De-influencing: The New Trend Among the Influencers?

Content creation seems like a dream job to Gen Z and some millennials these days, especially after considering that social media influencers are making crazy money and living the life most can only dream of. But here’s the kicker: Some of them, even after swimming in fame and fortune, are ditching it all for a regular 9-to-5 job. Can you wrap your head around that? It’s like they’re turning the whole influencer game on its head, showing us there’s more to life than just likes and followers. It sure gave us a whirlwind of confusion. It’s a reminder that even in the world of digital stardom, the grass isn’t always greener after all. Without beating around the bush, let’s get you directly to the influencer(s) who got our minds thinking about this.

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Ana Wolfermann and Her Anxiety to Create Content

Ana Wolfermann, a prominent influencer based in New York, experiences the extravagant privileges afforded by her profession, yet she’s prepared to give it all up for a standard 9-to-5 job. In a candid interview with Fortune magazine, Ana talked about her desire to transition from full-time content creation to a corporate role. She disclosed that her journey commenced during her freshman year of college, when she started making videos on TikTok. However, she recently acknowledged that her existence has become fixated solely on social media output. The demands of content creation during the COVID-19 pandemic have taken a toll on Wolfermann, exacerbating feelings of being self-centred and anxious. Nevertheless, she remains widely acclaimed for sharing her impeccable fashion and beauty insights, garnering a devoted following of over a million admirers in the process.

Six months into being an influencer, she started to contemplate her decision to do this full-time and “market her life” to the audience. The very thought of creating content and uploading it to social media every day made her anxious. She continued talking about how she would wake up every day and think about what to say, share, or post today. Her entire day became focused on what she was doing and what she had to say. She added that on some days when you have something exciting to say or show, it’s fine, but other days, the constant thought only led her down a very narcissistic and anxious route.

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Is it all Delulu?

In the same interview, she confessed that it becomes very unsettling when you’re both the brand and the product. She even said that she feels like she hasn’t done anything with her brain since she became an influencer. Ana understands that her 9-5 corporate job is not going to give her the fortune she earned being an influencer, but she is also excited to meet new people and learn new skills at work. Moreover, she asserted that a big reason why lots of people admire social media and desire to work there full-time is because it pays well and presents numerous fantastic opportunities. When Wolfermann revealed her decision to friends and family, they thought she might be “possibly delusional.” They asked her why she would work for someone else and not have control over her own time after reaching this level of success.

She’s Not Alone! Read About Other Influencers Who Left Fame for A 9–5 Job

While you might have thought she was the only one with such a crazy idea in her head, let us tell you a secret: there are more! Hannah Warling, a virtual fashionista herself with a fanbase of 175K Instagram followers, left the influencer world in July 2023. George Morley, a wellness vlogger-turned-wedding photographer, also hopped on the path of “de-influencing” and is now working as a social growth strategist with a fashion company since September 2023. Alongside these digital stars, Marisa Kay ditched the fashion influencer world to become a marketing executive.

The Verdict?

While the influencer world seems quite attractive considering the fame and fortune it brings, it can also seem to hamper someone’s mental health or ambitions otherwise. For some, it’s a treasure of gold they have been craving, and for others, it might be a weight they can’t carry. Regardless of the reasons, we stand by these creators choosing to opt for a traditional 9-to-5 job. There’s no harm in choosing the career that you feel is right for you. What do you guys have to say about this new “de-influencing” phase of the digital stars? Write to us in the comment section below, and stay tuned to Social Nation for more such creators’-related content.