Me toooo, I really thought our society would at least somewhat be over this by now, with all the truth that comes out about these people and their manipulative ways, how evil and fake all these entertainment systems are, how nothing is how it seems…yet people still submit to them like gods, truly worship them more than the gods they serve
I despise influncers. If I'd rule. I'd give influencers to get an education, and take the money out off social media completelely. Call me unreasonable, but they do more harm than good to me.
Their job is to take money out of our pockets and put it in their pockets. All of them from low level influencers to top celebrities. At all times and in all ways. That is my belief.
@Maca no, if you have a job, your job is to provide labor to your company that exceeds the value of the salary the company pays you. You are adding net value to your company (otherwise, if the company was paying you more than your labor was actually worth, then the company would quickly go out of business). An influencer's job is to get regular people to transfer their money into the influencers pocket and into the pockets of brands the influencer represents. The influencer does nothing to add actual value in return. One person is working an actual job adding net value to the economy and society. The other takes money from those hardworking people and gives nothing in return.
@@bored.1344 I’m talking about the ones that just show the outside of them for views and attention. Bring nothing to the table except posting mostly naked photos highly edited every week on their Instagrams. Nothing to offer.
People come to the internet looking for answers, and these people fill that void. Unfortunately, because they only show the highlights of their life, their audience assumes they have their life together, so they listen to them.
They do nothing for us. Unfortunately the masses don’t get it. We can only influence what we as an individual decide to support and consume. Me personally, don’t support any of these people in any way. I pretend they don’t exist 😌
The Taylor Swift phenomenon is amazing. So many of her fans were defending the dynamic pricing, saying she had not influenced it. She revolutionized how high tickets could be priced during reputation tour to ensure that she made more money than resellers. It’s also the reason resellers charge so much for her tickets. The only way to make a profit on a $800 tickets is to charge over $1000, so she drove resell prices up as a consequence. She didn’t do anything to stop resellers from charging her fans extra money through some verification; she just made it so that if anyone is selling $800 tickets, it’s her. At the time, every music journal was predicting that those high prices would cause the tour to fail, but her fans were willing to pay those prices. It became the highest grossing tour because she was charging her fans prices that you used to only see resellers charge. The amount of times I’ve seen people say “Taylor would be so upset and she would never do this” with her most recent tour even as her $70 tour merch fades with one wash. It’s unhealthy. I wanted to go to the Eras tour, but the idea of spending $1600 a ticket is gross. She would do “this”; she’s the business savvy artist that invented “this”. She’s just completely revolutionized the parasocial relationship between fans and artists especially through her private listening parties
Taylor Swift is just so overrated as a musician; she's a marketing phenomenon. What she is doing to maximise profit for herself doesn't surprise me at all. I'd even bet that the recent incident when she interrupted a song to defend audience members from security, was pre-rehearsed ie. fake. Just my impression.
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Yeah I’m a huge fan of her music but still this was a deal breaker for me. Lately, Taylor Swift (as a brand, not necessarily she as a person) seems to care mostly about breaking records and making tons of money that she won’t even be able to spend in this lifetime. Yeah sure her tour is an AMAZING show, truly a work of art, but did she need to be making $2 million per night?
I wouldn’t say she’s overrated as a musician, in fact many people don’t appreciate how good her music (and especially her lyricism) actually is. At the same time, her brand is just so focused on breaking sales records and making as much money as possible that it’s off-putting. She definitely puts a lot of effort into her shows and into her music but nobody needs to sell so many versions of the same album when it’s simultaneously impossible to get a version with all the songs available at once. There’s also her merchandise which is pretty expensive and the quality is not that great, the items themselves are usually pretty lacklustre too. It’s a shame that she chose that type of business model and branding
@@saram3152 imo her lyricsm was her most redeeming quality in her music. But that took a back seat for the most part when she fully made the move to mainstream pop, a decision she herself called "a smart business move". Some songs still get through but not anymore for the most part, the main draw of her lyricis was the detailed storytelling that she then substituted with the classic pop broad strokes so that everyone can project their own into the song.
Im surprised you didnt mention the ad campaign Taylor put out with Capitol One to sign up for a credit card just to try to get tickets for her concert. Always rubbed me the wrong way when her solution to high ticket prices she created was to tell her fans to sign up for debt.
Taylor swift and her fans just kind of weird me out. It’s becoming more and more of a get the fuck out level cult. (Now I sound like Sounds Like A Cult)
Imagine social media ceasing to exist overnight. Millions of people will be forced to find their own identity and see themselves as merely who they are, and not who they might like to be. That my friends, is the real doomsday for many.
I have been thinking about this recently. Like why do people get angry when their idol is in romantic relationship, or why do they buy everything that he wears/uses/eats. Sometimes I see bloggers selling basic merch (like cheap t-shirt with a word on it), it looks ugly and it's extremely overpriced, but some people actually buy it. And I also think that selebrities (especially asian ones) create a "surreal and untouchable" image to distance themselves from other people and make money out of it. I'll try to explain. Lables already choose extraordinarily beautiful people to form a k-pop group, but also alter their appearance even more (whiten their skin, getting cosmetic surgery, loosing weight) to create an unrealistic picture. Every photo is retouched and edited, every caption is carefully written and should be approved to be posted, their makeup is done seamlessly by professionals and their hair always stays in the same shape. They avoid even the slightest scandal and they don't talk about politics (or anything that includes sharing their personal opinion), they always say how much they love their fans and how much they inspire them. They don't usually go in public, they don't eat at the same restaurants you eat, they don't fly in planes you fly. You can barely find a single ugly photo of them, etc. And my point is that you wouldn't take a loan for 1000$ to go to your local singer's concert, but when it comes to BTS or any other popular group, you would take that loan just to see them one time, because it feels like they are literal gods, flawless creatures that came down from the sky to bless our mortal souls with their immaculate selves. And people (including me) would give everything, just to make eye contact with one of the members. That's actually sad how easy it is to manipulate me or other people just by creating this "para social relationships"
@@DinaStrange Not necessarily, but in this particular case that's true. I am insecure. And most of the time big corporations deliberately target vulnerable people, who crave love (even if "love" will later turn out to be an illusion, created for profit). It's nice when your confidence doesn't depend on someone's approval or other outside factors, but a lot of the times people just can't help it. That's like some abuse victims don't realize that they are in an abusive relationship. And you can't blame them. I think it's way more complex than just "people being insecure"
Never forget Fyre Festival. Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner have pretty much shaken off the bad press from that, no real consequences for them. There have been so many huge case studies that society should know better, but memories are short and people are kept distracted.
I don’t trust any influencer. I don’t follow any of them on my socials. Not even my favorite singers. Like you said, they are a brand. There is no reason why we should be trusting them when they try to sell us things.
Me too. First of all I like few songs of some artists. No singer or band can produce equally good songs. Why worship them? Not even BTS can make their every song go viral.
Also, when I follow the artist because I like their art sometimes knowing too much about them means that I enjoy their art just a bit less. Not because they're a terrible person, just because they're a normal occasionally annoying person who makes bad takes like we all do. I miss the mystery of the artist and I don't want to pretend they're my friend.
The worst thing to me is when someone says "YOU DON"T KNOW THEM???" like bro chill. Just because they may be known doesn't mean everyone in the entire world knows them. I have my own life. But also I don't ever remember singers or peoples names. I just know the songs or their craft they do lol
thank you for emphasising that money is emotional. I’ve grown so tired of listening to the same people giving out toxic advice about money and encouraging others to shut off emotions when managing finances. listening to you saying that it’s very emotional was a breath of fresh air and brought me a step closer to understanding my own financial habits. thank you for the video!!!
You’re absolutely right about the “brand of Taylor Swift” and how we should treat it differently than Taylor Swift the person/artist. She’s exceptionally good at making us feel like her friends which can be a bad thing. I feel like her social media accounts (and more specifically Taylor Nation) “rewards” people who buy the merch, and the countless album variations, and go to concerts with engagement and it feels pretty terrible as someone who can’t afford to spend in that way. It’s important to remember that you’re not a “bad fan” for not being able to contribute to a massive media machine worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Even if Taylor's concert is once in a life time, I dont want to see myself skipping out on real necessities like food or stack up on credit dues because I spent thousands of dollars on one concert ticket. I was able to admire her for years with just listening to songs, I think im good with that. I'm a huge Taylor Swift fan, and have shed so much light about the era's ticket pricing. Im only 27, and recently, I've been more responsible about my finances which in this day in age we should truly embrace more.
