What the fuck? THIS was a kill-fee piece? Are they out of their fucking minds? Give me a minute. I’m … speechless.
This is Truth told with Charisma, Style and Authority.
If they had had the withered raisins to publish this, it would have been the hottest, fleshiest burst of former glory the Grey Lady has released from her girdle in YEARS. Everyone with a respectable cerebral cortex would have been sayin’, “Damnnn. I’ve been wanting to express this for a long time, but simply haven’t had the talent. Ohmigod, I gotta call Shirl in Massapequa and make sure she sees this! Next week’s lunch will be ALL about influencers and we are reserving a table for eight.”
Cintra. Apocalyptically excellent. Their loss. Their enormous loss.
I stop and buy the Sunday edition because the crossword is still slightly worth a bother (the weekday puzzles are now USA TODAY dumbed-down level) but no more. It’s bad enough that the paper is a shrunken, anemic shell of a toilet-roll’s dream. Your article would have made worldwide headlines. They didn’t have the sense of a titmouse to see that.
If anyone on earth needs proof of rampant cognitive dissonance, behold.
Courageous journalism and editorial vision are dead. Cintra Wilson LIVES.
You’re welcome, though I’m sure it is minuscule, cold comfort. That editorial was/is seminal.
We don’t have enough writers of consequence—like YOU—even in a position to express a potent point of view. And there you were. On the edge of the fucking diving board, ready to jump, fully prepared, ready to land YOUR dive … and they drained the pool.
It’s disturbing to even try to grasp: a writer of your stature and name would be needed to make that particular point—and then maybe they could bring-in another reputable writer for a contrasting op-Ed the following week, fine. Do it. Rattle the cages.
But a voice of stature was needed for at least ONE point of view —clearly written with your known/recognized talents firing on ALL cylinders … and, NAH?
Were you dealing with an editor in his/her mid-20s? I know you can’t answer that. Imagine what penetrative original insights might emanate from the dildo who kill-fee’d your piece.
I’d flip my goddamn wig.
What a DUMB fuckin move on the part of the NYT.
“Dismaying” is putting it mildly. You worked for the Times, famously, in the past, and presented a brilliant, considered, precise, engaging, editorial WATERSHED piece. That article would have skyrocketed in a GOOD way, for them, and for you.
There’s no reason behind any of it except the neurotic fundamentalist level of PC-bullshit that inhibits stuff like, oh, LAUGHTER, and, uh, FEELINGS, as well as THOUGHT.
Look, I am Center-Left, raised by a wise Great Depression/WWII Granny who taught me about what matters, blood and bone. Democrat to her last breath. I feel glad to carry her torch, as it were.
But dogma is dogma and fundamentalism is fundamentalism and I have, sadly, galaxies of direct experience in that sphere. It hurts like hell on the right and hurts identically on the left.
I’m ashamed of the NYT but proud of you. A renowned voice—and talent—was required to even pull-off an op-ed like that. You were there!
Obviously some leftover piece of calamari-gristle was afraid because your piece was too “Smart-Truthful” and on-song, and that’s like yanking the drapes open upon a room full of existentially depressed vampires pulling coffin-lint drowsily out of their bellybuttons.
I hope this turns into something powerful, Wilson. Not just for you, but for crying out loud.
The NYT was afraid of offending their "Influencer Industry" advertisers just like they're afraid of offending the Pharmaceutical companies, or their main boss, the US State Dept.
I often think of Ms magazine, upping their subscription rates in the early 80s and dropping all advertisers... and what a treat it was to have it drop into my mailbox once a month... Oh, that describes Substack! Except on the daily.
Is the NYT being terrorized by its own staff into hiring people like these? I won't blame young people, but I want to know where the adults are. Obviously, they're out in force here, which is such a relief.
Agree about Cintra’s article. It’s brilliantly written and catches my feelings exactly. And I’m a Boomer.
The whole Influencer thing is the apex of a decades’ long March to turn us into all consumer-all the time. I despise it, but most people I know shrug and say the equivalent of “Meh”. That’s the scariest part.
On the other hand I disagree totally on your takedown of the NYT. The best we have in Canada is the Globe and Mail. It’s outstanding, but I ruefully admit that it doesn’t come close to the Times in depth.
From time to time I hear rants about the Times. They always strike me as faux-intellectualism and also deeply spoiled. I won’t judge you this way because your writing is so excellent. I assume you’ve thought about this well before your defense of Cintra.
No institution is perfect. But your country desperately needs the Times.
Once again - a truly brilliant piece Cintra. I wish you’d expanded on some of your excellent points - it was an engrossing read.
