August 29, 2019

"... soon my follow has officially turned into a hate-follow. Her feed is turning me off to things I once loved..."

"... like No. 6 clogs and Patagonia fleeces. Eventually, I’m closing my eyes and rubbing the bridge of my nose — which I do only when I really can’t handle life — and whispering to my phone, 'No, don’t ruin Negronis for me, too.' Meet the unfluencer, the person who makes me want to do the opposite of whatever she’s doing and throw out whatever I already own that she has posted about.... I have found myself compiling a brief list of things unfluencers have ruined for me, and they include wide-leg pants, most potted plants, Rachel Cusk, Aesop hand balm, the Met Breuer, being 'into Broadway,' the Marlton, all destination weddings, Barry’s Bootcamp, the brand Self-Portrait, rattan, P50 toner, pink mules, the superbloom, paella (homemade or ordered in a restaurant), and Maine. And I’ve never even been to Maine!... An unfluencer has the power to mess with your head, setting you off balance and making you question what you like and don’t like, what you know to be cool and what is corny. ... But my being provoked probably has less to do with the narcissism I perceive on the unfluencer’s part than with my own: I’m not as original as I wish to be; my taste is not as interesting and refined as I think it is. I can hear my mother’s voice in my head telling me, circa grade school, 'The things you hate are usually the things you do yourself.'"

From "Meet the Unfluencers" (The Cut).

44 comments:

TickTock said...

Strange reading list for the middle of the night.

tim maguire said...

I don’t understand. She follows someone for their life advice and then hates the things she advises because she advises them?

Is that right?

Ann Althouse said...

It's morning. I've done my sleeping.

Mr. Forward said...

The loons are at their best this hour of the morning.

rehajm said...

A friend of mine refuses to wear Nikes, period, after her unfluencer nemesis bought the same shoe in the same colorway she had almost bought.

Kind of a funny way of saying it but I boycott Nikes for kind of the same reason.

alanc709 said...

The whole idea of people being influenced by people they read on the internet is fascinating to me. How shallow do you have to be, that some unknown "influencer" on the internet can dictate your life to you?

rhhardin said...

Influence (n.) late 14c., an astrological term, "streaming ethereal power from the stars when in certain positions, acting upon character or destiny of men," from Old French influence "emanation from the stars that acts upon one's character and destiny" (13c.),

Ann Althouse said...

"The whole idea of people being influenced by people they read on the internet is fascinating to me. How shallow do you have to be, that some unknown "influencer" on the internet can dictate your life to you?"

But how do you think fashion works? Does the whole idea of fashion bother you?

I think it's interesting that people who are not connected with a fashion publication and who are not entertainment celebrities are able to participate in making trends.

tim in vermont said...

I can’t imagine. What if I woke up one morning and realized my favorite drink wasn’t “cool”? The web is the heart of darkness! The horror!

tim in vermont said...

"Does the whole idea of fashion bother you?”

Sure, the same way neutrinos bother me.

Mr. Forward said...

“For those who haven’t witnessed it, a loon social gathering is an impressive event. As loons arrive, first flying past for a quick assessment and then gliding in silently, fellow sharp-eyed birds on the water greet them with an excited “hoot,” a salutation given nearly an octave higher than the usual contact call.” Cabinlife.com

A gathering of loons is called an asylum.

Marek said...

One of my clients is in fashion. Normally my clients are happy if I say I use their product /service. I said to my contact that I liked the loo. His response was that they would rather I don't diminish the brand.

one of their biggest challenges is getting customers to stop wearing them when they age out of the target market.

gilbar said...

I like to picture althouse's balding male readers sitting at home in front of their computers wearing wigs of bleach-blonde bobs.

A) i'm not partially balding, let alone balding; just grey
B) we (me, at least) imagine that the Professor still has a head of Flaming Red Hair

Howard said...

that's meta-meta.

Howard said...

Blogger Ann Althouse said... I think it's interesting that people who are not connected with a fashion publication and who are not entertainment celebrities are able to participate in making trends.

Exactly what this blog is about. You've assembled the finest cross section of deplorables in one tiny place where they feel free to confide in one another, thus eliminate need Russian bot to take temperature.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

The whole “influencer” thing is beyond weird anyway, and counter to every understanding of hip I’ve ever had.

Mr. Forward said...

“The following predictions were derived from the Familiarity Hypothesis: (1) Loons should exhibit low levels of aggression when in social groups; (2) Social gatherings should occur more frequently later in the breeding season; (3) Social gatherings should be longer later in the breeding season; (4) Social gatherings should occur at neutral sites; and (5) Social gatherings should consist of the same individuals on consecutive days.”


Testing hypotheses of social gatherings of common loons (Gavia immer)
James D. Paruk1,2

Paco Wové said...

"But how do you think fashion works?"

To be honest, the idea that fashion could, or did, "work" never crossed my mind.

tim in vermont said...

Howard can see Russia from his house!

Bob Boyd said...

