We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like.

“I never wanted to be a marketer, I wanted to be a creative” THIS! Omg someone actually said it! This is exactly how I feel. I’ve been on social media as long as you have, and wow how things have changed. You are from the original wave of creators/bloggers so you just wanted to create and share what you love. not caring about getting paid. At that point in time the focus was your talents (photography, styling, writing, editing) the creative side was very important to getting noticed. The next wave of influencers that came after were marketers (they found a way to sell a product to their audience). By copying what came before them. And the even newer wave of influencers on tiktok just want to sell to anyone if it means they get things for free or it will lead to getting paid. There is no passion for creating. If I see another “everything I got for free as a micro influencer this week” reel on I’m going to scream lol. And don’t get me started on the disconnect between creator/influencer and their audience. Most people don’t even try to connect with your audience anymore it’s sad.

I think we need to pay more attention to mental problems such as anxiety etc. because the only reason I make „accidental shopping“ is me feeling unsafe

So true, influencers are often just promoters for brands. First they show off their crazy collections, then create "100 things you HAVE TO have" and then release decluttering video 😑It's a vicious cycle, so you better follow your own judgements and needs.

“I hate influencers, oh btw this video is sponsored” 😂😂😂😂 cmn

I'm so glad this is becoming a thing! When I open Instagram and I see the pink aesthetic expensive products posts I literally feel like crap when I watch them because I'm currently struggling with my career and I cannot afford this stuff... I'm all for enjoying your money if you have it, I would do the same honestly and as long as you only have a makeup pouch or a makeup organizer to fill that's the right amount of makeup, but at the same time I think this is not healthy because when you see those posts you immediately feel obligated to buy that stuff because you see a pretty reel or pic and you think you want that aesthetic but yeah you might need some of that stuff but not all you see especially if you are going to ruin your finances, some of these influencers get products for free while we should spend 400$ and even more to create those collections! So I'm glad people are starting to promote some healthy minimalism.

thank you for bringing this topic, sonya! i've loved your content since you were actively blogging back in the days

I think the issue for me is, the over saturation of the online/social media space. While in the same breath the gatekeeping that happens with smaller, minority creators. I’m not really on social media these days but the times I have checked Instagram, it seems like everyone is either selling the same thing, within the same week or all going on the same trips. I know there are an abundance of influencers but the algorithm pumps out the same influencers content and I only end up seeing the same 10 people over and over again. Not to mention sometimes, especially with the state of the world/economy, I don’t want to keep being pushed to buy this or that or made to feel I need this to be relevant. When every post, story, or video ends up being an add after a while, which makes me question the sincerity of the product/post. To me it feels like the og online commodity/commercial online culture has shifted and instead of finding creators who are relatable or inspirational, the more following a person has, the less likely I am to keep up with their content because it starts to pull away from who I am as just an average person in the world. I think this more aligns with my personal goal of moving away from social media that I’ve been able to reevaluate what it means to me to follow some people or how I’m engaging online. Thanks for this video!

I've never seen bloggers talking about it so thank you for shedding light on this topic. Interesting and precious thoughts. Btw your nails are amazing

100% agree, I have been wanting to start my own channel for the longest. For the simple reason that I love skin care and makeup but I don't and can't be so enveloped that I don't live. And my goal would be to give reviews of this I have or plan on trying out. But it's hard to trust anyone on the internet. I end up feeling defeated and end up not doing anything.

Love the way you portrayed how influencing is an epidemic. Love the direction of the content is amazing, and the nails are amazing! Thanks for the breakdown also that 95' is a millennial did not know, haha.

Thank you for the video! Since I discovered you in 2010 I knew that you are special and very clever. I am tired of the useless "nonfluencer" pretentious hypocritic stuff they are spreading on social media, unfollowed all of them long time ago and cannot be happier!

when i was like thirteen i used to watch your videos and it literally opened my mind and changed my way of thinking, the dream of life video, had me amazed. being so young and starting to ask myself questions about the world. it all began here

Influencers' job is to sell, that's what they do. Teens and young people rarely realize that .

Influencers are the worst thing that happened to us....

