In a world where a viral post can launch a career overnight, influencers are redefining what it means to be famous. Their rise from social media to carpets raises questions about talent, opportunity, and how quickly fame can change.
Influencers are creators on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. They might start out making dance videos, cleaning videos, and “Get Ready With Me’s!” Once they get to a certain amount of followers, influencers can then promote a product or service to their mass number of fans.
Some influencers have made it so far they are considered house-hold celebrities! For example, Addison Rae was a TikToker who made mostly dancing videos. When she was just doing social media alone, she was making up to $5 million from various sponsors between June 2019 and June 2020. She ended up starring in the movie “He’s All That” and now has an impressive music career.
Another influencer, Khaby Lame, started out by making funny, silent “reaction” videos. He then went on to create action figures of himself, and he has also served as a juror at the Cannes Film Festival. During the late 2025/early 2026 year, he has made around $20 million to $40 million, while also getting paid $500,000 to $850,000 for every sponsored post.
Elizabeth Sumner, a junior and a part of the Anchor Club stated, “I would say that Alix Earle is my favorite influencer because she is so real, and her outfits are AMAZING!”
However, many people on social media believe that some influencers shouldn’t be as famous or get as much recognition as they do. According to https://hbr.org, based on studies, they think that it would be better for people who follow these world wide known influencers to not look for popularity and look for authenticity.
Bocconi University’s Maximilian Beichert and colleagues looked at the data on 2 million purchases and hundreds of paid influencer partnerships.
“Beichert argues that engagement between them and their audience is what really drives purchases. Nano influencers are more likely to discuss the products they promote with their followers. Textual analyses conducted by the researchers also reveal that nano influencers use more personal and authentic language when describing products than macro influencers do.”
Whether people like it or not, influencers are becoming household names because of the rising use of social media. Who knows, maybe in the near future, AI will soon take over the spots of influencers and A-list celebrities. And that is another controversial story.
{Photo Credit: Google}