I would say Coldplay is more of a once in a lifetime show, but still, it's not that important to actually make it, or have your non existent house selling for going to a concert. And still, don't get me wrong I love live music and concerts, but never would overpay. In October one of my favourite bands is finally coming to my country, I as a fan who is in the mail list got tickets first than the public and cheaper, then they announced the m&g which was expensier than the ticket itself, and of course you needed to already have a ticket, sure I love them, but why pay thousand for being in the same room with them for five seconds when I can just pay for seeing then on the scenario where I actually like them
@@kylegarcia3096 that's because the original tickets has been bought up and resold on the same platform they problem you don't even know who is selling them.
I truly don't understand people buying RUclipsr Merch. It seems so childish. I also don't understand the tickets fiasco that happened with Taylor Swift for her midnights tour. I mean, I get it that people want to see her live but spending a month's salary feels borderline dumb to me. if you are in your late teens or early twenties, listen to this woman. Please save your money. Stop buying stuff instead of experiences. And if you are buying experiences weigh in if the price is worth the experience. Healthcare is expensive everywhere. Save for your health and your future.
Well said. Important social processing regions of the brain are still developing into the mid-20’s. Those of us who are older have all been there, but maybe in the past our mistakes meant embarrassing fashion and music choices, and not shoveling a bunch of borrowed money at social media figures and celebrities. If you are younger and worship some famous person, it doesn’t mean you are stupid or weak. You are experiencing a normal period of human growth and exploring your identity and your relationship to groups. But please try not to run up debt buying their merchandise. Wishing you all well!
@@americanbookdragon as you should :D it's your money, these things have value for you. I don't know why would anyone have the audacity to police where people spend their money (that they earned!). Frankly, this whole comment section is quite ridiculous :D
whenever a youtuber or influencers are selling something, its immediately added to my mental list to avoid at all costs solely because i hate them for trying to be salesmen
I worked with influencers before. Wasted a lot of money, energy and products with no sales most of the time. A lot of them just buy millions of followers and charge brand a lot of money for one post
I remember when there was this whole thing about Charli having tons of fake accounts following her. Like none of them looked real, but guess that was brushed off, I feel no one talks about it. So this reassures me a little lol
"To question everything is important, for knowledge is power and ignorance is enslavement. When we accept without questioning, we forfeit the power to control out own lives." - Mathew Flinders Cat by Bryce Courtney
I really want to understand the psychology behind celebrity obsessions, like the individuals that take to another level. How does it begin and escalate?
I know i can't speak for everyone but for me ( I didn't buy products that were being promoted or such ) but for it just just had to do with a lack of understanding and friendship for me. And seeing someone who seemed like if I met them they would be friends with me but then I realized that that's not the way to make friends and to preserve life in my own terms. ( not narcissistic but focusing on my own real needs for myself.)
I think it includes some phycological traumas and current physical state of person that have parasocial relationship with celebrity. Thit insane obsession comes from big wish to be loved/cared/calmed/fucked and etc. Big wish and a long-time lack of realisation of it brings to unstable state of mind so person start to act almost insane. Removing the reason of obsession is hard cse the wish that person have is needed to come true. Otherwise it'll always be simulated in unstable mind and in weird actions. That's what I think
I think, it’s the shod complex not many wants to talk about . They find a particular celebrity base on their influence helped them out of certain issues in life. Therefore, feels like these celebs are like god and will always be there for them. So, they willing to go bankrupt to support these celebrities and Jill people for them.
There's a great video about it on RUclips by Marsy, called "Celebrity Worship Syndrome". They talk about the psychology behind it and about their own experience with it. :)
@donk8105exactly, that's how I think it is for me , like I can sing on stage like them wearing those shiny clothes and everyone will love me like they love this person, n sometimes it's also what they make me feel like what Taylor Swift makes me feel when I listen, whether it's about love or sexism or anxiety, but when I fangirl over anything I do it very awarely
I'm a Muslim, and in Islam, something like this is totally forbidden. When something is bought or when 2 things are being traded, the good or service must both be given directly or the 2 things must be exchanged at the same time. Things such as Crypto or Bitcoin can easily collapse and lose their value and so much money could be lost or intractable, which therefore makes this impermissible in Islam. This is why some scholars of Islam even find using credit cards a little bit shady or suspicious, tho I personally disagree. Thank you so much for this informative video Cara. I ask Allah the Almighty to bless your own RUclips career and financial life.
Yeah interest is forbidden too! So of course, when using credit cards this motivates Muslims to pay in full every month. We can't have interest on savings either
Another benefit of adopting a mental fortitude to see through influencers is that it helps give smaller musicians, actors, artists, etc. a chance to be featured in the spotlight and grow. People with less of a fanbase are less likely to be disconnected with the everyday person, especially our financial capabilities.
You are right, influencers are often seen as brand and their followers having parasocial relationships, but lot forget that they have their own good side as well.
I have seen to many people who walked away from their career to become a RUclips content creator and a product influencer to collect revenue from sponsors. Their channel has become nothing but a constant stream of product promotion and links to where you can buy. This is a sickness in our society that is going to end horribly.
My husband and I just entered our senior years. I should consider myself lucky that I am past the stage where an influencer can convince me to buy anything that she pushes. I have no interest whatsoever and I don't have time to waste on any of them. I'm keeping our wealth and will stay frugal. That's the reason I subscribed to you---bc your content is worth watching!
I do not follow influencers, I'm not on TicTok, I don't listen to music, and I don't watch TV. Facebook is solely for a medical group. I can tell you that when you're not viewing all that ridiculous content, your desire for material goods drastically goes way down. I'm only 35, but I've really noticed a difference from when I was a teen to how I am now. Having a ton of things around me gives me anxiety. Less is really more. Consume less visual content, and you feel less inclined to consume material content. Question everything is also a motto I live by.
Same except I listen to music and do watch shows here and there, but I can differentiate between art and influencers. I could care less about influencers tbh, I just enjoy art and live life without centralising material stuff in my life.
Just eliminating tiktok and instagram from my life has saved me soooo much money it’s insane. I really didn’t think they were affecting my buying habits this much
Your take is nuanced and clearly informed, which i dont see a lot on youtube these days :)) i think many younger people right now are growing up with some parasocial relationships (‘raised by the internet’), which makes it far more difficult to be critical of the products those influencers buy
One of the only internet people who isn’t driven by profit and money 💗 your videos are so informative and amazing. You’re a real one in a world of fakers for money. Thank you 🙏🏻 hope you’ll have millions of subscribers soon
@@thefinancialfreedomgirl trippy how this exact video calls for us to question if it really does "mean a lot" to you lol (But credit where credit is due, kudos for owning it at the end)
She literally makes money off of people watching her channel. She’s an influencer. People not understanding that is a huge reason why so many scams exist.
Influencers are taking over education too. So many influencer teachers encouraging teachers to spend their money on classroom decorations, bags, clothes, and shoes that are trendy.
I’ve heard a lot of crypto supporters now call for more government regulation when the whole appeal to cryptocurrency was minimal government involvement
This was a great video essay 👏. You did a wonderful job. It really opened my eyes to the amount of deception out there. These people really don't care about us. I'm so grateful for this type of content because it helps me grow as a person. As a homeschooling mom, I am going to implement this as a new subject topic . Thanks for taking your time in making this video. I will definitely be supporting you in this.
I worked as an influencer marketing specialist for one beauty product. The product was at the highest scale of the price compared to competitors and effectiveness of it wasn’t obvious in a short term (was it even effective?). Influencer marketing was the main selling gear for us. How I was surprised to discover that often female bloggers took our product for review and praised it in their videos not even trying it! And that wasn’t even a paid publications, they were just happy to receive the product and I assume later to resell it somewhere. Big influencers did almost the same thing with a budget starting from 2000 usd per video. Both micro and macro influencers in our case were following all our instructions and spoke according to the script. What I concluded is that it’s a greed for fame, money and status of being an “influencer” ( not just a housewife!) is what leaded them. To be fair to say, almost everyone asked to try product before deciding to cover it in their video. Few people later said they didn’t like the product or it didn’t fit them, but majority were just ready to take it and cover in the videos and wasn’t even investigating about our company and the background of the product.