The NYT has been complicit in what appears to be the largest censorship system in this country since before I was born (McCarthyism). They regularly give print to opinions that treat 1/2 of this country like they are persona non grata
I'm also a boomer and I loved this piece. The influencer phenomenon is befuddling and disturbing. Members of any generation should be able to recognize that people who follow influencers have the mindset of an apparatchik.
Indeed. Under the umbrella of Influencer Madness, all of the basest impulses of post-Modern “civilization” are blended-in with good old-fashioned ones like narcissism, voyeurism, greed, and covetousness. Another reason I thought Cintra’s piece was revelatory in a Moses-descending-from-Sinaï kinda way.
Great points well-taken. I can only assert that I hold the NYT to a higher standard precisely because of their history of excellence and the simultaneous implosion of ethical journalism and editorial impeccability currently witnessed across major mastheads. The media struggles are certainly complex, but now is the time to rise above, as it were, in terms of sterling content. Alas. (BTW, The Globe and Mail is superb. Glad you mentioned it.)
The NYT has obviously lost whatever was left of their edge… that’s the kind of interesting story they should be printing.
I’m equally appalled by this phenomenon of endorsing the manufacture and fabrication of the filtered “ personal brand “ designed to influence and hold sway over impressionable people for promotion of commerce. It’s all pay for play , better know as payola , which is illegal in other industries.
When did people become such sheep ?
What’s just as confounding to me is that nothing is considered sacred enough to be kept private and “sharing “ has become a compulsively competitive sport …Decorum (I feel unspeakably prissy uttering this word ) has left the building. In my opinion , mystery is a far greater aphrodisiac….
But on a brighter note …..while it may look like the bleak are inheriting the earth, there is a growing contingent of younger, hyper-aware humans who do not buy into any of this bullshit at all.
So lovely Cintra, take comfort in the new breed of outliers. There is a counter revolution among Gen Z , so many of whom reject all of this nonsense …
They are just quietly and earnestly occupied doing things that are artistically or intellectually driven, so no one ever sees or hears them blathering about how this or that “literally changed their life” and twerking their spray tanned asses on TikTok.
Keep up the brilliant, insightful writing that makes stodgy, sponsor beholden publications uncomfortable.
Since I am your advocate , everything in me is begging you to rethink the coffee coloured panty hose, or have I somehow missed the relaunch of L’eggs ? Are you doing a TikTok collaboration with them ?
I’m a humorist and published book author, and to sell my books I’ve been subtly and at times not so subtly told I have to work around the clock to become a popular social media “brand” so all those rising followers will buy my books. And it’s tempting bc my author friends with over a million followers pretty much have to just drop a quick note about their new book and then hit best seller lists. But I hate it so bad and it makes me want to run to rural Iowa and live on a farm! It feels smarmy and cheap to have to sell intimacy for a thriving book career. This constant urgency to roll out content makes me want to go fetal under a blanket. But I still think it’s a lie - many authors I admire the most with robust careers have a small social presence. The only trouble is, most of them “made it” before social was really a thing. It doesn’t matter - I have to be myself and write for/interact with my fans at my pace, or selling your soul is definitely the price you pay. Great piece, thank you.
Possibly my favorite piece yet. Because I am a Gen X-er who, yes, hates influencers irrationally. Thank you for helping me understand WHY. Good art usually does help us understand ourselves better. The way you said “for the worse” and “pool party”—fantastic. Love your voice, love your brilliant insights, love YOU!
Thank you for explaining exactly why I roll my 47 year progressive lens clad eyes at these 'influencers'. Total sellouts with no souls at all. Does every godd*mn thing these children do need to be documented and monetized? No. Get the f*** off my lawn. Count me out.
I'll be hanging out poolside, reading your books (once pool season comes back to NY state), because writing requires talent.
I'm with you on the irrational levels of hate towards influencers but I have a little empathy for the kids. College is astronomically out of anyone's budget so actually learning a skill requires 50 years of debt and it looks like no one's buying a house ever again. Meanwhile the boomers won't retire so millenials are still barely getting their foot on the corporate ladder. What else is there to do for Gen Z but make up little dances, light cakes on fire and sell tshirts with their name on them?
Oh, I totally agree with you. Society has made education nearly impossible for most. The economy is in ruins. I don't mean to deprive your Gen of any joy. I just resent that a massive amount of kids are growing up thinking they're going to BE THAT.
it's definitely upsetting that kids are growing saying "I want to be an influencer" and even more upsetting that no one is telling them there are better things to choose or giving them options.
