Social media influencers care more about likes than lockdown: Susie O’Brien
The lack of common sense among third-tier micro-influencers is staggering. They’re not only breaking lockdown rules, they’re shamelessly posting evidence of their antics, writes Susie O’Brien.
Susie O'Brien
Don't miss out on the headlines from Susie O'Brien. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Fitness blogger Beck Lomas is grateful for many things.
A supportive family. Amazing friends. A safe place to live. And healthy hair.
Lomas was counting her blessings after being sprung breaking lockdown rules in Melbourne.
She went for a 2½ hour run last week and left home more than once another day without a mask.
Do you know how she was spotted? Because she posted evidence of her rule-breaking runs on social media, and even put up snaps of her and her partner without masks on in public.
She’s a national laughing stock, and yet she still found time to appreciate her shiny hair, no doubt in deference to her ambassadorship with @thehairtox. Welcome to the world of social media influencers, where clicks, sponsors and followers count more than common sense.
There’s no doubt this is a tough time for third-tier micro-influencers, many of whom are still trying to come to terms with the fact that they are not considered essential workers.
They’re used to posting endless pics of themselves preening by pools, enjoying sunlit canola fields and holding contorted yoga poses in front of setting suns.
But thanks to travel restrictions and lockdown, they’re reduced to soulful bathroom selfies and inspirational affirmations. Looking picture-perfect in tight Lycra, they will urge us to “believe in yourself”.
They want us to know they’re “agile” and they’ve “pivoted” – by this they mean they’ve been doing yoga three times a day on sponsored brand-name mats.
But it’s not easy. How are they expected to meet their public’s insatiable appetite for their hair treatment tips and brand-name lifestyle products from their dingy Fitzroy living rooms?
And does a beetroot quinoa matcha latte even exist if no one is there to watch you drink it?
Another fitness blogger to run afoul of the lockdown rules is Travis Jones, who has been posting Instagram videos of himself without a mask and working out at a friend’s place last week.
Jones said he had a medical reason not to wear a mask and his friend had a permit for his gym (which was quickly revoked by police).
No doubt that’s all true, but why post about it and invite the criticism in the first place? And why claim clips from a “prerecorded content bank” are live?
A spokesman said Jones was doing his best to follow all the guidelines “despite the ever-changing rules, inconsistent and vague directives and incomplete advice being shared with Victorian businesses”.
What rot. Everyone else seems to know what to do, except social influencers who not only break the rules, but shamelessly post the evidence on their online accounts.
There are numerous examples of YouTube and TikTok stars breaking quarantine to go shopping, dine out, attend parties and promote “cures” that can be bought by clicking on the embedded link. They even tried to start a trend of licking toilet seats in public areas. It didn’t catch on.
Across the globe, influencers have tested positive for the virus and then fled their homes to drive half way across the country to quarantine somewhere safer. How do we know this?
Because they post about it.
They get caught and then tearily defend their actions, but you know they’ve done the wrong thing because they delete all the posts.
Meanwhile, the rest of us stuck down south have been secretly enjoying the WAG exploits in Queensland, as they break quarantine rules they claim they didn’t know about.
How did we know Richmond WAG Brooke Cotchin went to a day spa for “medical treatment”? She blogged about it, of course. At least she admitted she was wrong.
The AFL is paying $3 million a week to house 228 WAGs and 170 kids in a 4.5-star resort. What could possibly go wrong?
Former WAGs are also finding ways to remind us they exist. Model Megan Gale washed her car with her son and turned it into a photo op and a chance to push her link with Lexus. Lucky her. My kids have to be paid to wash my car and only go out to the driveway if they are getting Uber Eats delivered.
Back to Beck Lomas, and her gratitude for follicular fortune.
So what are you grateful for?
I am grateful for my job. My kids’ obsession with video games, which gives me time to work.
The fact that my dog is black so you can’t see how dirty he is. And the fact that taste.com just published a recipe for Vegemite pasta. That’s dinner sorted, kids!
Healthy hair doesn’t come into it.
Susie O’Brien is a Herald Sun columnist