On being very gullible.

In my usual habit of procrastination, while watching random niche YouTube videos, I stumbled upon this video that was calling influencers for their blatant lies on social media,

This video is part of a series where the creator talks about all the insane stuff that happens on social media, such as the Stanley Cup craze, interesting trends like the “sad beige mom” and how honestly for the most part influencers do their job to influence, but it comes at the expense of impressionable users, such as myself.

Not once, nor twice, nor thrice but COUNTLESS times have I spent money on a gadget or a product that an influencer has advertised or used. This is quite crazy because I BARELY use social media and my sole source of this kind of “influencing” is on YouTube. So if YouTube was able to “influence” me to this extent, I cannot imagine what would be of me (and my bank account) if I was on the apps.

What’s even crazier is that I have been very quick to judge those who seem gullible to these things. Though for the most part, I have been able to keep away from buying “trendy” things, I have still spent a significant amount of my money on stuff I have used only once, which is such a shame.

It is even more shameful that last semester when I was taking a psychology course, we had a whole unit dedicated to persuasion and how advertisers make ads that ensure they get people to buy their stuff. I knew all of their tactics, but they still worked on me?

I think part of the problem with me buying more stuff is seeing other people hoarding stuff and wrongly assuming that the more things I buy, the fuller my desk is, and obviously the more happy I will be. But that just has not been true. I know that I thrive more in close-to-empty environments, and I know I genuinely do not need a lot of things to survive and be okay, and yet I still do it. I still buy things I don’t need. Paul’s conundrum in Romans 7.

I guess I wrote this, first because I wanted to think about this because I had not gotten the chance, but to nudge us to take some time to reflect on how we are being influenced, especially by people online. It is crazy because there are times I have taken pride in myself and the fact that I am apparently a “critical thinker” but still fall for such “simple traps” or still uphold certain mindsets about things that have no basis whatsoever.

I know this is a bit rambly, but it is worth taking the time to think. Do I actually want what I think I want? Are there other influences (friends, parents, relatives, random Twitter accounts) that seem to dictate what I believe? And if so, what can I do about this?

This is a video I recommend watching when thinking about the above questions: Why I Stopped Swearing (but you shouldn't)

Hasta pronto chicos :)