Would love to counter that the older generations are responsible for creating economic conditions that allow younger people to thrive in a variety of careers. Most of my peers feel very hopeless about our economic futures that are the result of decisions of people older than us (cost of education, stagnating wages, cost of living, housing market etc)
Im a 26 year old (right in between genz and millennial) who paid off $100k of student debt through taking on brand deals and influencer partnerships bc my corporate jobs just weren’t cutting it and I wanted to aggressively pay off debt in order to build my future. There’s more to why people do things and I think this article could’ve gone a bit deeper into the economic conditions that have made certain choices popular. The reality is many people are economically struggling.
Anyway — I’ll enjoy being debt free, whilst having my hard earned degree, working in a non profit AND being an occasional influencer 🤷🏽♀️
Would love for us to create a better future for the younger folks and realize we’re interdependent on each other. And give up the generational beef while were at it (life doesn’t care if we’re gen z or gen x).
I’d love to see people have economic freedom and not saddled with debt by the time I have kids.
There are many things a person can do that doesn't require a uni degree. In fact, there are so many people after one really that shouldn't be, and they know it. I can say this with some authority as a former prof who watched many students in existential crisis. I have 2 friends ages 28-32 making more than I ever did, having worked their way up to veterinary techs with nothing more than HS degrees, and 2 others appx 50 who have 2 years of higher education, also making more than I did with a Ph.D. Ditto my two brothers. You have to really want the career you're studying and paying for, otherwise, think more broadly about what you want in life. *You do NOT need a university degree to succeed.
Can’t stand influencers either, but I’ve got news for you: Substack is an “influencer” medium, too. Every writer here is marketing themselves. It’s the only way this thing works.
Obviously, you’ve ignored all known protocols and caught ALL the germs by osmosis and who knows by what other means ( not that I’m starting any rumours ) …because you sir, are definitely a great writer.
Cintra, this piece is brilliant and resonates so much! I try so hard to not be a 40 year old curmudgeon when it comes to how I view influencers and the younger generation. Yet I can’t help but feel like there is a collective soul killing that is happening, not just because of the influencers themselves, but our full on acceptance of it as a society. Where are the experts? Where is the art? The talent? It’s not that it can’t exist in influencer culture but the discernment is becoming cloudier and cloudier I think. Also knowing that this piece was killed by the NYT only makes me think that influencer culture has fully penetrated as my guess is someone is afraid to offend…
Sara, I share your disdain and disappointment and to a degree even disgust for 'influencer' culture. With that said, though, I have to respectfully take issue with your implication that there are no longer any experts, no art, no talented folks online.
As much as there's disgusting amounts of influencer-cringe on Instagram, for instance, somehow I was lucky enough to bludgeon the IG algorithms into useful submission and now my stream is mostly filled with... incredible, marvelously talented young people! Playing the French horn, singing lovely duets, doing awesome group dances, intelligently pontificating on Sondheim's works, etc. (note: not simultaneously)
And some of these folks are even getting millions of views! (though admittedly I'm not sure if any of them are getting deservedly rich).
We live in the worst of times, but also the best of times. And when I find myself getting grossed-out and disappointed by the dreck online, I poke myself to remember and appreciate the heartwarming talent that has been made available around the world, ironically thanks to those same services that have amplified the other crap.
Heh! I had long since given up on Instagram (it just made me depressed, since it felt like 50% vacuous influencers and 50% my friends & acquaintances & others perpetually traveling the world carefree with their loving partner seemingly 11 months out of 12).
But -- I have no idea why -- I started poking at Instagram again and insistently Liking every talented and uncringey bit I saw, and then within a week I started seeing a Japanese girl brass band, a Nigerian gospel pianist teaching cool chord changes, a woman who sings (well!) in Chinese, French, Spanish, and English, and so on.
Re influencerdom and talent (or lack thereof)... I hear you! Frankly, I think this annoyance has been us for decades (vapid models, airheaded / hunky actors who can't really act, etc.), but with social media nowadays it's just so much more in our face.
Oh I never said there are no experts, art or talent online! I completely agree with you! What I said was influencer culture makes it cloudier to discern is all. And also to your point, why I try really hard to not be a “40 year old curmudgeon” as I said because of course there are good things that come out of it. Nothing is ever black and white or all good/all bad. But why her article so resonated was the still very honest feelings that resonate with the parts of influencer culture that might be doing some major harm. And really, all of the real knowledge and understanding of these times will only come in hindsight. But it’s also just nice to know I’m not the only one who struggles with the acceptance of this specific aspect of what life is right now.
No apology necessary! Civil conversation and discussion, even if we do find we disagree, is always welcomed in my opinion! (and perhaps another casualty of influencer culture?). And for that reason alone, it would have been nice for them to publish just so this perspective can get some air and be more talked about and acknowledged! I run my own business and have such a hard time using social media and often think I'm must be the only one and am so old fashioned. But it's nice to read in this thread alone that I am not!