I think you touched on a really interesting point and made me think about the parasocial relationships I've obversed among youtubers, such as those promoted FTX or whatver product that might collapse next. The success of a youtuber is inevitably tied to cultivating a brand/business/personality. The greater the fan base, which equals traffic, conversion rate, reach etc, the more of a brand it becomes, and a better business for that matter. And the 'youtuber' becomes more of a personality than the person carrying the face. This depersonalisation may contribute to a psychological distancing between the creator and the follower thus making it easier for the creator to promote products regardless of consecequence because they don't feel *personally* responsible for it - after all, it is the brand/business/personality that does the promoting. I think this is sadly an inevitable paradox and people on the receiving end has a responsibility to be aware of its existence, in order not fall prey of their seemingly personal advertisement.
Such a great, concise, well-reasoned video! Recently I’ve been really mindful of the level of advertising present in my everyday life, and it’s honestly alarming. Especially now that so much entertainment is just a vehicle to push advertising into our brains, it makes it difficult to truly relax.
It’s truly a cycle because before influencers and main stream celebrities there were ads and media. Which pushed the same idea of needing to be and look a certain way. It’s scary because I’m so aware of this but sometimes I fall for “good and genuine” influencers and buy into it. So it’s nice to hear you and remind myself of the reality.
I love this channel. These topics have my blood boiling but knowing there’s others who think like this and can make the world better makes me feel at peace. Thank you.
I'm kinda glad Taylor slipped a bit and cracked her image with the whole Matty Healy debacle and her own response to it. I saw so many Swifties started to reconsider her whole image and rethinking buying her concert tickets. For me, she makes decent music that I can listen on the radio. I'm not gonna take out a loan just to go to her concert.
I’m too old for influencers. I’m the oldschool mom who yells at her young teenagers: ‘No way José! I’m not buying that crap from his ‘unboxing’ vlog!’. Just as my dad taught me: the sun is free, everything else will cost you money/you can’t have your cake and eat it too/follow the money: who’s really getting money from this/never get a financial product you don’t understand and have to rely on advisors to get the basics of the product’.
It’s called a world lacking in emotional intelligence. It takes an individual to figure that out for themselves because unfortunately no one, not even parents, seems willing to nurture this in a person before they’re grown adults.
As a millennial, it is admirable to see someone within my age group speak so confidently amount wealth management and best practices to build financial security and not become so distracted by the new and shiny things constantly bring marketed to us. Your videos have helped me think more critically about my money habits, where I choose to spend money, and where I choose to invest. This influencer video is 💯 and a much needed conversation. You rock and I’m a new subscriber!
You’re so eloquent and I absolutely love hearing about these topics. Especially during the pandemic, my spending on “little treats” sold by influencers I had parasocial relationships with SKYrocketed. Now I am unfollowing many of them, and just less melancholic and it is soooo much better financially, emotionally, environmentally, etc. The Internet needs your voice!
Yes. I noticed how all the Beauty Influencers talk to us like we are "Best friends". They share us there life problems. And we truly believe they care about us to.. I've tired a few beauty r products but i didn't really end up liking them and finding the hype about them. I never really thought about how beauty Influencers are bad for our planet, when they get all this free make up. Which half it ends up in the trash cuz they don't/can't use it all. It's also for me and maybe others not being able to "Afford" to buy the top name brands. Or sadly young people spending so much money on it and going broke. Of course not throwing shade on anyone who loves make up. Cuzi do to. I guess my point is the feeling of never being able to live this lifestyle they live.
This was really good to hear and you’re totally right. The world of finance is so overwhelming and (to me) scary. However, buying something that you see someone getting so much joy from on their videos is just fun. And that’s not healthy for the long term
Great video.. it's reached a point now when I run away from influencer promoted products.. I also teach my young daughter that 'influence' need not always necessarily be good.. In fact, most of them are not..
What does “influencer” even mean? They don’t bother to claim to be educated in any area, which they are not, yet people follow them. It’s embarrassing.
This is the second video of yours that has been recommended to me and I’ve now subbed. I like your measured, deliberate style - no hype, no shouting, just a very well-formed opinion supported by evidence. If only we spent a tenth of the time thinking about who we are and how we can add value to the world instead of how to acquire flashy goods and beat aging. (And I include myself in that for sure! The pressure is so hard to resist.)
Finally someone I agree with and thinks a bit more rationally, thanks for making these kinds of videos. People should definitely learn how to be more responsible with their money and their emotions. You have my sub, keep it up!
Nice video! You've probably read it already, but for anyone looking on, the best explanation I've ever come across of how we think about money vs how we should think about money is the book "The Psychology of Money". Honestly it's close to being a masterpiece.
I believe all influencers are salespeople, therefore I question all celebrity endorsed advertised. Thanks for recognizing the emotional value of money and the power than paradoxical relationships have on our spending habits.cheers!
i'm not sure why other people buy everything influencers tell them to but i am pretty secure in knowing what i actually need or what i will actually use so regardless of someone's recommendation, it will be my decision at the end of it (usually not buying it!)
I know this is aimed at influencers on a bigger scale, but man oh man I see this play out a lot on twitch too. Lots of people donating to streamers and I'll see them talking about how they can't afford their bills but they'll still be donating to the streamers :( I wish they would take care of themselves and their irl community the way they seem to feel responsible for taking care of influencers
A RUclipsr I used to watch a lot was always pushing these protein bars. They made them look so good, and I resisted buying them for a while, until I caved. Those protein bars were CA$100 for 50 and they tasted and looked like💩. I learned three things that day: 1. Don’t believe everything that’s pitched to you. 2. If it needs to be delivered and you don’t immediately need it, don’t buy it. 3. There is always likely to be a better, cheaper, and more beneficial product readily available to you, so be careful about where you put your money.
I have never liked Taylor Swift, she always seemed off and disingenuous. Thankfully 'influencers' really took off when I was just a bit too old to buy into their charade, but it really doesn't sit right with me that they use this tactic to essentially exploit young fans who are impressionable. I hope more people can come to realise that these cultivated 'relationships' with fans are just a marketing technique, and that these people think we are all just plebs at the end of the day!
folks just save your money. at the end of the day you have to look out for you. no one else will. your money represents your labor and time you have traded for that money. any money lost is so painful because it's time you can never get back. any time anyone tries to sell a service just skip it. if you do really want to buy a service or good dont buy it right away. whats the rush. sit on it for a few days. impulse buy is a real thing. that's what they want you to do.
A lot of the people who lost money were people involved in their own mini rug pulls, someone was always getting fucked over holding the bag. What did they expect?
RUclips in particular used to be a platform to share video content and that was it. People made no money from uploading videos. Now videos can be monetised, have adverts, are sponsored and god forbid patreon accounts which is online begging imo. Let’s face it. Give people the chance to make money from others and they will do it. It’s in our nature.
It's great to see an unpretentious and cogent young woman on here. You give me hope. The parasocial relationship dynamic is interesting. In the 1960s and 1970s there were a lot of ads on TV and in magazines for things we knew we couldn't afford, but we just liked to look at them and imagine ourselves owning them. However, they lacked that parasocial relationship, which is a layer of advertising that has proven extremely powerful. Great video.
Influencers are doing a job and if you are buying into it than you should be asking yourself why you trust them so blindly. We seek community and commonality so just stay away from those that you feel pressure to buy blindly and start having more self control and awareness 😊 not trying to preach but lesson learned from following beauty influencers
Oh the number of products i have purchased in my mid twenties when the influencer culture was rising and it wasnt THAT apparent that they really didnt care about us... sometimes my favorite influencers would just slide in some product recommendation slyly as an ad or even otherwise and i would feel like it was a very essential thing and just HAD to be bought. E.g. anti ageing cream or supplements. How weird to be buying them at the age of 26 or 28! It was the fear they were inculcating in us. Then i realised that a bunch of influencers would be pushing for the SAME brand at the SAME time and then i figured these were actually ADS plain and simple. And i could pull myself out of this cycle.
