Live like an ‘inf luencer’? You need to earn £1.7m!
YOUNG Brits would need to earn £1.7 million a year to live like the top Instagram ‘ influencers’ t hey so admire, according to new research.
So-called social media influencers often get free clothes, holidays and other gear if they promote certain brands and firms, but anyone trying to copy their heroes have to stump up the cash themselves.
And many are going into debt to buy the latest must-have outfit, holiday or hotel stay as they try to keep up with the ‘Insta Life’.
Experts at personal finance firm Credit Karma analysed Instagram postings by 20 top UK Instagrammers, including Joe Sugg, Tanya Burr, and Molly-Mae Hague, showing them on holiday with pals, boarding private planes, in flash cars and on yachts.
It found that to copy just one of the average Instagram postings by top influencers – including clothes, accessories and travel costs – would set you back a whopping £6,700.
If you include the expensive cars on show in the bill, you would need to earn £ 3.1million- a- year, the study found. An accompanying poll of 1,000 Brits under the age of 40 reveals that two out of three had got into debt emulating their favourite influencers.It found those in that group nationwide spend a massive £400 million-a-month on mimicking their Instagram icons.
A spokesman for Credit Karma said: ‘Millions of young adults aspire to live like social media stars, but they would need to earn more than seven figures to genuinely afford that lifestyle. New research reveals they are going into debt to portray glamorous lifestyles on social media.’
Jo Hemmings, a behavioural psychologist who specialises in celebrity culture, said: ‘It’s essential to remember that posting about expensive items and lavish lifestyles is a full- time job for many social media influencers.
‘Many social celebrities have either been gifted these items or have been paid to promote them.
‘Social media is smoke and mirrors; it’s almost impossible to determine what is real and what is not.’