Just what to preface this and say I did not use ChatGPT to write this, and it’s 100% written by me, which I’m sure you can tell because it’s pretty elementary-style writing. Anyways…
I’m in my defluencing era. Now, I’m not an influencer, but I have been an active user, consumer, and content creator since the boom of the Internet, and over the years, I painstakingly have grown a small following on several major social platforms.
By industry standards, I am considered a “nanoinfluencer.” However, I personally cringe at that label. Maybe it’s the internalized mindset of 2016, when influencers were cringed upon, but truly, I don’t see myself as an influencer.
I’m just a regular girl who wants to share a piece of myself and my creativity with the world.
I create what I consume, and I’ve always loved photography. Since 2016, my Instagram feed was very curated with a sole focus on aesthetic photo-taking, which in turn led me to explore things like fashion and style, all for the sake of creating pretty images. Now, I’ve always enjoyed these things, and I definitely was a “girly girl” when I was a kid, but I would not say fashion and style are my diehard passions. More-so lately, I haven’t been very inspired by to create beautiful but shallow (for a lack of better word) content. More and more, I want to show my REAL self.
And it’s not like I’ve been hiding my true self from the world. Those who truly consume my content know that ever since Snapchat Stoies, I’ve never been afraid to show my real self online. However, aesthetics have always been a priority, mostly because that’s what Instagram prioritized.
Now with the fall of Instagram and rise of TikTok and more authentic short-form content, I’ve become way more comfortable sharing on camera, and I want to move beyond the surface level content, and show more of my authentic self, even the mundane, such as when I’m out at the grocery store wearing the laziest fit.
I’m not sure how long I’ll “keep up” with my #defluencing #slob era, but truth is, I am in a set of black joggers, oversized cotton t-shirt, and sweats most of the time. So why wouldn’t I show up authentically online? I love glamming, photoshoots, and fashion, but I don’t want to do those things everyday. And lately, I’m more inspired by everyday, daily life. My daily life is very basic and consists of work (as an ex-corporate girl who is now freelancing), eating simple food, watching boring tv, walking my dogs at the park, and catching a nice sunset if I’m lucky. It’s all very mundane, but that’s just my life as a regular girl.
I call myself an aesthetic and an authentic content creator, and I say it as if there’s a dichotomy or juxtaposition between the two. Now, I’m sure there are plenty of aesthetic influencers who truly live their life authentically aesthetic. Maybe they’re a wealthy housewife who lives in a mansion and every day is glamorous and beautiful for her, but for me, I’m in a dichotomy between authenticity and aesthetics. For me, I truly do not live my authentic everyday life in an aesthetic manner.
I am a single, young, everyday woman who lives in the suburbs of Houston. I don’t live in a glamorous city, and I don’t get invited to glamorous events. I spend most of my life at home, especially because all my past corporate jobs have been remote. My everyday so-called uniform is sweats and joggers.
Thus, if I show up online every day, why would I show myself inauthentically? Those who consume my IG Stories and TikTok will notice this juxtaposition between my BTS footage and the highlight reel I share on my IG feed.
With all that said, not only do I want to share more authentic content of me, I also want to connect with the community I’ve built on these platforms in a more authentic manner. It’s nice to connect with every fellow so-called “influencers” over fashion and what y’all wore to brunch this weekend or what events you attended that I didn’t get invited to, but what else?
To be very frank, your fashion, your hair, your makeup are the least interesting things about you, and I want to know more.
So here I am, taking that first step. Maybe this defluencing thing will be “influencing,” but if it becomes that way, and it encourages people to be more transparent, honest, and authentic online, then I think it’s the right step in the right direction.
New Vlog on YouTube.