@@shiptowreck855 there’s a difference between buying beauty products that you researched and put thought into purchasing vs buying something just because some con artist with a sponsorship on the internet told you to.
This was really informative, thank you Cara! I do not follow or worship the influencers/celebrities at all, but sometimes it affects me when I see their authentic or manufactured luxurious lifestyles that encourage me to buy more since I already have a tendency to shop for cosmetics and clothes. I think this video was a good reminder to think twice and be satisfied with less. If you already haven't, can you also make a video of role-model celebrities/business people who are having a modest life?
To some extent, I do understand that influencers/youtubers need to earn money and take sponsorships. There are some amazing content creators out there and I'm happy they get to keep doing what they are doing. But there are those who will take any sponsorship, even the shady ones. And then there are those who are knowingly scamming their adiences, with a glee. Like Jake and Logan Pauls or the Kardashian mafia. Grown ass men, who knew full well Logan Paul's history, fell for his crypto zoo nonsense and were like "I thought he changed" . Bruh. As a hopelessly broke person, how the heck did you make enough spare cash to invest, if you are this stupid. I'm sorry, but that's my honest thoughts. They wanted to invest, and thought the best way is to trust Logan Paul with their money. W h y.
I literally block all these things that exist on my post daily. I don't skip I block them. It feels so good along with the news.... block them. These souless entities....
This extends to all celebrities. They don’t care if you go broke spending thousands on a crappy concert ticket just to be in some weird parasocial relationship.
I watch RUclips for entertainment and occasional upload videos. Most of the influencers promote extremely expensive stuff, and that's what it is stuff. I spend a lot of my money on what I put into my body and cook. My spiritual and physical health is more important me now
Just discovered this channel and, though I am not a person who watches copious YT, this one will be a staple. Thanks for being such a helpful human to so many! I’m reminded by the phrase, “Never meet your heroes,” one in which I’ve spent much time considering. And, with the exception of a couple minor (but not to me) music people, I never have. So, I’ll say with a bit of humor, I hope to never meet you! 😂 Keep putting truth out there! It’s needed. 😌
13:31 just found you today on here and instantly subscribed after you said this. I find it’s increasingly rare to find people with integrity in our culture unfortanately whether it’s politically, socially, personally, etc. The fact that you believe in questioning everything shows what a smart person you are and above that that you would encourage your followers on RUclips to even question you shows how wise you are and that you truly have other peoples best interests at heart. This is gonna gain you so much trust with your audience and I respect you so much for that.
These videos help validate all the feelings I have for the entertainment industry & celebrities. In a world that is internet focused it is hard to differ real & fake. So thank you for sharing these videos. Not everyone wants to talk about these things!
I'm interested in more on how influencers get you to spend more, but more towards kpop industry, since in my opinion, the industry is one of the biggest players for creating parasocial relationships.
Once you bring out the threat of a lawsuit that had the fan base claim the influencers led them to bad investments (because they needed to do the due diligence, but just took the quick cash instead), THEN they will care as the quick cash might have cost them their “credibility” for decades to come.
Hi Cara, this FTX I skipped I had not enough info. so I did not get into it. I am glad I got very guarded of what I get into after my older years. Cara, I felt so bad for all these young ladies and guys who lost so much money I know how that feels it is so awful and scary to lose lots of money. Thanks for sharing this video I pray people do not lose their money to any more scams and hyped up investments. Thank you again.
I think that influencing is a business. No one goes into business to be charitable. You go into business to make a profit. I do not knock anyone who goes into business and is successfully able to make a profit. However, I do completely agree that it is our responsibility as consumers to vet what is being sold to us. If we don’t, we run the risk of Being left with a bag of tricks that was never meant to serve us. But I also think it’s important for people, regardless of their relationship with influencers… Don’t villainize the business for understanding, your desires, and how you think. Instead, get smart, become a wise consumer, and to your point… Make sure that you are accomplishing your own goals.
I can honestly say I am not a stan for any celebs. There are some I favor more like Ill be more inclined to listen to an album or watch a movie, but not one person can release a product that I "know" I will buy or attend that event. Tbh I could see that more towards a franchise vs a celeb/person. I love music don't get me wrong bc I go to concerts especially if I vibe with that album. I'm extremely frugal and nit picky what I spend my money on so I am often looking for a good value or quality but never to support someone I literally do not know 🤷🏻♀️. I work hard for my money and I'm not trying to jump on a trend to make someone else richer. Hell no lmao that's how I feel. I will say I splurge a lot on food bc I enjoy that but tbh I am working on that lol
Amazing video-essay. Even though it's sometimes blatant that celebs want to make money out of us, we still buy it. That's how being a fan works, unfortunately. You are controlled and manipulated. So, as Cara said, look out for yourself and be financially secured.
Im ambivalent about influencers selling random products. When its a youtuber or podcast selling some dumb service i think "Go ahead and get your money", but when every popstar has a food product or fashion deal i think "once upon a time people sold music."
When you started talking about beauty industry and talked about social comparison with the Ads I couldn’t believe it! I mean I am watching this today and yesterday I presented a college thesis exactly on this topic!
I wish celebrity-worshipping would just STOP.
True!
Unfortunately that's unlikely to happen any time soon
Yeah👍🏻I never understood it. Their 💩 stinks too
RIGHT. THEY DONT DO ANYTHING FOR US
Me toooo, I really thought our society would at least somewhat be over this by now, with all the truth that comes out about these people and their manipulative ways, how evil and fake all these entertainment systems are, how nothing is how it seems…yet people still submit to them like gods, truly worship them more than the gods they serve
Me who has no money and skips all influencer product promotions. *pikachu face*
Hahahaha
You're living a Top tier life...believe me...😂😇😇
Same
Your not immune
I despise influncers. If I'd rule. I'd give influencers to get an education, and take the money out off social media completelely. Call me unreasonable, but they do more harm than good to me.
Their job is to take money out of our pockets and put it in their pockets. All of them from low level influencers to top celebrities. At all times and in all ways. That is my belief.
Everything is taking money out your pocket
Well, if you have a job then you do that too. No need for drama, is the reality
You are right!!!!!!
absolutely. they are here to influence our spending habits
@Maca no, if you have a job, your job is to provide labor to your company that exceeds the value of the salary the company pays you. You are adding net value to your company (otherwise, if the company was paying you more than your labor was actually worth, then the company would quickly go out of business).
An influencer's job is to get regular people to transfer their money into the influencers pocket and into the pockets of brands the influencer represents. The influencer does nothing to add actual value in return.
One person is working an actual job adding net value to the economy and society. The other takes money from those hardworking people and gives nothing in return.
Influencers are the new sales people.
They always have been. The method of operation is what's changed and will continue to do so.
Glorified Mary Kay consultants
The new scammers
Yes
Televangelists
I really wish we would stop giving influencers attention. Why do we do this? What do they do for us??
Some of them are entertaining af
@@bored.1344 I’m talking about the ones that just show the outside of them for views and attention. Bring nothing to the table except posting mostly naked photos highly edited every week on their Instagrams. Nothing to offer.
Maybe that's why you're bored
People come to the internet looking for answers, and these people fill that void. Unfortunately, because they only show the highlights of their life, their audience assumes they have their life together, so they listen to them.
They do nothing for us. Unfortunately the masses don’t get it. We can only influence what we as an individual decide to support and consume. Me personally, don’t support any of these people in any way. I pretend they don’t exist 😌
The Taylor Swift phenomenon is amazing. So many of her fans were defending the dynamic pricing, saying she had not influenced it. She revolutionized how high tickets could be priced during reputation tour to ensure that she made more money than resellers. It’s also the reason resellers charge so much for her tickets. The only way to make a profit on a $800 tickets is to charge over $1000, so she drove resell prices up as a consequence. She didn’t do anything to stop resellers from charging her fans extra money through some verification; she just made it so that if anyone is selling $800 tickets, it’s her. At the time, every music journal was predicting that those high prices would cause the tour to fail, but her fans were willing to pay those prices. It became the highest grossing tour because she was charging her fans prices that you used to only see resellers charge. The amount of times I’ve seen people say “Taylor would be so upset and she would never do this” with her most recent tour even as her $70 tour merch fades with one wash. It’s unhealthy. I wanted to go to the Eras tour, but the idea of spending $1600 a ticket is gross. She would do “this”; she’s the business savvy artist that invented “this”. She’s just completely revolutionized the parasocial relationship between fans and artists especially through her private listening parties
Taylor Swift is just so overrated as a musician; she's a marketing phenomenon.
