The age of the internet, alongside the shift to consumer-centric digital marketing, has
resulted in the emergence of social media influencers, online personalities looking to build
million-dollar brands. SMIs tackle topics central to youths such as make-up tutorials, life hacks,
insights into their private lives, fashion trends, and food recipes. SMIs have surpassed traditional
celebrities in popularity because their content fits the adolescents’ frames of reference. The fervor
with which young people follow social media influencers is fueled by the pervasive availability
of social media platforms on smartphones; moreover, 95% of teenagers have access to
smartphones and nearly half are constantly consuming content online (Anderson & Jiang, 2018).
Though some SMIs deliver healthy and realistic content to their viewers, there is growing
concern that the prevalence of SMIs fosters negative psychological health among the youth
resulting from upward social comparison and fear of missing out (FoMO). This essay critically
analyzes previous literature to determine the impact of SMIs on young people and the existing
research gap.

Body

Upward Social Comparison
The content of SMIs stimulate upward social comparison, which leads to body image
dissatisfaction, materialism, and low self-esteem among devoted young followers. Lou & Kim
(2019) asserts that most SMIs create “perfect” content that involves idealized celebrity standards
to shape followers’ attitudes and purchase decisions. These standards are not the true depiction of
reality causing their followers to have such unrealistic expectations. According to Sherlock and
Wagstaff (2019), SMIs exposing youth to fitness and beauty ideals causes young females to re-
evaluate their attractiveness, resulting in reduced self-esteem. Instagram has become a major

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concern because most SMIs utilize its numerous filters to enhance or beautify images before
uploading them, deceiving young people by only portraying the most polished and positive side
of their lives (Lup et al., 2015). Youths undergoing identity formation become depressed when
they cannot live that life or attain such beauty and body ideals. Tiggemann and Zaccardo (2016)
also confirms that the new generation of SMIs focusing on fitspiration and thinspiration
frequently leads young people to feel unhappy with their bodies because they do not conform to
these ideals of a thin and toned figure. Furthermore, the majority of SMIs employ a deceptive
marketing strategy. Some of their content, such as unboxing and travel video clips, is sponsored,
although they do not reveal this information. Their portrayal of a luxurious lifestyle and
association with reputable brands only make kids feel they are not doing much with their lives,
leading to materialistic views when they are only stressing about a sponsored lifestyle.
According to Chae(2017), such upward social comparison results in envy, depressive symptoms,
eating disorders, social anxiety and reduced self esteem.
FoMO and Social Media Addiction
Following SMIs constantly causes a pervasive kind of online-specific Fear of Missing
Out (FoMO), which leads to social media addiction, worse moods, lower life satisfaction, and
phubbing behavior among young people. A study conducted by Schnuck(2021) on German
teenagers aged 10 to 14 years indicated that their overreliance on their favorite vloggers resulted
in greater FOMO, jeopardizing their social well-being. This study also found that the impact of
FOMO on these teens’ well-being was worse for those who lacked supportive communication
with their parents. Young people interact closely with SMIs and even feel a sense of intimacy
with them, as if they have a true connection (Schmuck, 2021). FoMO is the understanding that
one would be missing out when others are having fun. This FOMO is exacerbated by the fact

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that, unlike traditional celebrities, SMIs reliably deliver content and evoke intimacy by
disclosing intimate details about their lives. According to De Bérail et al. (2019), video posts,
such as YouTube vlogs, have a higher level of FOMO than image posts. FoMO is bad for the
psychological health of young people. It has a negative impact on their social well-being; they
would rather watch YouTubers than create genuine offline face-to-face interactions. According
to Franchina et al. (2018), this FoMO leads to young people becoming addicted to social media.
They are preoccupied with their phones, which causes social anxiety, loneliness, and stress, as
well as distracting them from learning and driving.
Promoting Healthy and Authentic Content
Despite the detrimental effects of SMIs on young people, some research has shown that
SMIs amplify and incentivize more positive behaviors among youth, such as body positivity,
financial awareness, ethical ideals, and respect and tolerance for diversity. Cohen et al. (2019)
conducted an Australian study to investigate the effect of body-positive content by Instagram
influencers on young women’s mood and body image. They discovered that, unlike influencers
who focused on thinspiration and fitspiration, body-positive content improved these young
women’s mood. These young women also had a better attitude about their body image since it
encouraged them to appreciate themselves (Cohen et al., 2019). Such SMIs that promote size
inclusivity serve as good role models for teens and establish an online community where people
can interact with others who may be under pressure to conform to beauty and body ideals. Since
SMIs are the new celebrities in this digital age, promoting uplifting content on social media is
extremely beneficial to young people, who might see themselves as being represented in
positions of power by their favorite SMIs. LGBTQ influencers, such as Nickelodeon-signed pop
diva Jojo Siwa, have a huge impact on their young audience. Such SMIs are extremely beneficial

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for young people who are suffering with their teenage growth and identity; they provide
vulnerable youths with supportive information and optimism that everything will be okay.
Wellness-focused social media influencers are doing an excellent job of offering authentic and
realistic content and assisting young people in making healthy decisions, eating well, being
financially savvy, and living morally.

Research Gaps

However, there is still a significant research gap on the impact of social media
influencers on young people. Most research studies have only concentrated on their negative
impact, entirely ignoring the function that these influences serve as good role models to young
people. More research should be conducted to develop ways for young people to exist online
safely, as it will be entirely impossible to eliminate social media influencers from the internet.
More research should be done on the regulations that these social media platforms can enact to
ensure SMIs do not deliver misleading content. While much research has focused on these
young people’s lives online with social media influencers, it has failed to investigate how
elements offline, such as supportive parental communication and self-objectification among
young people, contribute to their exposure to these negative effects. A lack of balance and
support in one’s offline life might lead to an addiction to SMI content.

Conclusion

SMIs have formed unique parasocial relationships with their audiences in this online age,
becoming digital opinion leaders who shape the thoughts and attitudes of young people. This
paper reveals that young people consuming these influencers’ content, frequently engage in
upward social comparison, leading them to chase unrealistic and idealized beauty and body
standards which results in negative psychological effects such as depression, low self-esteem,

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stress, body image dissatisfaction, envy, and eating disorders. Obsession with SMIs has resulted
in widespread FoMO, leading in social media addiction, social anxiety, decreased social
wellbeing, loneliness, distracted learning, and driving among the youths. However, influencers
focused on wellness and body positivity content have been demonstrated to have a massive
impact in improving body image satisfaction, alleviating eating disorders, and fostering a
community of young people who embrace and respect diversity and inclusivity. Influencers have
the responsibility to remain ethical and deliver authentic content, while young people have the
responsibility to re-evaluate how they use the content from social media.

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