Althouse is an internet unfluencer when it comes to men wearing shorts.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

I ate paella at an expensive restaurant once. Since I don't know if the right people, or the wrong people, like it or not, I can't decide how it was. It was a little bit like what my mom used to call "Spanish rice".

alanc709 said...

Yes, fashion bothers me- most of what passes for fashion seems hideous to me.

Rocketeer said...

What is hip? Tell me, tell me, do you think you know?

Robert Cook said...

"To be honest, the idea that fashion could, or did, 'work' never crossed my mind."

You're trying way to hard to signal your indifference to the topic.

Robert Cook said...

"What is hip? Tell me, tell me, do you think you know?"

It's always hard to define what is "hip," (or "cool"), other than to say that "hip" and "fashionable" are not the same things at all.

tcrosse said...

"What is hip? Tell me, tell me, do you think you know?"

Blossom Dearie knows.

Known Unknown said...

More proof that most women are fucking insane.

Maillard Reactionary said...

I read a bit of the excerpt above and figured, article written by a woman, for women.
I clicked through to the article. I was right.

These people are really sad. They're fully grown up, and have no idea who they are.

tim maguire said...

alanc709 said...How shallow do you have to be, that some unknown "influencer" on the internet can dictate your life to you?

No man is an island. We all take fashion cues from other people. Even you.

joshbraid said...

"A gathering of loons is called an asylum. "
Brilliant!

"These people are really sad. They're fully grown up, and have no idea who they are."
No, they are not fully grown up or they would have an idea of who they are. They are the poster children for the immature generation, for whom growing up is too painful for their parents.

Rocketeer said...

It's always hard to define what is "hip," (or "cool"), other than to say that "hip" and "fashionable" are not the same things at all.

Self refuting. "Not fashion" is just another value of "fashion."

Roger Sweeny said...

Am I a bad person because I haven't heard of most of the things she mentions?

Except Maine. Like every state, it has things to like and things not to like.

Roger Sweeny said...

Speaking of "uninfluencer", am I the only person who is less likely to vote for a candidate after seeing her commercial? Every ... single ... time.

Kay said...

The concept of the uninfluencer predates social media, I think. I’ve relied on them all my life, really. One example: I will never read a single word of J*rdan P*terson or watch a single millisecond of video clip, bor would I click on an article about him, simply because an uninfluencer I know likes him. Meanwhile, our hostess, who I consider an influencer, also likes his work, and makes me think that it might have something of value to it. But I’m afraid the uninfluencer trumps Althouse in this instance.

buwaya said...

“Fashion”, in the modern sense, is one of those pernicious exploits of human instinct, corrupting them in ways that do not serve human welfare and survival. It’s ethos is to put several sins on pedestals, pride, vanity and envy, and to try turn them into virtues.

Even if one leaves aside religion, Savonarola was not entirely wrong.

Fen said...

I'm still laughing over that "social media influencer" who got all her peers banned from a hotel because she played the "Don't you know who I am?" card to get a free room.

Social Media Influencer. LOL.

Kevin said...

Emperor Palpatine: Unfollow my Instagram feed with all your hatred, and your journey towards the social media dark side will be complete! Good! Use your aggressive feelings toward my lifestyle choices, boy. Let the hate flow through you.

Molly said...

(eaglebeak)

She'd feel a lot better if she didn't follow anyone on any social medium.

vanderleun said...

"Though she was born a long long time ago
Your mother should know (your mother should)
Your mother should know"

Bill Peschel said...

Because we're social animals, we tend to ape the mannerisms and behavior of the dominant person in our group.

That works well in meatspace. It provides a binding mechanism and a way of firming social ties. It can create a community of people with shared values and interests.

Taken to the extreme, like in Japan before World War II, and you end up with a xenophobic society, war crimes, and tentacle porn.

Applying our desire for bonding and mimicing to social media -- a landscape where it's impossible to form communities -- and you have a recipe for isolation and depression. No matter how much you ape (or resist) your influencer, no bonding will ever, ever take place.

You might as well masturbate to Taylor Swift and expect her to love you.

Patrick said...

"Althouse is an internet unfluencer when it comes to men wearing shorts."

Heh. I agree. I mostly eschew sports except if it's brutally hot, which I understand to be working the exception.

However, I notice more and more (mostly young) men wearing shorts to the office. Maybe she needs to get on Insta!

Maillard Reactionary said...

joshbraid: Of course I agree with you. I was thinking that no matter how long one tries to extend childhood, the body's clock continues to run, and the Reaper gets closer every day.

Sam L. said...

I wouldn't read them even if I knew where to read them. I'm past "influencing".

PluralThumb said...

That is what intelligence is for to twart unfluencers. Step away emotionally and mentally and then return with a point of view from guided sources. That should confuse the Russians. Those commies only care about Vodka so I worry much about them.
I am who I hate, I am who I love.
The middle Earth is open to interpretations.
Hole from a bagel ?