While I agree with your basic premise, influencers seemingly easy success is somehow unearned because they haven’t toiled away at something. You forget GenXers had the super model. The genetically blessed women of the 80’s and 90’s who only had to walk and pose and became multi- millionaires. There were plenty of vapid interviews about the ridiculous idea of how “hard they work” and yet society bought what they were selling. The problem isn’t the influencers- it’s the customer. Young people are always suckers for crap... usually they grow out of it as they live life and mature....
While I appreciate the well-deserved critique of certain influencers and the capitalistic drive for monetizing every aspect of our life, this is a very one-sided way of looking at influencers. You are putting us all in a terribly boring and monolithic box, and not at all acknowledging those, who like me, use their influence to bring people together (not to sell anything, but to share information) or advocate for better representation behind the scenes. The sad truth is, attention is the ultimate currency, but influencers aren’t to blame for why things have devolved to this. People have always bought into stories (movies or celebrities’ lives), and influencers are simply the new storytellers. It’s disheartening that the people who are actually saving lives labor so much more, but I believe a more nuanced critique could’ve been more insightful honestly.
Yeah, I feel like the author was sort of generalizing the term and talking about influencers as only these ‘twerking, selling their bodies for clicks’ type people when it’s brought so much more and has allowed just about everyone (this site) included to share their thoughts/ideas to others, which I feel is the important part!
I don’t know, I feel like we all sell our selves and these kids are laughing their way to the bank. I’d rather be an influence and make enough money to live off for the rest of my life in a few years than spend 50+ years working a 9-5 just looking forward to the weekend
Me too--I'd love to retire at 45 and do other things. A lot of Xers, Millennials and others are so stoked about making it to the weekend and I understand why now!
Wow, this is so f’ing fantastic! I read it out loud in bed to my bf who declared “that’s a good one”. He defended, a bit, the idea of capitalizing on one’s person and said if Coach or Adidas came a-knocking we’d be more than happy to sign ourselves over for cash. I called him a “stinking capitalist”. We laughed. But when asked if he’d be ok with me pointing my phone at myself 24/7, obsessing over clothes or skin quality, and living amongst piles of free stuff, he said we’d likely split up.
So there you have it. No body really wants what they have, or at least he and I don’t.
Thank god you have the focus, drive, and generosity of spirit to put into acute and hilarious relief what the hell is happening to us. You ARE the corrective lenses that we all need! Fuck the NYT!
I devoured this piece--thank you substack reads for the introduction. The question I have for Cintra (and others) is, how are you defining influencers? It seems there's a bit of a continuum where, on the one hand you have the so-called influencers you describe here, individuals I admittedly hadn't heard of, and then at the other end of the spectrum are artists and writers whose personal brand is part of their creative brand, so to speak. I'm new to promoting my own writing and am surprised by the amount of marketing it can involve. When does amassing a personal following veer into influencing? Is it when the products you sell take over the work itself? I'm curious what other writers on here who have a "personal brand" and perhaps are former influencers would say too... all in all this is a great topic.
What the fuck? THIS was a kill-fee piece? Are they out of their fucking minds? Give me a minute. I’m … speechless.
This is Truth told with Charisma, Style and Authority.
If they had had the withered raisins to publish this, it would have been the hottest, fleshiest burst of former glory the Grey Lady has released from her girdle in YEARS. Everyone with a respectable cerebral cortex would have been sayin’, “Damnnn. I’ve been wanting to express this for a long time, but simply haven’t had the talent. Ohmigod, I gotta call Shirl in Massapequa and make sure she sees this! Next week’s lunch will be ALL about influencers and we are reserving a table for eight.”
Cintra. Apocalyptically excellent. Their loss. Their enormous loss.
I stop and buy the Sunday edition because the crossword is still slightly worth a bother (the weekday puzzles are now USA TODAY dumbed-down level) but no more. It’s bad enough that the paper is a shrunken, anemic shell of a toilet-roll’s dream. Your article would have made worldwide headlines. They didn’t have the sense of a titmouse to see that.
If anyone on earth needs proof of rampant cognitive dissonance, behold.
Courageous journalism and editorial vision are dead. Cintra Wilson LIVES.
Aww you're totally killing me. It broke my heart that they didn't run it. Thank you for healing my heart.
You’re welcome, though I’m sure it is minuscule, cold comfort. That editorial was/is seminal.
We don’t have enough writers of consequence—like YOU—even in a position to express a potent point of view. And there you were. On the edge of the fucking diving board, ready to jump, fully prepared, ready to land YOUR dive … and they drained the pool.
It’s disturbing to even try to grasp: a writer of your stature and name would be needed to make that particular point—and then maybe they could bring-in another reputable writer for a contrasting op-Ed the following week, fine. Do it. Rattle the cages.
