Some people are easily affected by what they see on social media. They’re prone to believing the things that they see online, and they allow it to affect their view of the world.
For example, a teenager may see a series of videos of ornate ways that other teenagers ask people to prom. They may then expect that all teenagers are/should be asked out in this way, and find themselves disappointed when their date, partner, or friend doesn’t put in the same level of effort.
Or, perhaps you see a video on a new shoe, or a new cream, or a new slang term, and you immediately buy the shoe or try the cream or use the slang term. Those are examples of a person that followers influencers and is also easily influenced by them.
That is its own separate challenge. Some people are more susceptible to this type of influence than others.
But what if you’re not *that* easily influenced?
What if you know for a fact that you’re not really someone that buys what influencers recommend you buy? You’re interested in what they have to say, but it doesn’t drive your purchase behavior. You’re “uninfluenceable.”
Or are you?
The truth is following influencers and being on social media frequently do affect behavior, even if you think you’re immune, Because, even if you don’t feel like you’re prone to buying products you see online, you can still be influenced by simply following these topics:
- Increasing Interests – People that follow a lot of interior designers may not buy the products they offer, but the more their algorithm shows them interior designers, the more they look at their own home and feel they need a change. This is true about videos of sports cards, purses, face creams, even movies. People that see anime clips are more likely to watch more anime. People that see videos about dresses are going to be more likely to buy dresses.
- Decreasing Feelings of Self-Worth – Similarly, the opposite holds true as well. A person that follows interior designers, for example, is going to start to think less of their home as they see that it doesn’t compare to the ones they see online. A person that follows people that sell or discuss purses is going to look at their own purses and feel like it’s not good enough. These are natural emotions to surrounding yourself with videos of things you see as better.
- Branding – You may believe that you’re not easily influenced, but branding science is very real and extensively researched. If you see a brand, or you see a product, and you run into that product/brand again in your travels, you are more likely to use it. In your mind, you’re not being “influenced,” because you’re coming to the conclusion yourself. But your curiosity and desire to even consider the product because you saw it before indicates that you’ve been influenced against your will.
- Unrealistic Expectations – Most people that spend a lot of time online think that the average person makes over $100,000 a year. They think that the average person owns a home. They think that the average person should be able to travel comfortably and often. All of these things are not true, but social media can change the reality that we have without us knowing simply because of what we saw online.
Imagine you’re following a beauty influencer. They show you all sorts of products – creams, lotions, makeup, and more. You decide not to use any of them. But then they show you a lipstick in a color you adore, so you buy it.
In your mind, it wasn’t being influenced, because you didn’t buy it “because the other person told you to.” But in a way, you did, because their recommendation excited you about that particular product.
Similarly, imagine you’re following people that teach basketball skills. You start to feel worse about how bad you are at basketball, and get motivated to try to be better. In a way, that’s good – you’re out there, improving a skill, getting healthy – but before that, you were feeling worse about yourself as a result of what you’re seeing online.
Either way, you’re still being influenced in ways that can harm your budget and your mental health, simply by spending time getting influenced by various social media algorithms.
No One is Immune to Influence
Whether we want things we didn’t want before, feel worse about ourselves, or expect impossible things from others, social media does have an affect on how we think and feel. The more things and people we follow, the more they directly and indirectly influence us, even if we generally consider ourselves to be not so easily influenced.
Either way, whether it’s learning to be free of social media or teaching ourselves to love ourselves more, it’s important to understand how and why our time on social media affects us, whether you’re the one being influenced or the influencer.