What she is doing to maximise profit for herself doesn't surprise me at all.
I'd even bet that the recent incident when she interrupted a song to defend audience members from security, was pre-rehearsed
ie. fake. Just my impression.
Yeah I’m a huge fan of her music but still this was a deal breaker for me. Lately, Taylor Swift (as a brand, not necessarily she as a person) seems to care mostly about breaking records and making tons of money that she won’t even be able to spend in this lifetime. Yeah sure her tour is an AMAZING show, truly a work of art, but did she need to be making $2 million per night?
I wouldn’t say she’s overrated as a musician, in fact many people don’t appreciate how good her music (and especially her lyricism) actually is. At the same time, her brand is just so focused on breaking sales records and making as much money as possible that it’s off-putting. She definitely puts a lot of effort into her shows and into her music but nobody needs to sell so many versions of the same album when it’s simultaneously impossible to get a version with all the songs available at once. There’s also her merchandise which is pretty expensive and the quality is not that great, the items themselves are usually pretty lacklustre too. It’s a shame that she chose that type of business model and branding
@@saram3152 imo her lyricsm was her most redeeming quality in her music. But that took a back seat for the most part when she fully made the move to mainstream pop, a decision she herself called "a smart business move". Some songs still get through but not anymore for the most part, the main draw of her lyricis was the detailed storytelling that she then substituted with the classic pop broad strokes so that everyone can project their own into the song.
@her tour looks a little boring after watching too many Madonna, Britney Spears and Janet Jackson tours
Im surprised you didnt mention the ad campaign Taylor put out with Capitol One to sign up for a credit card just to try to get tickets for her concert. Always rubbed me the wrong way when her solution to high ticket prices she created was to tell her fans to sign up for debt.
Omg she’s terrible. Bad music and bad person too? 😮 why people support her is beyond me
I will literally never understand the Swifties
She got it right out of the boomer handbook
Taylor swift and her fans just kind of weird me out. It’s becoming more and more of a get the fuck out level cult. (Now I sound like Sounds Like A Cult)
wtf is this real???
"Our relationship with these influencers are their currency." Nicely said.
Imagine social media ceasing to exist overnight. Millions of people will be forced to find their own identity and see themselves as merely who they are, and not who they might like to be. That my friends, is the real doomsday for many.
Exactly. They need to get a real job.
I would be so bored during my work hours :D That's when I consume endless youtube LOL
Yup, I don’t see how being an influencer is sustainable for the long run, people better be saving what They’re making!
The truth
Underrated comment
It’s so true like people just make the newest trend their personality…
I have been thinking about this recently. Like why do people get angry when their idol is in romantic relationship, or why do they buy everything that he wears/uses/eats. Sometimes I see bloggers selling basic merch (like cheap t-shirt with a word on it), it looks ugly and it's extremely overpriced, but some people actually buy it. And I also think that selebrities (especially asian ones) create a "surreal and untouchable" image to distance themselves from other people and make money out of it. I'll try to explain. Lables already choose extraordinarily beautiful people to form a k-pop group, but also alter their appearance even more (whiten their skin, getting cosmetic surgery, loosing weight) to create an unrealistic picture. Every photo is retouched and edited, every caption is carefully written and should be approved to be posted, their makeup is done seamlessly by professionals and their hair always stays in the same shape. They avoid even the slightest scandal and they don't talk about politics (or anything that includes sharing their personal opinion), they always say how much they love their fans and how much they inspire them. They don't usually go in public, they don't eat at the same restaurants you eat, they don't fly in planes you fly. You can barely find a single ugly photo of them, etc. And my point is that you wouldn't take a loan for 1000$ to go to your local singer's concert, but when it comes to BTS or any other popular group, you would take that loan just to see them one time, because it feels like they are literal gods, flawless creatures that came down from the sky to bless our mortal souls with their immaculate selves. And people (including me) would give everything, just to make eye contact with one of the members. That's actually sad how easy it is to manipulate me or other people just by creating this "para social relationships"
Yes!! Such a great capturing of parasocial relationship culture!
I love this comment.
This cOmment is everything ❤
If u give everything to make eye contact with them, perhaps u are just very very insecure.
@@DinaStrange Not necessarily, but in this particular case that's true. I am insecure. And most of the time big corporations deliberately target vulnerable people, who crave love (even if "love" will later turn out to be an illusion, created for profit).
It's nice when your confidence doesn't depend on someone's approval or other outside factors, but a lot of the times people just can't help it. That's like some abuse victims don't realize that they are in an abusive relationship. And you can't blame them.
I think it's way more complex than just "people being insecure"
You need to understand that an influencer is a sales person .
Duh. :)
Right, not your friend!
Like hello!
Never forget Fyre Festival. Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner have pretty much shaken off the bad press from that, no real consequences for them. There have been so many huge case studies that society should know better, but memories are short and people are kept distracted.
Never forget Astroworld
“SHAKE IT OFF!” - indirect Taylor Swift Cameo
what happened?
@@wanda5548 they endorsed and promoted Fyre Festival on their social media. Bella Hadid is in the promo video for it.
bro what did fyre festival do
I don’t trust any influencer. I don’t follow any of them on my socials. Not even my favorite singers. Like you said, they are a brand. There is no reason why we should be trusting them when they try to sell us things.
Me too. First of all I like few songs of some artists. No singer or band can produce equally good songs. Why worship them? Not even BTS can make their every song go viral.
I only follow them to see their pics not to buy something that they have lol
Also, when I follow the artist because I like their art sometimes knowing too much about them means that I enjoy their art just a bit less. Not because they're a terrible person, just because they're a normal occasionally annoying person who makes bad takes like we all do. I miss the mystery of the artist and I don't want to pretend they're my friend.
The worst thing to me is when someone says "YOU DON"T KNOW THEM???" like bro chill. Just because they may be known doesn't mean everyone in the entire world knows them. I have my own life. But also I don't ever remember singers or peoples names. I just know the songs or their craft they do lol
Honestly any time I see a product pushed super hard by a bunch of influencers I automatically don’t trust it.
Rich people only face consequences when they steal from other rich people.
Bernie Maddof
If most of the "get rich quick schemes" advertised by influencers were effective, no one would be poor.
thank you for emphasising that money is emotional. I’ve grown so tired of listening to the same people giving out toxic advice about money and encouraging others to shut off emotions when managing finances. listening to you saying that it’s very emotional was a breath of fresh air and brought me a step closer to understanding my own financial habits. thank you for the video!!!
yay I'm so glad it was helpful!
"Scamfluencers" will make fake apologies, but will never return the money, greed is greater than their principles, if they ever had any.
You’re absolutely right about the “brand of Taylor Swift” and how we should treat it differently than Taylor Swift the person/artist. She’s exceptionally good at making us feel like her friends which can be a bad thing. I feel like her social media accounts (and more specifically Taylor Nation) “rewards” people who buy the merch, and the countless album variations, and go to concerts with engagement and it feels pretty terrible as someone who can’t afford to spend in that way. It’s important to remember that you’re not a “bad fan” for not being able to contribute to a massive media machine worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Even if Taylor's concert is once in a life time, I dont want to see myself skipping out on real necessities like food or stack up on credit dues because I spent thousands of dollars on one concert ticket. I was able to admire her for years with just listening to songs, I think im good with that.
I'm a huge Taylor Swift fan, and have shed so much light about the era's ticket pricing. Im only 27, and recently, I've been more responsible about my finances which in this day in age we should truly embrace more.
The tickets aren’t thousands of dollars its the resellers that are making up those prices.
I would say Coldplay is more of a once in a lifetime show, but still, it's not that important to actually make it, or have your non existent house selling for going to a concert. And still, don't get me wrong I love live music and concerts, but never would overpay. In October one of my favourite bands is finally coming to my country, I as a fan who is in the mail list got tickets first than the public and cheaper, then they announced the m&g which was expensier than the ticket itself, and of course you needed to already have a ticket, sure I love them, but why pay thousand for being in the same room with them for five seconds when I can just pay for seeing then on the scenario where I actually like them
@@kylegarcia3096 that's because the original tickets has been bought up and resold on the same platform they problem you don't even know who is selling them.
