Influencers reign as modern-day royalty in the sprawling digital metropolis where likes are currency and followers are power. However, behind the filtered smiles and edited highlight reels, they are often deeply disconnected from the realities Gen Z faces. 

Influencers have built empires on aesthetics, turning platforms like Instagram and TikTok into billboards of curated perfection. Their posts sell products and the illusion of effortless wealth. To teenagers, this endless scroll of “dream lives” is aspirational, yet unattainable.

These “role models” are often built on shaky ground, destined to crumble under closer scrutiny. Influencers project perfection but rarely share the messy, unedited moments that build real character. Instead, they offer a synthetic version of life, one where self-worth is measured in followers and self-expression must always be marketable. 

For a generation that struggles with mental health, influencers pose a false reality.  According to Pacific Oaks College, “42% of Gen Z individuals report battling depression and feelings of hopelessness, nearly twice as high as Americans over 25.” Take the influencer who jets off to Bali for a “self-care retreat,” promoting luxury skincare products while ignoring the environmental cost of their carbon footprint. Or the fitness guru whose “health journey” conveniently aligns with the launch of their overpriced meal plan. The message Gen Z receives is that your problems can’t be solved unless you buy into this fabricated fantasy. 

Even worse, influencers often package privilege as hustle. The reality is that many influencers begin their careers with the financial safety nets, connections, or luck that the average teen does not have. This makes their message of “just hard work and manifest your dreams” harmful. Gen Z should not look up to role models whose success is built on circumstances they don’t have.  

The newsletter Forbes states, “54% of teenagers spend at least four hours per day on social media.” These hours should be filled with role models who reflect authenticity, resilience, and the complexity of real life. The people they watch should be unafraid to admit their flaws, share their failures, and use their platforms to amplify causes bigger than themselves. 

Young people, desperate to measure up to the impossible beauty standards and created lifestyles they see online, often lose sight of their worth. For too many, influencers are not inspirations,  they are a mirror that amplifies everything teens believe they lack.

No filter can capture the raw, unedited brilliance of who teenagers are. While influences chase fame, they hold the power to shape a world that values substance over spectacle. They should not just scroll past potential. They should live a life so real, it doesn’t need a “like” to matter.