Unless you've been living under a rock, or are just sensible enough not to live your life on social media (something I need to learn to do), you'll probably have seen all of the blogger/influencer drama that's exploded over the past few weeks. I have quite a few opinions on all of this and I wanted to take some time to think about it all instead of writing a post on the day it all started in the hope of getting as many clicks as possible.
To fill anyone in who doesn't have a clue what I'm on about, basically an Instagram account called 'bullshitcallerouter' was set up to expose some of the ill practices that have been going on in the Irish blogger/influencer community. At the beginning the account contained mostly side by side images of the photoshop pictures that influencers had posted of themselves and real life images taken on the same day with the same outfit etc. It also showed images of influencers from back when they first started compared to what they look like now.
The account has had a huge amount of attention since it was first created on the 4th of January and it now has over 61.2K followers. As well as exposing the photoshopping that has gone on, the account has also exposed competitions that have been rigged, people who have bought followers, products that have been bought from AliExpress and sold for a ridiculous markup and transphobic comments published by one of Ireland's 'top' influencers back in 2011.
Personally (and I know there are a few people who might disagree with me on this), I think that Instagram account was long overdue and very much needed. I've been growing tired of the way Irish blogging has been going and the image and impressions people have of bloggers due to how a select few have acted. Over Christmas I seriously considered packing it all in and even spoke about this on Instagram and Snapchat. I'd become so disheartened with everything I could see going on, the lies, the false images, this picture perfect life that just isn't reflective of reality at all.
But then I thought, why should I feel ashamed to do something I love so much just because of other people's actions and poor choices? Just the other day I was sitting at the kitchen table writing a blog post, and my Mum was reading a book and I told her how much I was enjoying writing this post all about beauty products. Even if no one ever read a single post I published, I'd still do it because I love it so much.
As well as the Instagram account, there was also a thread on Reddit setup to discuss bloggers/influencers. I've read through the majority of the posts on there and while a few are quite nasty and way too personal, the majority were just discussing things that influencers do that they don't agree with, or that annoy them. When all of this kind of exploded and the top influencers in Ireland decided to speak out about it, I thought the word 'bullying' was thrown around far too easily and they even said they were going to start an anti-bullying campaign.
It would have been great to see the influencers who had been called out for their actions apologise, I mean we are all only human and like Hannah Montanna said 'Everybody makes mistakes'. If this anti-bullying campaign does come to fruition (which if I'm honest I doubt it will) I think it could really help the younger followers of these influencers because we all know how hard growing up can be, and how cruel people can be as well. I just hope that they do it for the right reasons and not just to save face.
It's sad because over the past few weeks I've seen SO many people tarring all bloggers with the same brush, and just as many people saying they've unfollowed every single blogger from Instagram or Facebook. I've always been honest in my 4 years of blogging. I've never once recommended something I didn't truly love, I've never edited my body using Photoshop or Facetune, and I pride myself in the fact that I have so many people who genuinely value and respect my opinion.
At the end of the day, bloggers and influencers only have as much power as you give them. If you don't agree with something a blogger/influencer has said or done, unfollow them. If you love a bloggers content and appreciate their honesty, support them by liking their content and interacting with them. When brands and PR companies are looking for people to work with, the majority of the time they'll pay close attention to the interaction and engagement a blogger gets, which comes from their followers, so you really do have the power to change the way the blogging industry is going.
So has the blogging bubble burst? Is this really the end for bloggers in Ireland like everyone keeps saying? No, I don't think so. I think that the honest bloggers who do it because they love it will continue writing about their favourite mascara, or their latest bargain from Penneys. They might loose some followers who have decided all bloggers are from hell, and be a little more reluctant to tell people who they've just met that they have a blog, but they'll keep at it.
I'd love to say that all of the drama and discussions that have happened over the past few weeks surrounding bloggers and influencers in Ireland will make a huge change, but sadly I don't think it will. The top influencers in Ireland will bounce back and continue to grow and succeed and I mean fair play, I don't begrudge anyone who can make a seriously comfortable living for themselves, but I hope to God that all of this has made them seriously look at themselves and their actions and how this can affect their followers.
I hope that post wasn't too long winded, but like I said at the beginning, I had quite a few opinions and thoughts that I needed to get out in the open. If you've got any questions or would like to chat about this topic further, always feel free to message me on Snapchat, Instagram or Facebook. I've had some wonderful conversations with people over the past few weeks about all of this and I think it's incredibly important we keep the communication lines open between bloggers and their followers.
I hope you enjoyed this post and if you made it all the way to the end, well done. Thanks so much for reading and for continuing to support me, you're all ace!