lives most people can only dream of — lavish vacations, a body that fits conventional beauty standards, enough money for therapy, pedicures, high-end skincare routines – and yet their “daily grind” is not the least comparable to what the average in America is.
What’s worse, they preach about hustle and mental health while collapsing under the weight of schedules they literally control.
I’m even wondering if some of them actually make up their First World problems to increase engagement — which then leads to more followers, more subscribers = more notice by potential sponsors.
