Nowadays regular people can become celebrities thanks to platforms such as Instagram and Youtube. Today the influencer community is a billion-dollar industry. 

In an industry flooded with self-appointed wellness experts, beauty gurus and health ‘experts’ it is hard to know who to trust. 

Now that influencers can monetize their social media platforms in return for promoting products there is a rise in influencers promoting products that they do not believe in. The problem is, is that many of these influencers are followed and admired by young and impressionable people.

How trustworthy are influencers?

Influencer fraud is a real problem within the influencer industry. One of the most famous cases of this was that of Belle Gibson. Gibson a self-appointed wellness guru, alleged that she had cured her terminal brain cancer by swapping conventional medicine for a healthy diet and lifestyle.

It eventually came to light that Gibson never, in fact, had cancer and that it was all a fabrication for her to promote her book and app. 

Influencer credibility in 2020

So why do so many of us still trust influencers? Maybe it is because these people seem to have perfect lives filled with photogenic selfies and Instagram worthy meals. 

Sure these people look great but how trustworthy can a photo on Instagram be? In a time where anyone with a smartphone can edit their photos and make themselves look airbrushed and perfect how do we know who to trust? How do we know that they are using the products they are promoting?

So, who should you take advice from?

One thing that is frequently promoted all over Instagram is teeth whitening and straightening products. The problem with these is that many of the companies who make these products appoint influencers who already have perfect teeth to promote their products.

The problem is, is that the people promoting these products may have veneers or may have already had thousands of dollars worth of dental work done. Even if they haven’t had work done, how do you know they haven’t just used an app to edit their before and after photos?

The only answer to this is, is to leave the dental work to the experts. If you want dental work done to achieve the ‘Instagram teeth’ of your dreams speak to a qualified dentist to find the best dental treatment for you. 

The scary statistics 

Even more dangerous than dental advice is the amount of misinformed health information floating around social media. According to a study conducted by Glasgow University, social media influencers with more than 80,000 followers give bad health advice 8 times out of 9!

Those are some scary statistics. Especially when a lot of these influences are admired by young girls who are notoriously more likely to develop eating disorders. 

Influencers trading health advice for paid promotions

Many influences are quick to promote a product they do not believe in if they are offered enough money. Even Kim Kardashian has hopped on the “wellness guru” bandwagon. She received a lot of backlash after promoting appetite suppressant lollipops to her millions of followers in May 2018. Even after the amount of backlash she received she again went on to promote meal replacement shakes in January 2019. 

This is all a result of influencers dishing out bad advice in exchange for money. Kim Kardashian is worth 370 million dollars. There should be no reason for her to have to resort to promoting harmful products to impressionable young people. 

A lot of influencers will resort to promoting these products simply because they need the money. Most influencers don’t have as much money as Kim Kardashian so it is understandable why so many influencers fall into this trap.

The moral of the story is, is that you shouldn’t believe everything you see on social media. Take everything you see with a grain of salt and remember that unless these people are qualified they are not experts. 

Keep in mind that a lot of influencers use filters and editing apps to make themselves look better so don’t believe everything that you see on social media. Take your advice from the experts and try not to compare yourself to people on Instagram. Try to remember that Instagram is only a highlight real and not real life!