Abstract
This paper explores how Instagram’s deinfluencers started important conversations on sustainable living through their engagement in the platform, and it is identified that even though this kind of advocacy reflected a growing trend towards sustainability, it gradually turned out to be another trend that lost its purpose. This paper also analyses how some select deinfluencers genuinely endorse the cause of sustainable living and climate action through their content and collaborations on Instagram. It also discusses how well online platforms like Instagram contribute to social change.
Keywords: Deinfluencers, consumerism, sustainable living, Instagram, social media
Being one of the most popular social media platforms over the past few years, Instagram has started to structure our lives and routines inadvertently, and the “material world has sought to become ‘Insta-worthy in redesigning practices, cultural institutions and material spaces” (Leaver et al., 2020). Therefore, it is necessary to analyse how Instagram contributes to social change concerning sustainable living. This paper argues that while the Instagram deinfluencers’ attempt to make an impact in promoting a new mode of sustainable living through their engagement with their followers, the platform gradually lost its purpose and turned out to be something embedded in consumerism. It also understands the reasons behind this and points out alternative ways to the social change of sustainable living.
Influencers and consumerism
Social media influencers have taken up a commendable space in our digital lives and the real world. According to Abidin (2015), Influencers are regular internet users who attain a major following on blogs and social media by sharing textual or visual narratives of their lives and lifestyles. They engage with online and offline followers and generate income by incorporating advertorial content into their posts. Moreover, the influencer culture has become more professionalised and has evolved into an industry of its own by monetising both audience and self-brand (Hund, 2023, as cited in Arnesson & Reinikainen, 2024, p.1). Besides, building a strong connection with followers through engagement and perceived intimacy is often key to success in this field (Abidin, 2015). Therefore, being an influencer is tied to the heightened commodification of self through social media, which defines audience choices regarding consumption, ethics, value, and politics (Arnesson & Reinikainen, 2024). Thus, influencers not only present the digital culture but also shape consumer behaviour through commodification of their personal lives.
The influencing trend, when viewed from the perspective of the networked publics, points out how social media platforms like Instagram facilitate spaces where- communication, feedback and identity formation converge. According to Boyd (2010), “Networked publics are publics that are restructured by networked technologies. As such, they are simultaneously (1) the space constructed through networked technologies and (2) the imagined collective that emerges as a result of the intersection of people, technology, and practice” (p. 39). He also points out that these networked publics are shaped by affordances such as persistence, replicability, scalability and searchability. In other words, influencers build parasocial relationships, stay relevant and circulate trends by taking advantage of these affordances. According to Boyd (2010), these affordances do not decide the behaviour of the participant, but they do program the environment in a way that defines the engagement of the participant, i.e., “the architecture of networked publics is shaped by their affordances” (pp. 39-40). Therefore, the influencers gain popularity due to the participatory, dispersed nature of networked publics, and those publics, in turn, are formed by the content and cultural practices produced by influencers. In this sense, through strategic use of hashtags, filters and other features, influencers actively manipulate the platform’s affordances to expand engagement and promote the formation of publics around their personal brand.
In the last decade, influencer marketing has emerged as one of the most prominent online marketplaces, whereby online personalities capitalise on their influence to shape consumers’ decisions in favour of branded products and ideas (Femenia-Serra & Gretzel, 2020, as cited in Lee et al., 2022, p.78). Notably, from morning to night routine, influencers showcase their life as raw and genuine on Instagram for their followers, simultaneously endorsing brands and products they claim to use. Clearly, there has been notable progress in influencer marketing due to its abundance of visual possibilities and shopping features (Lee et al., 2022). For example, the swipe-up feature in stories – temporary content displayed at the top of the interface – garners immediate consumer engagement by directing them to a brand’s website (Feldman, 2019, as cited in Lee et al., 2022, p.79). In other words, Instagram has become the preferred platform for influencer marketing, with marketers integrating creative strategies like posting discount codes that feature a social media influencer’s name (Lee et al., 2022). Consequently, the platform has witnessed significant growth, not only in the number of active influencers but also their diversity, covering industries ranging from fashion and beauty to technology, travel, leisure and fitness (Droesch, 2019; Klassen et al., 2018, as cited in Lee et al., 2022, p. 79). These developments have established Instagram as a principal marketplace for influencer-driven promotion where brand collaborations, visual storytelling and algorithmic visibility combine to create a commercially viable and culturally influential platform.
The constant exposure to the influencer lifestyle can make the followers need to buy the products they endorse. Most lifestyle influencers promote different products through “shopping hauls”, where they show using the products, creating a sense of trust in the followers. As a result, people try to attain the must-haves in their daily lives that their favourite influencer promoted to gain validation and to give in to peer pressure. A survey conducted by Lee et al. (2022) to understand the motivations to follow influencers on Instagram and its effects on purchase history revealed that authenticity, consumerism, creative inspiration and envy had varying effects on trust and purchase frequency. To be clear, materialists “are more likely to aspire SMIs (i.e. envy), perceive them as significant role models (i.e. creative inspiration), desire to connect with them on a personal level (i.e. authenticity), and utilise them for brand information (i.e. consumerism)” (p. 93). Accordingly, these frequent and impulsive purchases through social media influence contribute to conspicuous consumption, which has an adverse impact on the environment and climate.
