Influencers using ‘be kind’ to defend trips to Dubai are damaging the mental health movement

In case the link doesn’t work for non-apple users.

www.independent.co.uk/voices/dubai-influencers-covid-mental-health-b1794014.html

I remember going on a course about 20 years ago & one thing the presenter said that stuck in my mind was that in ten years time, 9 out of ten people would be doing jobs that hadn’t yet been invented.

‘Influencer’ obviously being one of them!

Why are some people so self-absorbed nowadays?

It's only a modern form of advertising except now we have a face. Big corporations are spending a large part of their advertising budget with these people because it's showing results.

I’m an influencer in my own small way, we’ve been wearing fishnet stockings for years in The Argy, along with our white stilettos. Now everyone is wearing them.?

The job of influencers is not new, it just got a name assigned to it.

Jackie Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, etc - were huge influencers decades ago

Self-absorbed people have always existed and always will. It is not a thing of the newer generations.

I don't think that influencers are necessarily self-absorbed. It is just another way of doing marketing or public relations - it needn't be done from Dubai, though .

What I do think, however, is that the mental health movement is being hijacked by popular phrases and memes which do more harm than good. 'Be kind' is all very well in itself, and had a meaning (albeit vague) when Caroline Flack died. People maybe did need reminding that nasty comments online would have an impact on their victims. But when it is taken to mean 'Don't hold anyone to account for anything', and is read alongside memes that suggest you cancel anything you don't fancy doing on the day, only do things if and when you want to do them and basically opt out of anything that makes you feel stressed, it's a different matter.

Looking after yourself is a good thing, but it is bad for the mental health of others if they are always taking up the slack when people drop out or let others down, and there are times when 'being kind' to them just encourages that selfish behaviour.

Also, those with real MH problems are tarred with the same brush, so it is more difficult for them to get a fair deal if people associate things like anxiety and depression with that sort of behaviour.

I thought the word was " working " ?

The many " celebrities " who've been filmed in Dubai are " working ".

If you believe that you'll believe anything !

There will always be people who believe that they are so special the rules don’t apply to them.

It depresses me that people are apparently being "influenced" by someone who barely seems to have two brain cells to rub together. And what on earth must the locals think of someone like her going for a camel ride in a bikini?

I honestly don't think that people who can make a lot of money in a very competitive market have fewer than two brain cells to rub together - I can only assume that anyone who thinks that has no idea about what they do.

I agree that it doesn't need to be done in Dubai, however, and that their travel is not at all essential. On the other hand, was it essential that Johnson went to Scotland? Not much difference, really - none of us should be travelling at all.

Be kind has always been a unhelpful sentiment from the beginning, it usually means shut up and agree with me.

It’s a good thought - how what why who has the power to influence our own perspective/ opinions. Do we want simple confirmation or perhaps be challenged. Do we expect influencers to have a particular moral / ethical footprint. I’m pondering !

"Influencer" seems to have been created in the last year or so and I believe that some people can live quite comfortably on what they are paid or items given to them for the "influencer" to promote on their behalf!
I used to belong to a Facebook group that supposedly was for sharing where the best bargains could be found.
I was actually removed and banned from the group because I questioned one time too many, the fact that the "administrators" were actually being paid to promote certain shops and products !

The so called Influencers (young girls in bikinis) sunning themselves in Dubai are only in my opinion influencing young people to be upset, resentful and peed off ?

Still giggling!

lemongrove

I’m an influencer in my own small way, we’ve been wearing fishnet stockings for years in The Argy, along with our white stilettos. Now everyone is wearing them.?

Still giggling

I saw a film on Netflix some months ago called The Jones Family I believe which was a fascinating insight into how 'influencing' works. A fake family set up home in a well off neighbourhood and begin an expensive lifestyle which persuades all their neighbours to copy their every purchase. Of course it all unravels but its a good watch.