But a voice of stature was needed for at least ONE point of view —clearly written with your known/recognized talents firing on ALL cylinders … and, NAH?
Were you dealing with an editor in his/her mid-20s? I know you can’t answer that. Imagine what penetrative original insights might emanate from the dildo who kill-fee’d your piece.
I’d flip my goddamn wig.
What a DUMB fuckin move on the part of the NYT.
“Dismaying” is putting it mildly. You worked for the Times, famously, in the past, and presented a brilliant, considered, precise, engaging, editorial WATERSHED piece. That article would have skyrocketed in a GOOD way, for them, and for you.
There’s no reason behind any of it except the neurotic fundamentalist level of PC-bullshit that inhibits stuff like, oh, LAUGHTER, and, uh, FEELINGS, as well as THOUGHT.
Look, I am Center-Left, raised by a wise Great Depression/WWII Granny who taught me about what matters, blood and bone. Democrat to her last breath. I feel glad to carry her torch, as it were.
But dogma is dogma and fundamentalism is fundamentalism and I have, sadly, galaxies of direct experience in that sphere. It hurts like hell on the right and hurts identically on the left.
I’m ashamed of the NYT but proud of you. A renowned voice—and talent—was required to even pull-off an op-ed like that. You were there!
Obviously some leftover piece of calamari-gristle was afraid because your piece was too “Smart-Truthful” and on-song, and that’s like yanking the drapes open upon a room full of existentially depressed vampires pulling coffin-lint drowsily out of their bellybuttons.
I hope this turns into something powerful, Wilson. Not just for you, but for crying out loud.
The NYT was afraid of offending their "Influencer Industry" advertisers just like they're afraid of offending the Pharmaceutical companies, or their main boss, the US State Dept.
That is the sanest shit I've ever heard. Let me buy you a Whiteclaw.
When can I collect my Whiteclaw? In person?
I often think of Ms magazine, upping their subscription rates in the early 80s and dropping all advertisers... and what a treat it was to have it drop into my mailbox once a month... Oh, that describes Substack! Except on the daily.
Who in their right mind reads the NYT anymore? Thank you Substack. it wasn’t for SS I would have never found this beautiful and insightful essay.
Ed. in mid-20s, yes...
Is the NYT being terrorized by its own staff into hiring people like these? I won't blame young people, but I want to know where the adults are. Obviously, they're out in force here, which is such a relief.
Agree about Cintra’s article. It’s brilliantly written and catches my feelings exactly. And I’m a Boomer.
The whole Influencer thing is the apex of a decades’ long March to turn us into all consumer-all the time. I despise it, but most people I know shrug and say the equivalent of “Meh”. That’s the scariest part.
On the other hand I disagree totally on your takedown of the NYT. The best we have in Canada is the Globe and Mail. It’s outstanding, but I ruefully admit that it doesn’t come close to the Times in depth.
From time to time I hear rants about the Times. They always strike me as faux-intellectualism and also deeply spoiled. I won’t judge you this way because your writing is so excellent. I assume you’ve thought about this well before your defense of Cintra.
No institution is perfect. But your country desperately needs the Times.
Once again - a truly brilliant piece Cintra. I wish you’d expanded on some of your excellent points - it was an engrossing read.
The NYT is the paper of record, certainly. I just wish they didn't treat writers like garbage.
The NYT has been complicit in what appears to be the largest censorship system in this country since before I was born (McCarthyism). They regularly give print to opinions that treat 1/2 of this country like they are persona non grata
The NYT is the paper of the "US State Department idea of the record."
Nope frequent disinformation there.
I'm also a boomer and I loved this piece. The influencer phenomenon is befuddling and disturbing. Members of any generation should be able to recognize that people who follow influencers have the mindset of an apparatchik.
Indeed. Under the umbrella of Influencer Madness, all of the basest impulses of post-Modern “civilization” are blended-in with good old-fashioned ones like narcissism, voyeurism, greed, and covetousness. Another reason I thought Cintra’s piece was revelatory in a Moses-descending-from-Sinaï kinda way.
Great points well-taken. I can only assert that I hold the NYT to a higher standard precisely because of their history of excellence and the simultaneous implosion of ethical journalism and editorial impeccability currently witnessed across major mastheads. The media struggles are certainly complex, but now is the time to rise above, as it were, in terms of sterling content. Alas. (BTW, The Globe and Mail is superb. Glad you mentioned it.)
NYT is run by woke idiots, which is the worst type of idiots
So astute as usual, and scathingly funny.
The NYT has obviously lost whatever was left of their edge… that’s the kind of interesting story they should be printing.