Deinfluencing and its effectiveness
Over the past year, when fast fashion hauls and shopping sprees overpowered the social media platform, and most social media users made purchasing decisions due to influencer endorsements, an army of self-proclaimed deinfluencers emerged who started to discourage people from buying items. To elaborate, the term deinfluencing became viral with a video posted on TikTok by content creator @sadgrlswag in January 2023, which denounced a long list of trendy accessories, books and devices (Chokrane, 2023). According to social media analyst and president of Rudy Media Group, Kris Rudy, deinfluencing is a social media trend that discourages users from buying certain products that they find to be decadent, useless and overhyped (Karimi, 2023). As one might expect, Instagram quickly caught up with this countermovement and the hashtag #deinfluencer or #deinfluencing, and everyone jumped on the bandwagon. As a result, Instagram users started conversations on overconsumption and inauthentic endorsements, sometimes with the objective of promoting sustainable living, financial discipline and conscious consumption in the name of deinfluencing. However, it is necessary to analyse if this reaction to the growing fatigue of influencer collaborations served the purpose and stood for the bigger cause of sustainability.
A recent survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Credit Karma revealed that a significant shift is unfolding among Gen Z consumers, where 88% reported to have been deinfluenced from buying items advertised on social media. This transition is largely motivated by concerns about overconsumption, distrust in influencers, and a desire to avoid trends that encourage surplus buying (Pastore, 2024). In that case, deinfluencing leverages the lethargy formed by the young people’s lack of trust in influencers and their search for more authentic recommendations by offering a refreshing and honest feel. Apart from this, deinfluencing also aligns with a world facing issues like climate change, consumerism and inflation, thus easily connecting with the users.
Even though deinfluencing trend started as a genuine response to the consumerist culture boosted by social media influencers, it immediately lost its purpose and became another ingenious sales pitch (Jennings, 2023). Instagram deinfluencers often post videos and stories with the captions “products I regret buying” or “Don’t buy this, buy this instead”, suggesting to users an alternative, cheaper option that is still encased within the capitalist framework. To put it another way, instead of discouraging the users from buying items, they tend to offer the option of buying better. Moreover, some influencers also use the deinfluencing hashtag to gain more visibility and stay relevant since the algorithm favours engagement and posts that ignite relevant discussions are likely to perform better. Barassi (2018) points out that social media activism differs from other media activism since it operates on a “new logic of visibility” (P. 143). So, the deinfluencing trend gains visibility with some refined, deeply moving, or captivating content, with captions like “I’m just being real with you guys” or “I wish someone had told me this before”, even if they do not exactly serve the greater purpose. Therefore, the deinfluencers tend to do exactly what influencers do but with different opinions about products.
In an interview conducted among some of the social media users by CNN, Mains, who has 13,000 followers on TikTok, suggested that the deinfluencers are capable of bringing a balance to the social media platforms that promote overconsumption and are held accountable for undermining the mental stability of adolescents. She also opinionated that real deinfluencers should actually be making people question their consumer habits, and the real problem with an innovative movement is that everyone gets to make a personalised meaning for it (Karimi, 2023). As Barassi (2018) says, social media activism is highly personalised and is conveyed primarily through the mobilisation of personal networks and secondly through personal identity narratives and individualised expression. To clarify, compared to the traditional formation of social movements, the deinfluencing speakers use their personal experience to connect with their network and to promote conscious consumerism. Thus, although some deinfluencers voice their political standpoint against capitalism since it is personal and fragmented, it does not offer a collective action towards the cause.
Social media analyst and president of Rudy Media Group, Kris Rudy, believes that to be deinfluenced, people might need to be influenced first (Karimi, 2023). Specifically, the advocacy to discourage buying overhyped and heavily priced items might only connect with the privileged and upper-middle-class people who can access the products. For instance, many deinfluencers discourage users from buying luxury items like Stanley Cup or Dyson Airwrap or doing luxury fashion hauls and so on. However, this only resonates with people who have used or can afford it and fails to transcend to a broader socioeconomic context.
On the contrary, some Instagram creators truly take up the role of deinfluencers to promote sustainable living through their content and activities. They encourage conscious consumption, sustainable living, and minimalism and create awareness of climate change and its impacts. These Instagram influencers also talk against fast fashion, micro-trends, unfair and exploitative working conditions, and environmental impact, just like any true activist. Compared to the deinfluencers, they rarely use the hashtag #deinfluencing but mostly focus on the #sustainableliving trend, and their deinfluencing started even before the trend. Therefore, it is imperative to say that along with encouraging people to refrain from buying overhyped, unnecessary items and fast fashion, they also promote options for sustainable living by protecting the environment instead of just providing another buying option that is still rooted in consumerism.
