TikTok ‘deinfluencers’ tap into trend for saving money

theguardian.com:

More and more content creators on social media are rejecting traditional influencer culture and becoming “deinfluencers” instead, according to social media experts.

Influencers have historically sold something to users. Whether that is the newest trending lipgloss or the viral “it” dress, the products – often available at a discount using influencers’ special codes – are perceived to provide a certain lifestyle, one that is aesthetically pleasing and on trend.

However, a different type of viral trend is taking over. Content creators are deinfluencing users, giving advice on which promoted products are not worth the hype or outright telling them what not to buy.

Bita, or @bbybeets, 25, posted a video on TikTok listing items she could not be influenced into purchasing because they’re “just not affordable”.

In the video, which has had more than 58,000 views, Bita says people on an average salary cannot afford items such as £95 Ugg Tasman slippers and Apple AirPods Max headphones, which cost about £550, but they feel pressured to buy them to stay on trend.

“All the brands I mentioned charge hundreds of pounds per item,” she said. “To purchase a lot of these trending items, you’d have to be on a certain income, and most people aren’t and that’s including me.

“I personally love the brands I showed. It’s more that I’m reminding my audience it’s actually not normal to have those things. It’s quite a privilege and a luxury.”

On TikTok, the #deinfluencing hashtag has more than 159.6m views. The popularity of the trend is driven by timing and people becoming sick of being told they have to constantly buy something, according to Jago Sherman, head of strategy at the social media marketing agency Goat.

“We’ve reached a point of critical mass