Yahoo Finance I Went Into Debt as a Social Media Influencer: Here’s How I Recovered
For Megan R., the siren song of internet fame and fortune proved almost too enticing to resist. Like many young millennials, she dreamed of becoming a social media influencer, monetizing her passions and living that coveted #SponsoredLife. But her quest for digital stardom quickly led her down a dark financial spiral from which she’s only now fully recovered.
Here’s how a would-be social media influencer went into debt and then recovered.
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The Veggie Influencer That Wasn’t
A few years back, the Brooklyn-based aspiring influencer in her 20s attempted to launch her vegetarian lifestyle Instagram account, fusing her love of vegetarian cooking with fitness and wellness content. “I really thought this plant-based persona could help me build a lucrative influencer career by attracting all sorts of sponsorships and marketing deals,” Megan said.
At first, her follower count increased at a snail’s pace despite her regular posts of artfully arranged acai bowls and gym selfies. Determined to achieve influencer status at all costs, Megan began taking shortcuts to inflate her credentials. “I definitely paid some shady services to buy fake followers and likes,” she said. “It was a way to make my account look way bigger than it really was.”
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The Spending Spiral
From there, the line between Megan’s real life and her manufactured online presence became blurred as she tried desperately to look the part. “I started buying all these pricey athleisure, expensive meal prep gadgets, extravagant meals, you name it — then posting them under the guise of being #gifted by big brands interested in my influence,” she said.
Megan also frequently solicited paid reviews and endorsements under the table. “I’d agree to share positive reviews for supplements, skincare lines, cooking products — you name it — under the pretense of genuine recommendation,” she said. “I was basically deceiving my own followers just to have access to free stuff and feel important. And I wasn’t even getting that many of those!”
In less than a year wallowing in the dark side of influencer culture, Megan managed to blow over $2,000 on propping up this phony persona — money she simply didn’t have as a young professional just starting her career. Credit cards increasingly became a crutch to fund every ill-advised purchase in pursuit of internet fame.
The Wake-Up Call
“One day it just hit me how truly miserable and bankrupt — emotionally and literally — this path had left me feeling,” Megan said. She came to the realization that her desperation for fake internet clout was compromising her integrity, relationships and financial well-being.
“I suddenly didn’t care about appearing sponsored. I wasn’t happy, healthy or in control of my spending at all. So I said enough was enough and deactivated everything.”
Recovering From the Debt Hole
Of course, Megan was still stuck paying off that accumulated $2,000 credit card bill — which was not easy on her entry-level salary. She feels lucky that her family was able to help her out — and she recognizes this privilege.
“It was brutal asking for help but I recognize that I’m incredibly lucky that I could,” she said. “But I’m so grateful I hit my wake-up call when I did before things got even more out of control.”
Today, she has no regrets about leaving those toxic influencer aspirations behind for an authentic life offline. Any social media presence is minimal — used only for genuinely connecting with close family and friends without any ulterior motives of self-promotion.
While her influencer pipedream turned into an admittedly costly life lesson, Megan ultimately gained some wisdom about grounding self-worth in substance over shallow trends. For other young people being lured by the facade of the influencer lifestyle, she has one piece of advice:
“Honestly, internet clout doesn’t mean anything at the end of the day,” she said. “That path will leave you emotionally and financially screwed up. Instead, invest in yourself in a way that’s authentic and sustainable.”
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: I Went Into Debt as a Social Media Influencer: Here’s How I Recovered