Oh yes, I bet when I’m 80 years old, Taylor will still do the occasional tour, and it may be less popular, so I can go then :)
@@peachxbluethat’s if you live to 80
I truly don't understand people buying RUclipsr Merch. It seems so childish. I also don't understand the tickets fiasco that happened with Taylor Swift for her midnights tour. I mean, I get it that people want to see her live but spending a month's salary feels borderline dumb to me.
if you are in your late teens or early twenties, listen to this woman. Please save your money. Stop buying stuff instead of experiences. And if you are buying experiences weigh in if the price is worth the experience. Healthcare is expensive everywhere. Save for your health and your future.
Well said. Important social processing regions of the brain are still developing into the mid-20’s. Those of us who are older have all been there, but maybe in the past our mistakes meant embarrassing fashion and music choices, and not shoveling a bunch of borrowed money at social media figures and celebrities. If you are younger and worship some famous person, it doesn’t mean you are stupid or weak. You are experiencing a normal period of human growth and exploring your identity and your relationship to groups. But please try not to run up debt buying their merchandise. Wishing you all well!
I mean, I bought a stuffed duck in a suit, a magnetic fidget toy and some earbuds. I love them all.
@@americanbookdragon as you should :D it's your money, these things have value for you. I don't know why would anyone have the audacity to police where people spend their money (that they earned!). Frankly, this whole comment section is quite ridiculous :D
@@_ii_jj_ Offering an opinion is not policing.
Hmm, crazy expensive healthcare is almost a uniquely American experience though
Finally someone said it. Celebs/influencers are not your friends.
whenever a youtuber or influencers are selling something, its immediately added to my mental list to avoid at all costs solely because i hate them for trying to be salesmen
I worked with influencers before. Wasted a lot of money, energy and products with no sales most of the time. A lot of them just buy millions of followers and charge brand a lot of money for one post
I remember when there was this whole thing about Charli having tons of fake accounts following her. Like none of them looked real, but guess that was brushed off, I feel no one talks about it. So this reassures me a little lol
"To question everything is important, for knowledge is power and ignorance is enslavement. When we accept without questioning, we forfeit the power to control out own lives." - Mathew Flinders Cat by Bryce Courtney
I really want to understand the psychology behind celebrity obsessions, like the individuals that take to another level. How does it begin and escalate?
I know i can't speak for everyone but for me ( I didn't buy products that were being promoted or such ) but for it just just had to do with a lack of understanding and friendship for me. And seeing someone who seemed like if I met them they would be friends with me but then I realized that that's not the way to make friends and to preserve life in my own terms. ( not narcissistic but focusing on my own real needs for myself.)
I think it includes some phycological traumas and current physical state of person that have parasocial relationship with celebrity. Thit insane obsession comes from big wish to be loved/cared/calmed/fucked and etc. Big wish and a long-time lack of realisation of it brings to unstable state of mind so person start to act almost insane.
Removing the reason of obsession is hard cse the wish that person have is needed to come true. Otherwise it'll always be simulated in unstable mind and in weird actions. That's what I think
I think, it’s the shod complex not many wants to talk about . They find a particular celebrity base on their influence helped them out of certain issues in life. Therefore, feels like these celebs are like god and will always be there for them. So, they willing to go bankrupt to support these celebrities and Jill people for them.
There's a great video about it on RUclips by Marsy, called "Celebrity Worship Syndrome". They talk about the psychology behind it and about their own experience with it. :)
@donk8105exactly, that's how I think it is for me , like I can sing on stage like them wearing those shiny clothes and everyone will love me like they love this person, n sometimes it's also what they make me feel like what Taylor Swift makes me feel when I listen, whether it's about love or sexism or anxiety, but when I fangirl over anything I do it very awarely
I'm a Muslim, and in Islam, something like this is totally forbidden. When something is bought or when 2 things are being traded, the good or service must both be given directly or the 2 things must be exchanged at the same time. Things such as Crypto or Bitcoin can easily collapse and lose their value and so much money could be lost or intractable, which therefore makes this impermissible in Islam. This is why some scholars of Islam even find using credit cards a little bit shady or suspicious, tho I personally disagree. Thank you so much for this informative video Cara. I ask Allah the Almighty to bless your own RUclips career and financial life.
Yeah interest is forbidden too! So of course, when using credit cards this motivates Muslims to pay in full every month. We can't have interest on savings either
This is super interesting to hear! Thanks for sharing
@@id_emotion yes of course usury or interest (in Arabic رِبا) is totally forbidden (حرام)
@@ellieevans857 no problem :)
Crypto and bitcoin also NFTs are scams from the start
The 1999 movie FIGHT CLUB ( a book first ) has a whole speech about the danger of Advertising, It was a warning then. You might get a lot out of it.
Ooh thank you for the recommendation! I've never watched or read Fight Club, so I'll have to check it out!
The movie Josie and the Pussycats is not fiction.
The book is 👌
The movie is more against consumerism, the book about manly when the narrator meets Tyler Durdan in the book. Homo ererotic manlyness.
The movie does dwell more on anti-consumerism and free from the shackles of things that create "purposeless" men.
Another benefit of adopting a mental fortitude to see through influencers is that it helps give smaller musicians, actors, artists, etc. a chance to be featured in the spotlight and grow. People with less of a fanbase are less likely to be disconnected with the everyday person, especially our financial capabilities.
You are right, influencers are often seen as brand and their followers having parasocial relationships, but lot forget that they have their own good side as well.
I have seen to many people who walked away from their career to become a RUclips content creator and a product influencer to collect revenue from sponsors. Their channel has become nothing but a constant stream of product promotion and links to where you can buy. This is a sickness in our society that is going to end horribly.
My husband and I just entered our senior years. I should consider myself lucky that I am past the stage where an influencer can convince me to buy anything that she pushes. I have no interest whatsoever and I don't have time to waste on any of them. I'm keeping our wealth and will stay frugal. That's the reason I subscribed to you---bc your content is worth watching!
I do not follow influencers, I'm not on TicTok, I don't listen to music, and I don't watch TV. Facebook is solely for a medical group. I can tell you that when you're not viewing all that ridiculous content, your desire for material goods drastically goes way down. I'm only 35, but I've really noticed a difference from when I was a teen to how I am now. Having a ton of things around me gives me anxiety. Less is really more. Consume less visual content, and you feel less inclined to consume material content. Question everything is also a motto I live by.
Same except I listen to music and do watch shows here and there, but I can differentiate between art and influencers. I could care less about influencers tbh, I just enjoy art and live life without centralising material stuff in my life.
Huh? No music? :(
Just eliminating tiktok and instagram from my life has saved me soooo much money it’s insane. I really didn’t think they were affecting my buying habits this much
Your on RUclips???
@@Bratty8 sounds like a fun life :D
Your take is nuanced and clearly informed, which i dont see a lot on youtube these days :)) i think many younger people right now are growing up with some parasocial relationships (‘raised by the internet’), which makes it far more difficult to be critical of the products those influencers buy
Thank you, I appreciate that!
One of the only internet people who isn’t driven by profit and money 💗 your videos are so informative and amazing. You’re a real one in a world of fakers for money. Thank you 🙏🏻 hope you’ll have millions of subscribers soon
Well thank you so much for your comment! It really means a lot ❤️
@@thefinancialfreedomgirl trippy how this exact video calls for us to question if it really does "mean a lot" to you lol
(But credit where credit is due, kudos for owning it at the end)
@@destituteanddecadent9106 so true!! I'm technically an influencer so be suspicious of me too tbh!
She literally makes money off of people watching her channel. She’s an influencer. People not understanding that is a huge reason why so many scams exist.
Influencers are taking over education too. So many influencer teachers encouraging teachers to spend their money on classroom decorations, bags, clothes, and shoes that are trendy.
I’ve heard a lot of crypto supporters now call for more government regulation when the whole appeal to cryptocurrency was minimal government involvement
yeah i'm very curious to see what ends up happening with the regulation of the crypto space!
Exactly , Bitcoin is the new Tulip I'm not falling for that one. Cash is still King
Invisible money will never replace real cash
Maybe that was the plan omg lol
@@Jersey1971 not really and should pay attention
I hate it, it's like if you're not spending money - you're not living this life.
