‘No boyfriends’ fakery reveals how Instagram influencers put ‘evil eye’ on the vulnerable

What is the point of Vogue magazine? For a long time it existed to promote high fashion brands. The couture clothes were priced out of reach but the hope was you might be persuaded to buy a bottle of branded perfume at duty free in the belief that suddenly your life would get better.

That commercial manipulation is now a bit obvious so instead, Vogue is attempting to shapeshift into the world of popular psychology. A recent article asks, “Is Having A Boyfriend Embarrassing Now?” and suggests online influencers are avoiding posting about their relationships because it can come across as “cringe” and “culturally loser-ish”.

The author quotes one online content creator as saying she regrets revealing she had a boyfriend because lots of people then unfollowed her saying “they can no longer relate to my content”. This tosh is worth quoting because it is a fascinating insight into the world of online influencing.

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The popularity of Raye’s hit song, Where The Hell Is My Husband?, suggests influencers are wrong about boyfriends (Picture: Frazer Harrison) | Getty Images for Coachella

How much is fake?

In theory, these people build followings on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram by providing genuine and relatable content about their lives which creates trust that can then be leveraged by brands to target hard-to-reach audiences.

However, shock horror, it seems all may not be what it seems. If some influencers are avoiding mentioning relationships in case people cannot relate to that, what else is fake and fabricated?

Someone I know, who seems to live a charmed life on Instagram, lifted the lid on all this when I mentioned her gilded existence. “You mean Instasham?” she said, before going on to list a litany of disasters and calamities that bedevilled everything she posted online.

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Effects on mental health

All of this matters because the current mental health crisis gripping the nation absolutely tracks the rise of the influencer. Could it possibly be that ambitious individuals sharing their seemingly ideal lives while telling everyone else to hide their boyfriends, improve their aesthetics and, at the same time, lose weight could be the root of the problem?

The more mentally robust can see through all of this but for those more vulnerable or suggestible, the online world just throws petrol on the fires of insecurity.

Back in the world of influencers, another confessed she hadn’t posted images of her boyfriend because she didn’t have pictures of him she would “consider instagrammable”. I bet he was delighted to read that.

Boyfriends are OK?

Meanwhile 21-year-old ‘Athera’ doesn’t post about her boyfriend in case jealous followers put an “evil eye into my relationship”. The evil eye is a supernatural belief that a curse can be sent to you by a rival. Crucially, it’s also made-up nonsense, fabricated and promoted on social media in yet another example of its malign and toxic influence on our lives.

However, there is hope. Vogue’s circulation is in freefall, profits have been slashed and next year it stops publishing monthly so it looks like we won’t have to put up with telling women what to wear and think for much longer.

Meanwhile, singer Raye’s very public search for a partner “Where The Hell Is My Husband?” made it no number three in the charts. So maybe boyfriends and even husbands are OK if you want them after all?

In fact maybe we should just all do what we want to do and not worry about evil eyes, losing followers or what Vogue magazine thinks?