You know where you’re going with that look? My heart lol I dig styles like that and you totally pulled it off! You looked beautiful 😍

First thing i noticed were ur nails Sonya! They are beautiful! I love how self aware u are and agree on the points u made. Talking about influencers - first of all i hate this word, obviously u/they have influence, but to call u an influencer would be an insult. Difference is in ur uniqueness, "i can feel ur energy from two planets away" - that line describes perfectly the level of connection u managed to achieve with ur audience, i dunno how u did it, but your videos giving me a "talking with a best friend experience", which is crazy! I think i watch u since 2013 and since then u are my number one youtuber. And first thought i got when i noticed u kinda dissapeared was that u are probably living ur life on its fullest, so i felt just happy for you, even though i missed seeing u on youtube. Sonya, u are the only person who can make a makeup video interesting! Ur free spirit is inspiring! Ur not trying to impress with number of outfits/makeup items/superficial narcissistic content, u always put something into ur works, u are an artist! And thats what success looks like to me. Love all what u do Sonya, u go giiirl!

Awesome nails. To be blogger or influencer is so trendy nowadays and they show how cool is their life. But once u r imagining what is their life consists on: planning videos, make stories everywhere, promoting brands and literally everyday go to stories is reallyyy scaring, u r always in phone and trying to show that u r inyrrsting person but if someone unfollow you he won't lose anything, you are just creating content on empty place

what a nicely done graphic design 💅

I love this! I’ve dabbled in making content before there was incentive to. When the rise of influencing happened I thought what a dream job! but I could never do it because every time I turned a passion in to a career I end up dreading it. I find it hard to be creative when there are deadlines. Props to those who can keep up with social media 24/7.

Hi Sonya, I applaud you for making this video!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻. I follow many KZfaqrs, no plans for Tik Tok. I have noticed that more and more KZfaqrs are moving to Tik Tok, is it for the shorter video content or larger audience numbers or is the paycheque to talk about a product worth more on Tik Tok? I wonder and I guess I wonder this because it is not explained. I watch the videos to find out about new trends and products and it seems like it never ends. Whether it is a high end product or drugstore, the emphasis from the influencer is “this is great and you need it in your life, too!”. It can make a person feel like they’re missing out. I try to discern what I need and what will work for me. This is a topic that needs to be talked about more and I think we all need to be mindful of how much time we spend on our phones. Life is too short, read a book, workout, play with your pet, have a coffee with a neighbour, help a Senior Citizen out. Meditate and try to be grateful for all that we have in this world today! Have a great day.

Думаю, то что у людей накапливается много вещей - это просто то, как мы привыкли жить + когнитивное искажение: наш мозг воспринимает большое количество вещей как богатство. Для меня слово инфлюенсер звучит круто 😅И я тоже считаю, что ютуберы начали этот движ и до сих пор эта моя самая любимая площадка.

«its gonna be cool not to have social media» Congrats boys and girls. You just woke up. And you learned it from one of the influencers. I like Sonya. But man. People are pathetic as hell

The video is so well assembled and you look gorgeous 💖

I have been contemplating on some of my shopping experiences... I think it's not so rare that the websites, the dealers can be sending you fake cosmetics. Perfumes with a very weak projection. Or being purchased by different clients , the perfume in a bottle smells, undoubtedly, like a different formula. And there is no explanation to it... When you start complaining about it, the websites, the dealers say like this is the first time in 3 years someone is complaining about the quality of this product. Recently, one shop promised to help me fix it, understand the situation, But I doubt they are going to... I was thinking maybe they decided to scam me because I didn't look like a wealthy person. But they even confused my last name, the bottle kinda was for a different person. I was thinking - Do they not want to be selling the good stuff, to be getting the new devoted clients? The only consensus I was able to come to is that they are thinking we are stupid enough, They just want to take our money and are sure enough we will not notice the scam Or when the bottle says the product doesn't contain something, but it contains. The highly promoted La Rosh Posay Toleriane "gentle" facial wash had fragrance to it. When the bottle was saying it didn't. I went through hell to get the brand to try to explain it, to explain how you can check the originality - they didn't want to. They gaslighted me big time like I was a crazy person, didn't want to talk about anything. Over a hot line, They did tell eventually tell me the bottle does contain "a little" fragrance to it. And that facial wash also is not gentle, in my experience

8:46 “my cat!” words with such love😍❤️

Society media is too much noise todays. People produce too much contents. Too much advertisement. That is way to hell. P.s. i really like your outfit and awesome nails 🤗

Сонечка, как всегда красотка))) и внешне и внутренне) интересная тема

Sonya, you are awesome woman

I've been having many of these same thoughts and experiences. I'm an artist and I want to start sharing with an audience but the predatory business aspect of it and the culture are very daunting. I don't feel like there's an easy answer to how to use platforms to genuinely connect and share.

