Influencers Role in Consumerism

 By Mary Collins 

After seeing a girl on Tik Tok promoting a brand of jeans for short women, Maia Kimball wound up ordering what are now her favorite pair of pants.   

 Kimball, a 20-year-old student at Stonehill College active on social media, said influencers online like the one she saw provide “people to look up to and gives ideas about different lifestyles.” 

For Kimball, the influencer she saw also helped her solve a clothing problem. “It’s so hard to find jeans that fit people who are shorter,” said Kimball. 

Other people online with a similar issue post about it and “that has really helped me,” said Kimball who now owns jeans that she said, “fit perfectly.” 

 More people are now exposed to social media influencers as young people spend more time online. According to a Familial and Adolescent Health Survey done on screentime, 4.8 hours a day on average are spent on social media for teens. 1.8 hours of those hours are spent on Tik Tok, where teens are exposed to influencers of all kinds. 

“Every influencer is different when it comes to what they post about but for the most part, it's positive,” said Kimball. 

Even if you aren't following a specific influencer, you are exposed to many creators when you scroll through social media, said 19-year-old at Stonehill College, Jillian Miller. 

“Social Media influencers have a positive impact on me by showing me things that I aspire to do,” said Miller, who is on several social media platforms. 

  Miller said she follows “smaller influencers that do niche things,” and cater to her interests. 

  Miller said she enjoys watching influencers on social media because she feels like she can connect and is “able to resonate with them.” 

That is the point for many creators. The aim of some on Instagram and Tik Tok is to get their viewers to make purchases so they can get extra money on those sales. According to J. G. Navarro from the research company Statista, the 2025 influencer marketing value was estimated to reach over 32 billion U.S. dollars. 

Creators often use Tik Tok shop, which according to research done by Capital One Banking, 71.4 million social media shoppers used. 

According to Kimball, influencers provide links to make the products they are advertising more accessible, especially for Tik Tok Shop. 

Varnica Arora, Stonehill College Psychology professor, teaches a class about community building on social media, and the impact social media has on mental health.  

Arora said that social media users are comparing themselves to the people around them. 

“There is no objective metric out there,” said Arora, so people choose creators on social media to compare themselves to.  

Arora said the moment we compare ourselves, we are motivated to do better, and influencers online are only showing the best versions of themselves.  

Hunter Bell, who plays division I baseball at Stonehill College, said he was influenced by a brand called Pitchers Only.  

Bell said the cool logo and the exclusivity to his sport and position influenced him to check it out, and he was pleased with the products.  

Danielle McGrory, the founder of Communité, a communications agency that helps build brands in the fashion and beauty realm, said creators are the new way to promote brands.  

The reason is simple, McGrory said. The numbers of people who read are diminishing, but everyone is on their phones and that's why 70-80% of the clients Communité works with pay Instagram creators to promote their brands.  

McGrory said the younger generations on social media trust creators’ recommendations, and this new form of consumerism is thriving. 

Arora said social media viewers are “buying into consumer culture more and more.” 

 When viewers see creators online using five different facial creams, they themselves feel the need to buy those same creams, said Arora.  

Ava Barry, a senior at Bentley University who shops online, said she is often influenced to buy items that she sees people wearing on Tik Tok. 

Barry said she trusts creators who are promoting clothing and skincare items because the advertisement isn't coming directly from the brand themselves. 

Arora said this method is called endorsing a brand implicitly, and it's when people who have a fan base share opinions that people will listen to. 

Kimball said when she sees a piece of clothing she likes online, she “orders it right away,” with a link that is right beneath the post. 

People have asked “for influencers to be transparent about product endorsements,” but not all influencers are said Arora. 

Miller said she questions some reviews she sees on Tik Tok, knowing creators were given the items at a discount or for free to promote the product which can lead to biases. 

Miller said she has purchased a camera from Tik Tok shop because she was “heavily influenced,” and she was not pleased with the quality and “regrets the purchase.” 

Bell, the College baseball player, said he was influenced to buy a pair of overalls for the Fourth of July, and it wasn't what he expected. The quality was poor and not what was advertised. 

Bell said the pants were super loose and without the zipper pockets that were promoted.  

Bell said he was deceived by the brand marketing a sweatshirt that looked “clean” online and ended up being made of cheap material with a steamed-on logo.