Impact of Social Media Influencers on Young People

Ever since the invention of social media, the lifestyle of so many young people have changed. They spent most of their time watching videos of celebrities and content creators on various platforms. These celebrities and content creators are social media influencers.

Improvement in mobile technology with high user experience and the transformation adopted by broadband networks to provide users with more data at less cost made it easier to watch videos without interruption.

Online video consumption is one of the most popular web activities worldwide. Though several helpful and educational videos also exist on these platforms, youngsters mostly prefer entertainment videos of less to no use in their career development.

Statista.com, the leading statistics portal on the internet, reports that entertainment was the most common reason for watching mobile videos during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. It also states that short-form videos are the most popular among the different video formats consumed these days while TikTok is going viral and becoming one of the fastest-growing apps in the world.

Who are Social Media Influencers?

Social media influencers are the people who influence their followers or fans through the credibility they have established on social media platforms. They have the power to persuade their vast audience base through the words or content they upload.

The influencer can be a media celebrity, sports personality, famous blogger, or entrepreneur. Years ago, influencers were mostly media celebrities or sports stars, but nowadays, anyone can become an influencer by attracting people with viral content. They must have knowledge and expertise on a specific niche to attain widespread popularity and credibility.

The report says that 74% of people look up to celebrities of their interest to guide them with their purchase decisions. Brands mainly benefit from these social media influencers to create new trends and encourage their followers to buy the products they promote.

What Impact Do They Have On Youth

Browsing through their social media has become a routine part of the lives of the young generation. They are unaware of the fact that influencer marketing method is affecting their daily lives.

According to Google, 4 in 10 young subscribers say their favorite influencer understands them better than their friends, and 70% of teenage YouTube subscribers say they relate to YouTube creators more than traditional celebrities.

As for the psychology of young people, young people experience rapid changes during the time of young adulthood and develop a sense of self-esteem. They chase popularity and fashion, care about their image and have a sound curiosity to track and capture the subtle changes in trend.

Young people research and educate themselves about the product they decide to buy. They care about saving their money and want to get the best deal on the product. Hence, young people are classified as enthusiastic customers of the latest products appearing in the market.

Due to these characteristics of youngsters, they are the primary targets of businesses to sell their products, so companies choose social media influencers to promote their products. But do these influencers cause any appealing benefit in the lives of young people? Below we have discussed how social media influencers impact the young generation.

1) Increase Pressure and Anxiety

Instagram is the most popular social media platform among young people where they follow their celebrities. Social media influencers also love to post photos and videos on Instagram and its latest update Instagram reels to show that they live the perfect life.

Young people are addicted to these updates from their celebrities, and they try to imitate their lifestyle. For example, they may ask their parents to buy the same branded t-shirt or shoes or mobile phone that a particular celebrity uses, which may cost more and their parents could not afford.

This leads to the fear of missing out(FOMO), the feeling that everyone has a better life except them. This is a significant source of stress and anxiety attacks on young people linked to their self-esteem.

2) Consumption of Unhealthy Beverages and Snacks

Traditionally, television has been the main target for the food and beverage business to promote their products. But due to the improvement in mobile technology and increased number of social media users, these companies have shifted their marketing strategies towards social media. Research says that food and beverage companies spend about $1.8 billion a year on youth-targeted promotional activities.

Some researchers studied the most viewed videos of influencers on social media. They noted that 43% of the videos advertised food or beverages, with most of the videos, showed the influencer consuming the food or drink. They also uncovered that just 3% of influencers promoted healthy foods, such as fruits or vegetables, while 90% featured unhealthy foods.

Youngsters follow the footsteps of social media influencers, and they are more likely to consume the same unhealthy food recommended by their favorite influencers online.

3) Waste Time and Energy

Not everyone but some social media influencers create attention-grabbing content and viral videos to gain popularity. Most youngsters spend their time watching these videos, commenting on them, and relying on social media for several hours.

They fail to realize the truth that they are wasting their precious time by watching these pointless videos. Some youngsters even go to the extent of fighting for their celebrities in their profiles and comments, pouring verbal abuse on others, thus affecting their mental health.

Final Thoughts

Though some influencers genuinely review the products they promote after keen analysis, several influencers are unaware and ignorant in analyzing certain products. Social media influencers should be conscious about the product they advertise and avoid doing certain promotional activities that might impact the younger generation. Parents and teachers should educate their children about the positive and negative impacts of these influencers on their lives.