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The Anxiety of Influencers

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Re: The Anxiety of Influencers

#31

Post by coder-3 »

seibelj wrote: post #15
Gatsky wrote: post #9

Well this was always going to happen in an attention economy, the worship of fame for fame's sake. Success has shed the burden of actual achievement, vanity has become a job qualification. Why bother being good at sport or dancing or playing guitar, just be famous. Fine whatever, but it is poison candy for children.

Family, friends, health, purpose. These are the only things in life that truly matter. Some people get very low emotionally before they realize this.

I would slighly change it to relationships, health and purpose and I think this is a list that could apply to almost everyone.

Re: The Anxiety of Influencers

#32

Post by flir »

ZephyrBlu wrote: post #10

What I don't understand is why brands throw so much money at very young influencers. Are they specifically targeting young rich kids who spend big on products/merch? Seems like a small demographic for a $15B projected market...

Do you want to be the brand manager who said "nah, lets not bother with that" if it turns out it works?

Re: The Anxiety of Influencers

#33

Post by redisman »

ZephyrBlu wrote: post #10

What I don't understand is why brands throw so much money at very young influencers. Are they specifically targeting young rich kids who spend big on products/merch? Seems like a small demographic for a $15B projected market...

You don't have to be rich to buy luxury goods. In fact most of them are bought by people who can't afford them but desperately want to own them. There's credit cards, parents, using all your disposable income on them since you don't pay rent, etc.

Re: The Anxiety of Influencers

#34

Post by analog31 »

ZephyrBlu wrote: post #10

What I don't understand is why brands throw so much money at very young influencers. Are they specifically targeting young rich kids who spend big on products/merch? Seems like a small demographic for a $15B projected market...

In my view, children's advertising targets all children.

Re: The Anxiety of Influencers

#35

Post by chomp »

frankbreetz wrote: post #25
chomp wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does fame really give friends? It's been my understanding that a lot of famous people are chronically lonely.

Really? No, but if someone says friends are important in life, some people will think fame would be a good way to make friends.

I upvoted you but I think you and I might differ in our definition of friend; I think you're right that you have the opportunity to "cast a wide net" so to speak, but an internet search turns up numerous quotes from celebrities that find those relationships lacking in humanity and are void of meaningful connections. I don't think there's anything in fame that inherently precludes you to making true friendships, but you might have to sift more to find them.

Re: The Anxiety of Influencers

#36

Post by tmaly »

I think TikTok is fundamentally changing marketing. If you go on YouTube, you see 1-2 traditional ads. On TikTok all the ads blend in and just appear as another video in your for you page. What I thought was really interesting was that 50% of the user base is over the age of 30.

Re: The Anxiety of Influencers

#38

Post by mumblemumble »

ZephyrBlu wrote: post #29
prostoalex wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Younger audience is more susceptible to aspirational brand messaging - just look at TV ads for youngsters from few decades ago. Old farts are no longer trying to fit in, and in their purchases bring up terms like "lasting value" and "consumer reports". A friend's son, a newly minted teenager a few years back, had a Logan Paul sweatshirt and T-shirt at the top of the birthday wishlist. Never mind that's it's a generic…

Right, so it is targeted at kids whose parents will buy these things for them.

Realistically I think it's probably targeted at anyone who's willing to [get someone to] spend money on it.

Conspicuous consumption has been a thing for ages, and it's always been about presenting an image as having enough disposable income to be able to buy these sorts of things. The fact that some kids have parents who can afford to lavish this stuff on them only adds to the mystique.

I'd argue that it's also inaccurate to characterize this as just a kids thing. Plenty of people my age and older dump money into brands like Rolex and Mercedes. The main difference I personally see is that the price tags are even higher, and the brands themselves turn over at a slower pace.

Re: The Anxiety of Influencers

#39

Post by datalus »

rvz wrote: post #14

> You’re trying to impress everyone who watches the video, and you want everyone to like it. This is where the race to the emotional rock bottom starts. What if those influencers become irrelevant in 10 years time and are replaced by another generation? The key here is to expand to other ventures. The ones who stay on the same platform for years will gradually become irrelevant.

This is what I keep thinking about. I feel it’s going to get even darker on the internet when these influencers have to begrudgingly hand the reins over as they get traded in for the newer models.

Re: The Anxiety of Influencers

#40

Post by ptd »

seibelj wrote: post #28
axiom92 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>These are the only things in life that truly matter. Not really, such lists are typically a function of personal experiences. For example, plenty of people would happily take family out from the list.

I would argue you should make a new family. People who eschew the concept of family live a less fulfilling life IMO.

You’re being asked to consider the possibility that your family experiences have influenced this view. Not that you are incorrect, or even correct, the parent statement is simply saying you hold this belief because if you’re experiences.
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