Friends Of Social Media Influencers Explain What They're Really Like

Content Over Friendship

"Awful."

"One of my best friends fell real hard into Instagram, and for a few years it was tolerable and understandable, albeit annoying and strange."

"Everything needed to be documented in specific ways, so lots & lots of photos, even if it took away from the moment."

"But the strange part was how, when she’d share things, the captions always told a slightly different story than what actually happened."

"Like just off enough for me and my other friends to say, huh, that has a weird quality to it."

"Fast forward a couple years, and she gets engaged."

"Boom."

"This was the catalyst for the worst of the influencer mentality to come out. I was in the bridal party, and it was a nightmare."

"No gratitude, just demands."

"Demands for expensive trips and expensive parties and all kinds of things that were above and beyond the means of her closest friends."

"And all the demands were because she had a 'following' and had certain expectations to meet."

"It was really heart wrenching to witness someone belittle their best friend and maid of honor for trying to plan a sweet bridal shower because it wasn’t going to be at an expensive restaurant or art gallery."

"It reached its peak for me when, after the in-state wedding became an expensive destination wedding, there was the demand for an out-of-town bachelorette party a few weeks before."

"I was honest and said I couldn’t afford the bachelorette (mind you, I made about a thousand sacrifices over those months to afford what I could), and was promptly bridezilla’d and told I ruined the whole experience and that I was an awful, fake, inauthentic person."

"It got so bad that the bridal party fractured and disintegrated, she lost two of her best friends (myself and the MOH didn’t even attend the wedding after all her behavior and blow-ups), and we’ve barely spoken since."

"All so she could have an instagrammable wedding that would look good for the few photos she ended up sharing of it."

"And, true to the weird strange re-written reality ways she had, she published a public 'apology' on her blog for her followers and family that completely distorted and rewrote what happened, painted herself as the victim, and got her the sympathy points she was looking for."

"Ppl really lose themselves when they create an artifice for social media."

"I learned a lot from her."- whenthesunrise

Less Than Picture Perfect

"I dated one."

"Not super popular but followers in the 100k range last time we spoke."

"I remember a lot of getting ignored and only receiving nice gifts/acts of kindness when they could post about it."

"Asking me to go to nice places (they didn't drive) only to leave me on a bench somewhere while they took pictures."

"Huge strain on the relationship, especially when they started to get bigger and there was more demand for content."- 42charlemagne

No Chance For Promotion? Not Interested...

"She hasn’t come to anything I’ve invited her to in 5 years because she only goes to events that 'further her business'.”

"Regularly says things like, 'we’re all using each other for something'.”

"Sometimes she texts me the same exact thing word for word over a couple of days, and it’s obvious she just copy/pastes the same thing and sends it to all of us and then forgets who she has sent it to."

"She still reaches out to me multiple times a year and claims I’m one of her best friends, but it sure doesn’t feel like it."

"I’ve told her as much, but she just says 'this is my life now, my business comes first and if you can’t accept that, then I guess you’re not a real friend'.”- Cirrus-Ramparts

It's All A Facade

"Pretty mundane, honestly."

"My friend is conventionally attractive, and if you look at her social media, you'd think she were a supermodel millionaire who goes on tons of trips."

"She's actually chronically unemployed, and has an income of less than 10k/yr."

"Her boyfriend makes about $60k/yr which is enough to afford them a very nice 3 1/2 bedroom apartment, and she has tons of props she uses to make each room look different from day to day so it seems like she's always in a new, exotic place."

"They take two trips a year to fun, tropical places, in which she takes many photos, and posts them as different places throughout the year."

"She's a very kind, considerate, sparkling personality, but whenever we hang out, I tend to be a shoulder to cry on as she laments about her lack of success in life."

"It's quite sad, honestly."

"But with her creativity and personality, I think she'll achieve her dreams eventually."- LemonFly4012

Not What We Signed Up For...

"It's annoying AF."

"One of my buddies is constantly filming everything we do and posting it."

"It's to the point where people walk up to me on the street and ask me about him because they've seen me in his posts."

"I have no idea who they are."

"It dominates everything he does, and has severely impacted his personal relationships."

"He can't keep a GF and it's clearly related to this obsession of his."

"He does occasionally get some cool stuff out of it though."

"After pretty much kicking him out of my life because I do not want to be continually posted online, we've come to the understanding that when he's about to take a pic or video, he hands me the phone so i'm not in the shot."

"Works OK for me."- S_204

But What Will People Think?

"Friends with a high-profile athlete who is pretty popular on insta."

"He is always on the phone."

"Never lives in the moment."

"If we are doing anything fun?"

"Well, it basically didn't happen unless the world knows about it."

"Its just annoying."

"I cant imagine living for the approval or satisfaction of others."- Neither-Act1355

What Exaclty Is "Influencer Status?"

"I post travel photos and have about two hundred followers."

"200, not 2000 or higher."

"My friend somehow thought that was influencer status and decided to copy me - except she quit her job so she could travel more and 'grow her own brand'."

"In 2020."

"She lost her apartment, her car, and still hasn't found a job, but calls herself a professional influencer all the same."- oikorapunk

Just.Plain.Sad.

"I know a wannabe influencer."

"She will reply to her own posts from her husband's account praising herself."

"Then she will reply to those posts as herself thanking him, it's hilarious, like inception for Facebook."- Sydneyfigtree

Followers Over Friends

"To be honest it’s really sh*t."

"I feel like I’ve been completely forgotten about and like I don’t matter anymore."

"I think that’s just some weird misguided jealousy but it still hurts because I miss talking to my friend."- EmeraldSunrise4000

Take Two...

"Sad."

"In the beginning they started because they got offers from brands because they were so popular on Instagram and it was a lot of fun for them."

"Now they don’t ever post pictures or videos without a filter."

"Rarely ever like a picture on the first try and don’t you dare post any pictures of them without getting their approval for it."

"Imagine trying to get a group picture with all of your friends for your birthday but having you take almost one hundred shots to get one that your influencer friend is happy with."

"Also in the beginning I would like and comment on all of their posts but now that’s not enough."

"They expect me message it others, share it on my stories and my page (something about new rhythms and likes not being important anymore)."

"I hate posting stuff to my page but I do it any way to be supportive."

"It is so tiring."

"They do get free things sometimes though that they sometimes share with me."

"Not worth it imo."- yonewredditwhodis·

Based on the content they post on their pages, influencers' lives would appear to be one giant party.

Spend a day with an influencer though, and it will soon become crystal clear that it is anything but.