I’m equally appalled by this phenomenon of endorsing the manufacture and fabrication of the filtered “ personal brand “ designed to influence and hold sway over impressionable people for promotion of commerce. It’s all pay for play , better know as payola , which is illegal in other industries.
When did people become such sheep ?
What’s just as confounding to me is that nothing is considered sacred enough to be kept private and “sharing “ has become a compulsively competitive sport …Decorum (I feel unspeakably prissy uttering this word ) has left the building. In my opinion , mystery is a far greater aphrodisiac….
But on a brighter note …..while it may look like the bleak are inheriting the earth, there is a growing contingent of younger, hyper-aware humans who do not buy into any of this bullshit at all.
So lovely Cintra, take comfort in the new breed of outliers. There is a counter revolution among Gen Z , so many of whom reject all of this nonsense …
They are just quietly and earnestly occupied doing things that are artistically or intellectually driven, so no one ever sees or hears them blathering about how this or that “literally changed their life” and twerking their spray tanned asses on TikTok.
There may be hope. ✌🏼
I am so glad to hear that, I really am. Nice letter, Robin! So nicely written!
Keep up the brilliant, insightful writing that makes stodgy, sponsor beholden publications uncomfortable.
Since I am your advocate , everything in me is begging you to rethink the coffee coloured panty hose, or have I somehow missed the relaunch of L’eggs ? Are you doing a TikTok collaboration with them ?
Yeah, that was a joke. I haven't actually seen a live pair of panty hose since about 1988.
...but that's not saying they couldn't be baller in a Marni kind of way.
Thanks for the fish (and the hope). Hopefully "influencing" is the most ultimate bestest next thing rotting from the inside before the tide changes.
I’m a humorist and published book author, and to sell my books I’ve been subtly and at times not so subtly told I have to work around the clock to become a popular social media “brand” so all those rising followers will buy my books. And it’s tempting bc my author friends with over a million followers pretty much have to just drop a quick note about their new book and then hit best seller lists. But I hate it so bad and it makes me want to run to rural Iowa and live on a farm! It feels smarmy and cheap to have to sell intimacy for a thriving book career. This constant urgency to roll out content makes me want to go fetal under a blanket. But I still think it’s a lie - many authors I admire the most with robust careers have a small social presence. The only trouble is, most of them “made it” before social was really a thing. It doesn’t matter - I have to be myself and write for/interact with my fans at my pace, or selling your soul is definitely the price you pay. Great piece, thank you.
Thanks for writing. As an author, I connected with it deeply.
Possibly my favorite piece yet. Because I am a Gen X-er who, yes, hates influencers irrationally. Thank you for helping me understand WHY. Good art usually does help us understand ourselves better. The way you said “for the worse” and “pool party”—fantastic. Love your voice, love your brilliant insights, love YOU!
Girl, you are the wind beneath my wings. I really owe you a lot for motivating me!
Can’t wait to read your work! Xo
The Grey Lady would *never*!!
Thank you for explaining exactly why I roll my 47 year progressive lens clad eyes at these 'influencers'. Total sellouts with no souls at all. Does every godd*mn thing these children do need to be documented and monetized? No. Get the f*** off my lawn. Count me out.
I'll be hanging out poolside, reading your books (once pool season comes back to NY state), because writing requires talent.
Awww Mona. I'll buy you a cocktail in a coconut.
Cheers darling!
I'm with you on the irrational levels of hate towards influencers but I have a little empathy for the kids. College is astronomically out of anyone's budget so actually learning a skill requires 50 years of debt and it looks like no one's buying a house ever again. Meanwhile the boomers won't retire so millenials are still barely getting their foot on the corporate ladder. What else is there to do for Gen Z but make up little dances, light cakes on fire and sell tshirts with their name on them?
Oh, I totally agree with you. Society has made education nearly impossible for most. The economy is in ruins. I don't mean to deprive your Gen of any joy. I just resent that a massive amount of kids are growing up thinking they're going to BE THAT.
it's definitely upsetting that kids are growing saying "I want to be an influencer" and even more upsetting that no one is telling them there are better things to choose or giving them options.
Would love to counter that the older generations are responsible for creating economic conditions that allow younger people to thrive in a variety of careers. Most of my peers feel very hopeless about our economic futures that are the result of decisions of people older than us (cost of education, stagnating wages, cost of living, housing market etc)
Im a 26 year old (right in between genz and millennial) who paid off $100k of student debt through taking on brand deals and influencer partnerships bc my corporate jobs just weren’t cutting it and I wanted to aggressively pay off debt in order to build my future. There’s more to why people do things and I think this article could’ve gone a bit deeper into the economic conditions that have made certain choices popular. The reality is many people are economically struggling.
