The issue with instagram, blogging or any form of social media is that it is purely a highlights reel. Its a space where we spend hours scrolling through very picturesque feeds is glorious locations wearing the cutest clothes and looking very tanned (MY GOD ITS WINTER HOW DO YOU STILL HAVE A TAN?!?!). Its an enhanced, better version of your life and only showcases the bits you want it to.
As the blogging industry is growing, and influencers are growing from a following of 5k to 50k, the question irises about what responsibility they have. Having such a large audiences who looks up to you can raise a lot of issues about the honesty you project onto your feed and how your followers view you.
Is it our resonsibilty to be relatable?
A few years ago, it was EVERYTHING for bloggers, youtubers and influencers to be aspirational. To be someone that you want to grow up to be. To be that girl who 10,000 Chanel bags and a wall of shoes and who’s jetting off to the Maldives every other weekend. But that’s just not obtainable, and a trend that died out when the blogging started becoming something that anyone with fingers and a computer could do.
When we started blogging, you couldn’t make money. You couldn’t be ‘big’ and you would NEVER be taken seriously by Dior or Lancome or Audi. But now we have taken over the advertising industry and every company wants a slice of the pie. But with the ever growing market, comes the ever growing blogger. The girl who started her website in her tiny bedroom on her mums laptop, but is now using the latest equipment to shoot pictures of her new bag for her 60,000 followers.
The point I am making is that, with our blogs, we have grown. Bloggers are making a lot more money that they would have at their 9 till 5 and are being given a lot more opportunities.
But bloggers get a hell of a lot of stick when they make it big because they are no longer relatable. They are no longer ‘Maddy from round the corner’ and are now ‘Maddy in the London apartment being gifted bags from Mulberry’ (I am making a lot of references to bags but hey, I like bags.)
So is it our responsibilities as bloggers to be relatable? I mean you see bloggers like Chloe Plumstead and Beth Sandland happily telling you what contraception they are on and how their pad got stuck to their leg in their sleep. Then you see the girls like Lorna Luxe, who always look flawless, always look like they have had a wax and always look tanned (seriously babe its winter HOW).
Both types of bloggers are popular. Both types of bloggers are girls that I want to follow and want to aspire to be. I love a good pad story and I love hearing about a dating fail, but I also scour instagram, hating (but loving) those girls who just seem SO PERFECT and have the life I WANT SO BAD.
When it comes to being relatable on social media, I think it is more about being REAL with your followers, I mean sure upload that pic that is as such a perfect angle your waist looks non existent, but don’t be afraid to engage with your followers and tell them LOL I TOOK THIS PIC AND THEN WENT AND ATE TWO WHOLE PIZZAS TO MYSELF.
When it comes to being a blogger, there is an element of responsibility that comes with the territory to keep it real. Buy the Chanel bag, accept the big opportunities but dont ever forget where you started.