This was a great video essay 👏. You did a wonderful job. It really opened my eyes to the amount of deception out there. These people really don't care about us. I'm so grateful for this type of content because it helps me grow as a person. As a homeschooling mom, I am going to implement this as a new subject topic . Thanks for taking your time in making this video. I will definitely be supporting you in this.
Wow thank you so much for your kind words and support, I really appreciate it ❤️ so glad to hear you found this video helpful!
Pretty concerning that immature, uneducated people are teaching their kids at home.
why isn't this viral viral? this is so good.
Thank you!!
I worked as an influencer marketing specialist for one beauty product. The product was at the highest scale of the price compared to competitors and effectiveness of it wasn’t obvious in a short term (was it even effective?). Influencer marketing was the main selling gear for us. How I was surprised to discover that often female bloggers took our product for review and praised it in their videos not even trying it! And that wasn’t even a paid publications, they were just happy to receive the product and I assume later to resell it somewhere.
Big influencers did almost the same thing with a budget starting from 2000 usd per video.
Both micro and macro influencers in our case were following all our instructions and spoke according to the script.
What I concluded is that it’s a greed for fame, money and status of being an “influencer” ( not just a housewife!) is what leaded them.
To be fair to say, almost everyone asked to try product before deciding to cover it in their video. Few people later said they didn’t like the product or it didn’t fit them, but majority were just ready to take it and cover in the videos and wasn’t even investigating about our company and the background of the product.
I think you touched on a really interesting point and made me think about the parasocial relationships I've obversed among youtubers, such as those promoted FTX or whatver product that might collapse next. The success of a youtuber is inevitably tied to cultivating a brand/business/personality. The greater the fan base, which equals traffic, conversion rate, reach etc, the more of a brand it becomes, and a better business for that matter. And the 'youtuber' becomes more of a personality than the person carrying the face. This depersonalisation may contribute to a psychological distancing between the creator and the follower thus making it easier for the creator to promote products regardless of consecequence because they don't feel *personally* responsible for it - after all, it is the brand/business/personality that does the promoting. I think this is sadly an inevitable paradox and people on the receiving end has a responsibility to be aware of its existence, in order not fall prey of their seemingly personal advertisement.
Such a great, concise, well-reasoned video! Recently I’ve been really mindful of the level of advertising present in my everyday life, and it’s honestly alarming. Especially now that so much entertainment is just a vehicle to push advertising into our brains, it makes it difficult to truly relax.
It's so crazy how much advertising we consume these days!
It’s truly a cycle because before influencers and main stream celebrities there were ads and media. Which pushed the same idea of needing to be and look a certain way. It’s scary because I’m so aware of this but sometimes I fall for “good and genuine” influencers and buy into it. So it’s nice to hear you and remind myself of the reality.
I love this channel. These topics have my blood boiling but knowing there’s others who think like this and can make the world better makes me feel at peace. Thank you.
I'm kinda glad Taylor slipped a bit and cracked her image with the whole Matty Healy debacle and her own response to it. I saw so many Swifties started to reconsider her whole image and rethinking buying her concert tickets. For me, she makes decent music that I can listen on the radio. I'm not gonna take out a loan just to go to her concert.
Your video got recommended to me and I was surprised by your number of subscribers... You deserve so such more !! Your video is excellent!!
Aw thank you so much!!! I really appreciate it ❤️
I’m too old for influencers. I’m the oldschool mom who yells at her young teenagers: ‘No way José! I’m not buying that crap from his ‘unboxing’ vlog!’. Just as my dad taught me: the sun is free, everything else will cost you money/you can’t have your cake and eat it too/follow the money: who’s really getting money from this/never get a financial product you don’t understand and have to rely on advisors to get the basics of the product’.
You come across as a very intelligent, researched and well-spoken woman. Thank you.
Thank you, I really appreciate that :)
@@thefinancialfreedomgirl welcome :)
This is all such obvious common sense...and yet so many folks fall into the trap again and again.
You’d think so but so many people have no media literacy.
It’s called a world lacking in emotional intelligence. It takes an individual to figure that out for themselves because unfortunately no one, not even parents, seems willing to nurture this in a person before they’re grown adults.
Just like the online gurus
As a millennial, it is admirable to see someone within my age group speak so confidently amount wealth management and best practices to build financial security and not become so distracted by the new and shiny things constantly bring marketed to us. Your videos have helped me think more critically about my money habits, where I choose to spend money, and where I choose to invest. This influencer video is 💯 and a much needed conversation. You rock and I’m a new subscriber!
You’re so eloquent and I absolutely love hearing about these topics. Especially during the pandemic, my spending on “little treats” sold by influencers I had parasocial relationships with SKYrocketed. Now I am unfollowing many of them, and just less melancholic and it is soooo much better financially, emotionally, environmentally, etc. The Internet needs your voice!
Yes. I noticed how all the Beauty Influencers talk to us like we are "Best friends". They share us there life problems. And we truly believe they care about us to.. I've tired a few beauty r products but i didn't really end up liking them and finding the hype about them. I never really thought about how beauty Influencers are bad for our planet, when they get all this free make up. Which half it ends up in the trash cuz they don't/can't use it all. It's also for me and maybe others not being able to "Afford" to buy the top name brands. Or sadly young people spending so much money on it and going broke. Of course not throwing shade on anyone who loves make up. Cuzi do to. I guess my point is the feeling of never being able to live this lifestyle they live.
This was really good to hear and you’re totally right. The world of finance is so overwhelming and (to me) scary. However, buying something that you see someone getting so much joy from on their videos is just fun. And that’s not healthy for the long term
Great video.. it's reached a point now when I run away from influencer promoted products.. I also teach my young daughter that 'influence' need not always necessarily be good.. In fact, most of them are not..
What does “influencer” even mean? They don’t bother to claim to be educated in any area, which they are not, yet people follow them. It’s embarrassing.
This is the second video of yours that has been recommended to me and I’ve now subbed. I like your measured, deliberate style - no hype, no shouting, just a very well-formed opinion supported by evidence.
If only we spent a tenth of the time thinking about who we are and how we can add value to the world instead of how to acquire flashy goods and beat aging. (And I include myself in that for sure! The pressure is so hard to resist.)
Finally someone I agree with and thinks a bit more rationally, thanks for making these kinds of videos. People should definitely learn how to be more responsible with their money and their emotions. You have my sub, keep it up!
Nice video!
You've probably read it already, but for anyone looking on, the best explanation I've ever come across of how we think about money vs how we should think about money is the book "The Psychology of Money". Honestly it's close to being a masterpiece.
Oooh I keep hearing about that book so I need to finally check it out - thanks!!
There's also "Your Money or Your Life." I read that ages ago. From what I remember, it's really accessible on this topic.
I believe all influencers are salespeople, therefore I question all celebrity endorsed advertised. Thanks for recognizing the emotional value of money and the power than paradoxical relationships have on our spending habits.cheers!
i'm not sure why other people buy everything influencers tell them to but i am pretty secure in knowing what i actually need or what i will actually use so regardless of someone's recommendation, it will be my decision at the end of it (usually not buying it!)
I know this is aimed at influencers on a bigger scale, but man oh man I see this play out a lot on twitch too. Lots of people donating to streamers and I'll see them talking about how they can't afford their bills but they'll still be donating to the streamers :( I wish they would take care of themselves and their irl community the way they seem to feel responsible for taking care of influencers
A RUclipsr I used to watch a lot was always pushing these protein bars. They made them look so good, and I resisted buying them for a while, until I caved. Those protein bars were CA$100 for 50 and they tasted and looked like💩. I learned three things that day: 1. Don’t believe everything that’s pitched to you. 2. If it needs to be delivered and you don’t immediately need it, don’t buy it. 3. There is always likely to be a better, cheaper, and more beneficial product readily available to you, so be careful about where you put your money.