Anyway — I’ll enjoy being debt free, whilst having my hard earned degree, working in a non profit AND being an occasional influencer 🤷🏽♀️
You're right, of course, I should have gone into more of the political economy of it.
You sound like a pistol!
Happy for the dialogue!
Would love for us to create a better future for the younger folks and realize we’re interdependent on each other. And give up the generational beef while were at it (life doesn’t care if we’re gen z or gen x).
I’d love to see people have economic freedom and not saddled with debt by the time I have kids.
There are many things a person can do that doesn't require a uni degree. In fact, there are so many people after one really that shouldn't be, and they know it. I can say this with some authority as a former prof who watched many students in existential crisis. I have 2 friends ages 28-32 making more than I ever did, having worked their way up to veterinary techs with nothing more than HS degrees, and 2 others appx 50 who have 2 years of higher education, also making more than I did with a Ph.D. Ditto my two brothers. You have to really want the career you're studying and paying for, otherwise, think more broadly about what you want in life. *You do NOT need a university degree to succeed.
I never thought the purpose of education was money.
You can get a degree in accounting or in literature, it depends on what you can or want to do.
Very few people will do equally well in both disciplines. It does little good to study something for which you’re ill-suited.
Can’t stand influencers either, but I’ve got news for you: Substack is an “influencer” medium, too. Every writer here is marketing themselves. It’s the only way this thing works.
eh, that's a little reductive.
There's some truth to it that would be interesting to explore...
I don’t agree. It’s entirely possible to do well here by doing good work. Nobody need lower themselves to influencer shenanigans.
I always hope, when I read you, I will catch great writing by osmosis. So fucking smart my hair hurts.
":...So fucking smart my hair hurts.."
Nice.
Obviously, you’ve ignored all known protocols and caught ALL the germs by osmosis and who knows by what other means ( not that I’m starting any rumours ) …because you sir, are definitely a great writer.
Damn, Blood. I feel that.
So nice to hear from you! How you are? How you at?
Cintra, this piece is brilliant and resonates so much! I try so hard to not be a 40 year old curmudgeon when it comes to how I view influencers and the younger generation. Yet I can’t help but feel like there is a collective soul killing that is happening, not just because of the influencers themselves, but our full on acceptance of it as a society. Where are the experts? Where is the art? The talent? It’s not that it can’t exist in influencer culture but the discernment is becoming cloudier and cloudier I think. Also knowing that this piece was killed by the NYT only makes me think that influencer culture has fully penetrated as my guess is someone is afraid to offend…
Sara, I share your disdain and disappointment and to a degree even disgust for 'influencer' culture. With that said, though, I have to respectfully take issue with your implication that there are no longer any experts, no art, no talented folks online.
As much as there's disgusting amounts of influencer-cringe on Instagram, for instance, somehow I was lucky enough to bludgeon the IG algorithms into useful submission and now my stream is mostly filled with... incredible, marvelously talented young people! Playing the French horn, singing lovely duets, doing awesome group dances, intelligently pontificating on Sondheim's works, etc. (note: not simultaneously)
And some of these folks are even getting millions of views! (though admittedly I'm not sure if any of them are getting deservedly rich).
We live in the worst of times, but also the best of times. And when I find myself getting grossed-out and disappointed by the dreck online, I poke myself to remember and appreciate the heartwarming talent that has been made available around the world, ironically thanks to those same services that have amplified the other crap.
I want to know what you did to your algorithm!
No, see, those people have TALENT. Influencerdom is much more vapid. Top infuencers are really textureless.
Heh! I had long since given up on Instagram (it just made me depressed, since it felt like 50% vacuous influencers and 50% my friends & acquaintances & others perpetually traveling the world carefree with their loving partner seemingly 11 months out of 12).
But -- I have no idea why -- I started poking at Instagram again and insistently Liking every talented and uncringey bit I saw, and then within a week I started seeing a Japanese girl brass band, a Nigerian gospel pianist teaching cool chord changes, a woman who sings (well!) in Chinese, French, Spanish, and English, and so on.
Re influencerdom and talent (or lack thereof)... I hear you! Frankly, I think this annoyance has been us for decades (vapid models, airheaded / hunky actors who can't really act, etc.), but with social media nowadays it's just so much more in our face.
Oh I never said there are no experts, art or talent online! I completely agree with you! What I said was influencer culture makes it cloudier to discern is all. And also to your point, why I try really hard to not be a “40 year old curmudgeon” as I said because of course there are good things that come out of it. Nothing is ever black and white or all good/all bad. But why her article so resonated was the still very honest feelings that resonate with the parts of influencer culture that might be doing some major harm. And really, all of the real knowledge and understanding of these times will only come in hindsight. But it’s also just nice to know I’m not the only one who struggles with the acceptance of this specific aspect of what life is right now.
oof, sorry for misreading!
