'Deinfluencing': All About Growing Trend Challenging Influencers

Social media is a major platform for promoting and selling things. Brands often approach influencers, users who have built a reputation for their knowledge and expertise on a specific topic, for the purpose. These young, photogenic people attempt to persuade audiences to choose a particular brand and try out a service being offered. But in recent months, a growing breed of content creators has emerged who are campaigning against overconsumption and falling victim to social media trends. These "deinfluencers" are saying that materialism and overpriced trends are no longer in style.

They ask their followers and other users of platforms like TikTok and Instagram to evaluate whether they really need a particular product or service. 

"As someone who's always struggled in the influencer realm with the morals of influencing, I love to see us taking a turn in a different direction," Mikayla Maines, a content creator from St Louis, told CNN.

There "deinfluencers" review certain products and inform their followers that they found them to be indulgent, infective and not worth the money.

"While I don't think influencing is all bad, I do like that we're taking a step back to rethink how we consume not only products, but also content," said the 28-year-old.

The outlet reported that "deinfluencers" are growing in popularity. According to a TikTok release in May, 582 million of the 584 million total views for the #deinfluencing hashtag occurred in the 12 months.

Alyssa Kromelis, a popular TikTok user, told Forbes that in the last two years, she has "seen more insane Amazon, Shein, Ulta, Target, etc. hauls than she can count."

One of the key reasons for this spike in "unnecessary purchase" is the dupe (short-form for duplicate) culture where a cheaper product is made to resemble a high end, expensive or designer version.

Kris Ruby, a social media analyst, told CNN that deinfluencing is opposite of influencing. "Rather than saying buy this, they are saying - don't buy this. Both are forms of influencing. It is no different than saying, 'Vote for this candidate,' versus 'Here's why you shouldn't vote for this candidate'," she said.

The analyst added that the term represents a growing trend towards minimalism.