For most of the time, I don't know why I follow some people on social media.
Some people I follow because of their personality, such as Tefi and Aiden Arata, while others I follow because of their work. I follow some creators because I watched their videos in high school and want to know what they're up to now. Taylor LaShae and Stilla are people I follow because they have bangs and I like to see hot people with bangs.
I do all of this with the knowledge that a lot of them are making me feel bad. According to documents revealed by The Wall Street Journal's Facebook Files, most people feel worse when they see celebrities and influential people on social media. It's true. My ability to look hot with Dora the Explorer's haircut is one of the things I compare my work to. The internal research shows that body image issues are high for all users.
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According to documents released by the Journal, social comparison is worse on IG. It is based on celebrity standards. It is possible to explore and profile stalkers. Friends' content is more influential in terms of social comparison than celebrity content.
It's not hard to notice an internal reaction to following an influential person on social media. It can make you feel bad and lead to consumption. According to one study from Sideqik, 66 percent of social media users say purchase decisions are driven by influential people, and 64 percent say that influential people help them discover new brands.
Why do we do that?
A study from this year shows that it's all about authenticity, creativity, and envy. This is what it looks like. I think Tefi is legit, I want to buy shit from Lalonde, and I envy LaShae.
The current research looked at consumer motives for following social media Influencers and their association with important consumer behavior outcomes. According to survey data, authenticity, consumerism, creative inspiration, and envy are some of the reasons why people follow a certain type of person on social media.
The study found that the other four methods were related to materialism in one way or another. Quality content is an important factor in determining if users will continue to follow and trust influencer marketers.
We're looking for community, and we think we can find it by following influential people. We're not joining groups anymore.
"When you don't have these religious structures, which are guiding you and defining who you ought to be, what ends up happening is people still seek meaning," said a senior lecturer in Sociology at the City University of London. You have to give them a sense of purpose. A lot of celebrities fill this void.
Influences hold "clear value" for marketers and this area of research is interesting for advertisers and marketers. We buy from them because we trust them.
Colin Campbell, an associate professor of marketing at the Knauss School of Business at University of San Diego, told Mashable that once we create these para social relationships, the bond is so strong that it's one of the most valuable ways to sell us things. Campbell said that users forget that they are being sold something when they think of friends or family.
Campbell said that people trust other consumers more than advertisers. They are a mix of those two things. People forget the fact that they're getting paid and that they're also good at going through and telling you that they're doing it for you and only recommend products that they think are great.
People have different motives for engaging with and purchasing from influential people. This is in line with the reasons we follow people like this.
Knowing the void we're attempting to fill is important information, but it won't make us feel less alone or drive us to be less materialistic. We have to touch some grass for that.
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