Nov. 13, 2025
By Isabella Bartlett
Managing Editor
After school, junior Joey Romeo browses social media to immerse himself in funny and relaxing content, but he said he is used to the disappointment of stumbling upon videos featuring influencer-promoted advertisements.
Influencers create videos that convince their audience to buy the products they are promoting, often offering a discount code to their viewers. Then, brands pay them for their videos, and they receive a commission from each product sale.
Romeo, whose favorite social media platform is TikTok, said he does not want to support content creators whose sole focus is making money.
“I find these influencers quite annoying, and when I see a video of an unnecessary promotion, I will immediately scroll away,” Romeo said. “These influencers only use social media for money rather than having an enjoyable experience.”
He said overconsumption has been perpetuated by the TikTok Shop, a feature on TikTok that allows viewers to buy promoted products directly in the app.
“Influencers promote a product in a video, and in the corner, there is a huge ‘Buy now’ button,” Romeo said. “This is designed for people to make mindless purchases and continue to waste money on impulse spending.”
Some TikTok influencers, such as @plantbasedbaby, who creates cooking and wellness videos, and Jess Clifton (@jess.cliftonn), who makes videos promoting secondhand purchases, de-influence by advising against buying certain products. Others oppose brand deals altogether.
‘I’m on social media as a form of escapism.’ I really don’t want to be conditioned to try to buy something.”
Romeo said he enjoys creators, such as Quenlin Blackwell (@quenblackwell) and Larri Merritt (@larray), who value honesty over monetary gain.
“They have both expressed their hatred towards unnecessary promotions… and will only promote products when they feel there will be a beneficial value to the users,” Romeo said.
English teacher Ms. Coppola, whose favorite social media platforms are Facebook and Instagram, said she finds influencer marketing to be ineffective because she avoids ads on social media.
“When [creators] become sponsored, they do the built-in ads, and you can’t skip over them, but I will mute a content creator for a while because my time is valuable to me,” Coppola said.
She said she unfollows creators who make too many promotional videos.
“I used to like Hamilton and Olivia (@hammyandolivia), the corgis, but [their owner] partnered with [the pet food company] The Farmer’s Dog, and I said, ‘I’m on social media as a form of escapism.’ I really don’t want to be conditioned to try to buy something,” Coppola said.
She said people need to consider what they are buying before purchasing a product that an influencer is promoting.
“Ask yourself if you really need that and how often you’re going to use it, and, depending on how much it costs, do you want to work the amount of hours you need to work to pay for that item?” Coppola said.
Sophomore Kellan De Koyer, who watches Instagram Reels daily, said he does not mind the content produced by traditional influencers. He said they should not feel pressured to de-influence because they play an important role in the success of the brands they support.
“They could either build a small company into something huge that goes worldwide, or break it down and completely ruin someone’s life,” De Koyer said.
He said it is an influencer’s job to advertise products, but noted that it does not always equate to transparency.