I have never liked Taylor Swift, she always seemed off and disingenuous. Thankfully 'influencers' really took off when I was just a bit too old to buy into their charade, but it really doesn't sit right with me that they use this tactic to essentially exploit young fans who are impressionable. I hope more people can come to realise that these cultivated 'relationships' with fans are just a marketing technique, and that these people think we are all just plebs at the end of the day!
folks just save your money. at the end of the day you have to look out for you. no one else will. your money represents your labor and time you have traded for that money. any money lost is so painful because it's time you can never get back. any time anyone tries to sell a service just skip it. if you do really want to buy a service or good dont buy it right away. whats the rush. sit on it for a few days. impulse buy is a real thing. that's what they want you to do.
💯
A lot of the people who lost money were people involved in their own mini rug pulls, someone was always getting fucked over holding the bag. What did they expect?
RUclips in particular used to be a platform to share video content and that was it. People made no money from uploading videos. Now videos can be monetised, have adverts, are sponsored and god forbid patreon accounts which is online begging imo. Let’s face it. Give people the chance to make money from others and they will do it. It’s in our nature.
It's great to see an unpretentious and cogent young woman on here. You give me hope. The parasocial relationship dynamic is interesting. In the 1960s and 1970s there were a lot of ads on TV and in magazines for things we knew we couldn't afford, but we just liked to look at them and imagine ourselves owning them. However, they lacked that parasocial relationship, which is a layer of advertising that has proven extremely powerful. Great video.
Influencers are doing a job and if you are buying into it than you should be asking yourself why you trust them so blindly. We seek community and commonality so just stay away from those that you feel pressure to buy blindly and start having more self control and awareness 😊 not trying to preach but lesson learned from following beauty influencers
Oh the number of products i have purchased in my mid twenties when the influencer culture was rising and it wasnt THAT apparent that they really didnt care about us... sometimes my favorite influencers would just slide in some product recommendation slyly as an ad or even otherwise and i would feel like it was a very essential thing and just HAD to be bought. E.g. anti ageing cream or supplements. How weird to be buying them at the age of 26 or 28! It was the fear they were inculcating in us. Then i realised that a bunch of influencers would be pushing for the SAME brand at the SAME time and then i figured these were actually ADS plain and simple. And i could pull myself out of this cycle.
I am glad I have never been fooled into bying what they are selling
@@shiptowreck855 there’s a difference between buying beauty products that you researched and put thought into purchasing vs buying something just because some con artist with a sponsorship on the internet told you to.
This was really informative, thank you Cara! I do not follow or worship the influencers/celebrities at all, but sometimes it affects me when I see their authentic or manufactured luxurious lifestyles that encourage me to buy more since I already have a tendency to shop for cosmetics and clothes. I think this video was a good reminder to think twice and be satisfied with less. If you already haven't, can you also make a video of role-model celebrities/business people who are having a modest life?
Please put more light on Parasocial behavior thanks
You just talked me out of buying Dyson airwrap! Thanks! I appreciate it
To some extent, I do understand that influencers/youtubers need to earn money and take sponsorships. There are some amazing content creators out there and I'm happy they get to keep doing what they are doing. But there are those who will take any sponsorship, even the shady ones. And then there are those who are knowingly scamming their adiences, with a glee. Like Jake and Logan Pauls or the Kardashian mafia. Grown ass men, who knew full well Logan Paul's history, fell for his crypto zoo nonsense and were like "I thought he changed" . Bruh. As a hopelessly broke person, how the heck did you make enough spare cash to invest, if you are this stupid. I'm sorry, but that's my honest thoughts. They wanted to invest, and thought the best way is to trust Logan Paul with their money. W h y.
I literally block all these things that exist on my post daily. I don't skip I block them. It feels so good along with the news.... block them. These souless entities....
You are so underrated. You deserve so much more recognition! New sub.
Thank you so much ❤️
This extends to all celebrities. They don’t care if you go broke spending thousands on a crappy concert ticket just to be in some weird parasocial relationship.
Love these videos. You’re absolutely nailing it. Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much ❤️
I watch RUclips for entertainment and occasional upload videos. Most of the influencers promote extremely expensive stuff, and that's what it is stuff. I spend a lot of my money on what I put into my body and cook. My spiritual and physical health is more important me now
Just discovered this channel and, though I am not a person who watches copious YT, this one will be a staple. Thanks for being such a helpful human to so many!
I’m reminded by the phrase, “Never meet your heroes,” one in which I’ve spent much time considering. And, with the exception of a couple minor (but not to me) music people, I never have. So, I’ll say with a bit of humor, I hope to never meet you! 😂
Keep putting truth out there! It’s needed. 😌
13:31 just found you today on here and instantly subscribed after you said this. I find it’s increasingly rare to find people with integrity in our culture unfortanately whether it’s politically, socially, personally, etc. The fact that you believe in questioning everything shows what a smart person you are and above that that you would encourage your followers on RUclips to even question you shows how wise you are and that you truly have other peoples best interests at heart. This is gonna gain you so much trust with your audience and I respect you so much for that.
I got offended at the price of kim Kardashians Skims line....😂
These videos help validate all the feelings I have for the entertainment industry & celebrities. In a world that is internet focused it is hard to differ real & fake. So thank you for sharing these videos. Not everyone wants to talk about these things!
I follow a simple rule which is that if an influencer recommends that I buy something or invest in something, I don't listen to their advice
I'm interested in more on how influencers get you to spend more, but more towards kpop industry, since in my opinion, the industry is one of the biggest players for creating parasocial relationships.
Not me anticipating a Better Help AD as soon as you mentioned ones emotional relationship with money 🙃 RUclips has me well trained 🙃🙃🙃
Once you bring out the threat of a lawsuit that had the fan base claim the influencers led them to bad investments (because they needed to do the due diligence, but just took the quick cash instead), THEN they will care as the quick cash might have cost them their “credibility” for decades to come.
Hi Cara, this FTX I skipped I had not enough info. so I did not get into it.
I am glad I got very guarded of what I get into after my older years. Cara, I felt so bad for all these young ladies and guys who lost so much money I know how that feels it is so
awful and scary to lose lots of money. Thanks for sharing this video I pray people do not lose their money to any more scams and hyped up investments. Thank you again.
I think that influencing is a business. No one goes into business to be charitable. You go into business to make a profit. I do not knock anyone who goes into business and is successfully able to make a profit. However, I do completely agree that it is our responsibility as consumers to vet what is being sold to us. If we don’t, we run the risk of Being left with a bag of tricks that was never meant to serve us. But I also think it’s important for people, regardless of their relationship with influencers… Don’t villainize the business for understanding, your desires, and how you think. Instead, get smart, become a wise consumer, and to your point… Make sure that you are accomplishing your own goals.
The transformation of this channel from the videos posted 7 years ago and the videos posted lately is incredible.
I can honestly say I am not a stan for any celebs. There are some I favor more like Ill be more inclined to listen to an album or watch a movie, but not one person can release a product that I "know" I will buy or attend that event. Tbh I could see that more towards a franchise vs a celeb/person. I love music don't get me wrong bc I go to concerts especially if I vibe with that album. I'm extremely frugal and nit picky what I spend my money on so I am often looking for a good value or quality but never to support someone I literally do not know 🤷🏻♀️. I work hard for my money and I'm not trying to jump on a trend to make someone else richer. Hell no lmao that's how I feel. I will say I splurge a lot on food bc I enjoy that but tbh I am working on that lol
I just love putting these videos in the background while I do other stuff. There's something calming and meditative about them.
I don’t know how someone could be a fan of a influencer. 😂
Thanks for bringing attention to this!!
0:26 Missed opportunity to say “filed for bankruptcy, also with a ‘B’”
UGH 😩 brb gotta remake this vid now
excellent, talking about money issues in a calm way like you do makes it seems more manageable
Amazing video-essay. Even though it's sometimes blatant that celebs want to make money out of us, we still buy it. That's how being a fan works, unfortunately. You are controlled and manipulated. So, as Cara said, look out for yourself and be financially secured.
Thank you for spreading this message. I loathe influencer and celebrity culture.
That’s why I don’t follow celebrities or influencers
Because they are like politicians and the government
They could careless
Im ambivalent about influencers selling random products. When its a youtuber or podcast selling some dumb service i think "Go ahead and get your money", but when every popstar has a food product or fashion deal i think "once upon a time people sold music."
When you started talking about beauty industry and talked about social comparison with the Ads I couldn’t believe it! I mean I am watching this today and yesterday I presented a college thesis exactly on this topic!