Do influencers get on your nerves? This article will discuss why we perceive influencers as annoying and some reasons why we think influencers are actually cooler than you think.

I've always struggled with body image, insecurity, and stress. Being at a weight that I do not accept as my own, I was going through the worst year of my life, where stress and anxiety had almost completely stolen my happiness and well-being.

A chance encounter with someone from Twitter changed everything. She was a fitness entrepreneur who happened to also be about 100lbs overweight.

In one quick conversation, I felt accepted, seen, and understood. I messaged her and she gave me one of the most impactful advice anyone could ever give to a skinny girl: "Follow your dreams, and if people reject you, ignore them."

This is what I've done and more than a year later; it's helped me to build my dream career.

Influencers are guilty of a lot of the same things that society has painted the perfect image of.

But do they deserve to be called out for it?

They feel like they're better than you because of their money or status

To a lot of people, they can seem superior and untouchable. On social media, the makeup and outfit you put on can cost more than a month's rent, your education is paid for, your house is paid for and you have a supportive family that is supportive of all of your decisions.

So, being an influencer is an easy route to earning a lot of money.

It's easy for influencers to place themselves as the expert of the industry, so it can be hard to voice your opinion. "We don't want to offend anyone by saying something different, so we just stay quiet," said Kristin Nowlin, Co-founder of Flex 365, a brand that creates active wear for plus-sized women.

This idea of taking yourself too seriously can also get a little old.

Social media users (often influencers) are warned by the folks who have been in their shoes not to call out celebrities or influencers for every minor mistake. They are made out to be adults who just want to have fun, so they can't be overly critical.

I'm guilty of this too.

If I find an influencer to be annoying, they probably make tons of money, and I'll never get a chance to speak out. It's easy to overlook all of the good they do.

"We all have these personas online, that if we didn't have them in real life, people would have no idea who we are," said Kendra Alvey, fashion blogger and founder of Kendra Rae.

I'm guilty of this too.

I tend to get more annoyed by people who I don't know, if I feel that they are going to be negative and condescending. "You should have confidence and know that you can stand your ground," said Alvey.

This phrase is essentially, "Stop being so sensitive!"

Some influencers are downright rude

Influencer are very opinionated. People who share their opinions often have a self-centered view of the world.

They act as if they are on a pedestal and the rest of us are mere peons below them.

But they aren't. We are all equal and have the same amount of agency. In fact, social media is the only way we have to get to know some people and form relationships with them.
It can be hard to be around people who always have an opinion and have other people's best interest in mind.

"Influencers are extremely rude to the public that supports them," said Alvey. "It's very demeaning to the public that is supporting them."

They can be flippant about all sorts of things, but that doesn't make them rude.

Though they may be young and living an American dream, they often don't understand the weight that their words have on the people they are talking about.

Kristin Nowlin, founder of Flex 365, is a woman who lost half of her stomach and had to have a colostomy bag when she was very young.

She was shocked to discover that she had an extremely rare condition called esophageal atresia that affects a handful of people in the U.S.

She suffers from Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that affects how her body handles food. Her story is pretty inspiring.

Despite having a serious condition, Nowlin still graduated from high school and college, met her boyfriend and started her company. Now, she can't imagine being anywhere else.
"It's been a crazy road for me and I am glad that I was forced into doing it," she said. "We make really good choices, even if they don't seem like a good choice at the time."

Conclusion

So, the next time you are sitting behind a laptop, scrolling through Instagram or worrying about your post saying something you shouldn't have said on Twitter, stop for a moment and ask yourself: "Am I being an influencer?"