Lovely Sonya ❤❤❤

Спасибо за видео! Мне нравятся твои мысли и рассуждения)

Interesting video!

Do you remember your video about make up collection you got back in Canada years ago?) When it was the collection a person should have - a decent amount

Ставлю сразу лайк еще до того, как посмотрю 😂❤

Great nails! 😍

This trend has been around and growing for a long time after the OGs. I feel like this is just a journey when aspiring social media influencers want to grow at first, so follow a protocol on reviewing the latest products, gaining PR/sponsorships and being cautious because when you're small these things are important to get traction and mainly the algorithm (I don't think a 'special personality' plays much of a part in social media followings nowadays, it's mainly a dedicated strategy to get exposure). Once grown and have that traction, I notice they all then are able to get sponsorships and don't have to rely on the popular content of new products etc., it's then easier (not necessarily easy) to say what you think than worrying about brands other than the sponsor relationships if you get the views. It's all still influencing though, plus business using para-social relationships with the audience as potential consumers - that's what's unusual about the influencing business... the audience is taken on the journey to empathise with the influencers' personal experience on the job!

You covered a lot of ground here. nice

😍😍😍 do vlogging often 🔥🔥🔥

I need to stop looking for something better. There will always be something better. I need to enjoy what I have.

I've been staring at your nails for the entire video. Be a good influencer and tell me what brand it is :D please

Ты такая умная 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 очень тепло было смотреть видео и я нашла много интересных мыслей в твоём видео а ещё на английском мне кажется ты как-то аутентичнее выглядишь чем на русском

you look gorgeous моя дорогая Соня ❤

Приношу свои извинения, я знаю, что никто этого не любит, но реально по теме! О том как соц. медиа и инста рушат нашу психику я сняла целый плейлист "зависимость от телефона и соц. сетей". Я прошла всю эту парашу, тоже была инфлюенсером, тоже довела себя до ручки и стерла инсту, благодаря которой я получала подарки коробками и приглашения на эвенты YSL. Это такая херня, это такая чушь! Я чуть себя не угробила этим всем! Я слегка в депрессию на пару лет, я жить не хотела после этого всего! Фууу... до сих пор как вспомню, аж трясет!

Ты готовила речь для этого видео или чисто импровизация?)

Deinfluencing is still influencing.

Сююю , у тебя такие красивые ушки , просто кьют 🤗😍

I think the word "influencer" became a thing because if Instagram. That's place is so shallow and completely obsessed with how things LOOK.

Выглядишь сногсшибательно, видно отличное

Talking about influencers and adding an advert to end of your video. We are doomed.

100%

Понимать бы еще что то🥲

боже что за лак?? мне он срочно нужен!!

почему перезалив

БОЖЕ ДАААА

By the way why do you mispronounce your own name for the English speaking audience , does this become a habit of giving up telling everyone what your real name is ? 😂

Что я тут делаю

Sonya, are you imitating Russian accent?

☀️ "Promo SM"

Obnoxious

Ого как постарела

In marketing, content is king!

An artist is different because you're using those colours to create something new. This includes people who develop intricate makeup looks as 'artists.' In that case I would treated the makeup collection same as paint/brushes. If you creating something complex that, depending on the medium, the small difference matters. (However in my experience (art uni student), having a massive excess of tools and paints is quite juvenile, since at a certain point you figure out what you enjoy working with and narrow it down, so most won't that much) However for most people they are simply consuming the makeup, not creating something new where having the absolute perfect shade/consistency matters. For your average person a much smaller amount would suffice in order to achieve pretty much the exact same look they might have seen and liked without the need to buy the 'exact' same product.