From Influence to De-Influence: The Search for Authenticity in a Curated World

Why are people suddenly shifting towards the de-influencer culture when 2010s and early 2020s were all about people trusting social media influencers more than celebrities, journalists and public officials?

I grew up watching social media personalities shape the way people think, speak, and live. Like many others, I naturally became part of that culture. Through the glimpses they shared of their everyday lives, I found pieces of my own experiences reflected in theirs, making their opinions and perspectives feel relatable and, often, influential in shaping how I viewed the world. I can never deny the positive role many influencers have played in expanding the boundaries of social acceptance. I have watched people embrace their true selves because of creators and celebrities who openly celebrated their skin color, body type, disabilities, illnesses, or other aspects of their identity that society had once stigmatized. Hence, the trust people initially placed in these influencers came from their relatability. Unlike traditional celebrities, they appeared ordinary. Their lives seemed simple, familiar, and attainable. At a time when the divide between the wealthy elite and everyone else felt increasingly pronounced, social media offered a new kind of public figure, someone who seemed to live much like an ordinary person. Over time, these individuals became role models, admired not for unattainable perfection but for their honesty, authenticity, and relevance to everyday life.

However, if the influencer culture had been so widely accepted, why were 3 out of the 10 reels I just scrolled through trying to ‘de-influence’ me? What has changed?

The answer lies in the loss of originality, authenticity and relatability.

Much of this shift can be traced back to the commercialization of social media. In the early 2020s, as more people turned to social media, platforms began monetizing content, and almost overnight, everyone seemed to become a “social media influencer.” Companies began paying influencers to promote their products, and most of the recommendations were no longer driven by genuine personal preference or people’s needs. Rather, they became increasingly shaped by sponsorship deals and brands’ marketing budgets. As a result, social media began normalizing consumer trends that blurred the line between desire and necessity, convincing people that not owning a Stanley Cup made them the odd one out or that collecting an entire shelf of Labubu dolls was perfectly normal.

However, monetizing content wasn’t the only reason that contributed to the growing distrust of influencers. People slowly started turning their backs on some of the influencers as various controversies came to light. While many were revealed to have presented carefully curated personas that bore little resemblance to reality, others started facing serious allegations that undermined the trust they had built with their audiences.

Furthermore, the rise in the use of AI obscured the line between reality and fabrication, making people question the influencers’ authenticity. At the same time, repetitive content strategies and increasingly formulaic advertising made many creators feel interchangeable rather than original.

All of this ultimately caused influencers to lose one thing that had made them successful in the first place: people’s trust. The individuals who had once felt relatable gradually became just as distant and aspirational as the wealthy elite they had originally seemed to contrast. This shift gave rise to the concept of de-influencing.

What had begun as a movement built on authenticity, acceptance, and relatability had slowly evolved into the very culture it once challenged. The unrealistic beauty standards, unattainable lifestyles, and the new standards of perfection were just as toxic.

As I have watched more young people embrace de-influencing, I have realized that its appeal comes from a simple desire: this generation is searching for its own version of individuality and acceptance, just as the generation before it did, and the generation after it will. Many of us are exhausted by constantly comparing ourselves to people on social media. Influencers no longer feel like ordinary people navigating the same struggles we do. They have become distant, curated versions of success rather than relatable reflections of everyday life. De-influencing, therefore, is not only a rejection of influencer culture but also an attempt to reclaim authenticity.