And yes, her article resonated with me as well... and undoubtedly with so many others. It's really a shame the NYT didn't publish it
(if I had to guess, they might have felt that her naming specific individuals might have crossed a line)
I think it was the whole general tone of it. They said it lacked a central argument.
Hmm. That doesn't ring true to me. But perhaps your piece will be delightfully Streisand'ed :D
No apology necessary! Civil conversation and discussion, even if we do find we disagree, is always welcomed in my opinion! (and perhaps another casualty of influencer culture?). And for that reason alone, it would have been nice for them to publish just so this perspective can get some air and be more talked about and acknowledged! I run my own business and have such a hard time using social media and often think I'm must be the only one and am so old fashioned. But it's nice to read in this thread alone that I am not!
Sara, the fact that NYT would not publish Cintra’s piece…
Stop for a moment and think just how benign her opinion was and it didn’t get printed.
Now, think of all the other opinions denied readers of the NYT.
Wake up !
I'm confused. Are you telling me to wake up? I completely agree with you...
Thank you Ms Packard!
While I agree with your basic premise, influencers seemingly easy success is somehow unearned because they haven’t toiled away at something. You forget GenXers had the super model. The genetically blessed women of the 80’s and 90’s who only had to walk and pose and became multi- millionaires. There were plenty of vapid interviews about the ridiculous idea of how “hard they work” and yet society bought what they were selling. The problem isn’t the influencers- it’s the customer. Young people are always suckers for crap... usually they grow out of it as they live life and mature....
While I appreciate the well-deserved critique of certain influencers and the capitalistic drive for monetizing every aspect of our life, this is a very one-sided way of looking at influencers. You are putting us all in a terribly boring and monolithic box, and not at all acknowledging those, who like me, use their influence to bring people together (not to sell anything, but to share information) or advocate for better representation behind the scenes. The sad truth is, attention is the ultimate currency, but influencers aren’t to blame for why things have devolved to this. People have always bought into stories (movies or celebrities’ lives), and influencers are simply the new storytellers. It’s disheartening that the people who are actually saving lives labor so much more, but I believe a more nuanced critique could’ve been more insightful honestly.
Well, you sound like an exception to the rule. You're advocating. They're just selling shit.
Hi Vanessa, I'm curious how you define influencer! I wrote a comment with perhaps overlapping thoughts below and would love to hear more
Yeah, I feel like the author was sort of generalizing the term and talking about influencers as only these ‘twerking, selling their bodies for clicks’ type people when it’s brought so much more and has allowed just about everyone (this site) included to share their thoughts/ideas to others, which I feel is the important part!
love this. totally confused how anyone, even with a double digit IQ, could buy into "influencers" ugghhh
I don’t know, I feel like we all sell our selves and these kids are laughing their way to the bank. I’d rather be an influence and make enough money to live off for the rest of my life in a few years than spend 50+ years working a 9-5 just looking forward to the weekend
Me too--I'd love to retire at 45 and do other things. A lot of Xers, Millennials and others are so stoked about making it to the weekend and I understand why now!
As a fellow Generation Xer, thank you for sharing. The whole influencer phenomenon is excruciating.
Wow, this is so f’ing fantastic! I read it out loud in bed to my bf who declared “that’s a good one”. He defended, a bit, the idea of capitalizing on one’s person and said if Coach or Adidas came a-knocking we’d be more than happy to sign ourselves over for cash. I called him a “stinking capitalist”. We laughed. But when asked if he’d be ok with me pointing my phone at myself 24/7, obsessing over clothes or skin quality, and living amongst piles of free stuff, he said we’d likely split up.
So there you have it. No body really wants what they have, or at least he and I don’t.
Thank god you have the focus, drive, and generosity of spirit to put into acute and hilarious relief what the hell is happening to us. You ARE the corrective lenses that we all need! Fuck the NYT!
I’m sending you gifts.
Mr. Johnson! You thrill me to my very coffee-colored pantyhose. You minx. You stallion.
I devoured this piece--thank you substack reads for the introduction. The question I have for Cintra (and others) is, how are you defining influencers? It seems there's a bit of a continuum where, on the one hand you have the so-called influencers you describe here, individuals I admittedly hadn't heard of, and then at the other end of the spectrum are artists and writers whose personal brand is part of their creative brand, so to speak. I'm new to promoting my own writing and am surprised by the amount of marketing it can involve. When does amassing a personal following veer into influencing? Is it when the products you sell take over the work itself? I'm curious what other writers on here who have a "personal brand" and perhaps are former influencers would say too... all in all this is a great topic.