Instagram content creator Alyssa Barber, or @newlifestlyeabb, empowers and educates people on sustainable living and conscious consumption through her curated posts and videos. She promotes thrifting and posts pictures of her “finds” from the haul. Through videos and reels, Alyssa educates people to stop the growing trend of hyperconsumption and its impact on climate and the environment. Another activist and fair fashion campaigner, Venetia La Manna, uses her Instagram to spread awareness on slow fashion, upcycling, and reselling and to call out specific brands by names for not taking responsibility for their actions that do not align with sustainable living through interesting videos and social impact reels. Venetia has 335,000 followers on Instagram, and she also encourages them to use apps like Vinted to buy and sell preloved clothing. Moreover, she extends her activism beyond social media by conducting non-violent campaigns and marches against different consumerism and fast fashion issues.
Gittemarie Johansen, a sustainability advocate, uses her Instagram to speak about zero-waste living through growing microgreens at home, shopping seasonally and locally, using heirlooms and preloved items, reusing glass jars, and many other ways to minimise the amount of waste sent to the landfills and protecting the environment. She also clarifies to her followers that sustainability is not a product but a method of consumption and is not about owning items, but it is more about how you acquired the product and how long you owned the product. Similarly, another sustainability thought leader, Aditi Mayer, uses her social media account to discuss climate change and sustainability. She is also the founder of The Artisan Archive, a project that endorses traditional craftsmanship, sustainability, and ethics in fashion.
The social media trend of deinfluencing indeed started some important conversations on sustainable living and climate change. Instead of buying everything the influencers endorse, people started to think twice before buying the products. Moreover, it has also made people question the credibility of influencers, held brands accountable and promoted transparency. While the deinfluencing trend might not be as effective as social activism as it has lost its purpose on the way and has gone back to the consumerist pathway, some real deinfluencers use their media presence to educate and create awareness. However, it is necessary to consider whether the users who support and promote them merely do it as a result of slacktivism or clicktivism, i.e., doing less effective activities like posting activist posts, liking or sharing to create an impression of involvement (Freelon et al.,2020). Besides, as Freelon et al. (2020) find, “Digital political activities–including low-cost ones– are a complement to, not a substitute for, their offline counterparts” (p. 1), and people who are keen on political activities try to be active in those through both online and offline, and others would try to avoid it in both spaces as well. Hence, to win a battle against hyperconsumerism, people who care about the cause should come together and use Instagram’s potential to create change rather than use it as a pathway to stay relevant on social media.
Instagram’s Deinfluencing is a great shift from the existing consumerist lifestyle that made the consumers more sceptical about the choices offered to them as well as the choices made by them. However, it started to get derailed like any other trend on Instagram due to its fragmented and personalised nature. Therefore, a more collective and integrated approach is essential to make the big talk on sustainable living on social media and encourage the real deinfluencers who thrive on making the world a better place for the future.
References
Arnesson, J., & Reinikainen, H. (2024). Influencer politics: An introduction. In J. Arnesson, & H. Reinikainen, (Eds.), Influencer politics: At the intersection of personal, political, and promotional (pp. 1-14). Walter de Gruyter GmbH. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/curtin/detail.action?docID=31727606
Abidin, C. (2015). Communicative intimacies: Influencers and perceived interconnectedness. Ada: A Journal of Gender, New Media, and Technology, (8), 1-16. https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/handle/1794/26365
Barassi, V. (2018). Social media activism, self-representation and the construction of political biographies. In G. Meikle (Ed.), The Routledge companion to media and activism (pp. 142- 150). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315475059
Boyd, D. (2010). Social network sites as networked publics: Affordances, dynamics, and implications. In Z. Papacharissi (Ed.), Networked self: Identity, community, and culture on social network sites (pp. 39-58). Routledge. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/curtin/detail.action?docID=574608
Chokrane, B. (2023, December 21). What is Deinfluencing? Unpacking TikTok’s unlikeliest shopping trend. Vogue. https://www.vogue.com/article/what-is-deinfluencing
Freelon, D., Marwick, A., & Kreiss, D. (2020). False equivalencies: Online activism from left to right. Science, 369(6508), 1197–1201. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb2428
Jennings, R. (2023, November 14). The lie of “deinfluencing”: Influencers will never influence us to buy less stuff. It’s antithetical to the job. Vox. https://www.vox.com/culture/23950580/deinfluencing-tiktok-shop-influencer-culture-consumerism
Karimi, F. (2023, June 11). Forget the influencers. Here come the ‘deinfluencers’. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/11/us/deinfluencing-tiktok-trend-explained-cec/index.html
Leaver, T., Highfield, T., & Abidin, C. (2020). Instagram: Visual social media cultures. Polity Press. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/curtin/detail.action?docID=6027966
Lee, J. A., Sudarshan, S., Sussman, K. L., Bright, L. F., & Eastin, M. S. (2022). Why are consumers following social media influencers on Instagram? Exploration of consumers’ motives for following influencers and the role of materialism. International Journal of Advertising, 41(1), 78–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2021.1964226
Pastore, A. (2024). Survey: Gen Z sees social media as cause for overconsumption. WWD: Women’s Wear Daily,12. https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/survey-gen-z-sees-social-media-as-cause/docview/3092037652/se-2
Hi Shannon Kate, You’re right to ask; it is incredibly difficult to police these issues today. Predatory behaviour isn’t exclusive…