Author Spotlight
Reese Dunham
Sitting in World Regional Studies class after finishing my map of Southeast Asia, I scrolled through my Instagram feed when Alix Earle’s most recent Coachella post popped up on my feed.
I jumped and looked around to see if anyone around me had seen what had just scarred me.
It was a picture of Earle in a white baby tee with printed block letters saying, “Do my boobs look big in this?” This picture, along with the rest of her insanely unhinged feed, was what made me hit unfollow on her account.
I wonder if lifestyle influencers such as Earle in their 20s are even thinking about what they are posting anymore. Sure, I understand if you think that a shirt is the cutest thing you’ve ever worn and you want to take a few fun pictures, but posting pictures incredibly drunk and fully exposed isn’t setting a realistic expectation for young girls in their following.
Lifestyle influencers, specifically Earle, have created a norm for what young adult lifestyles should look like — partying every night of the week it seems — but they aren’t healthy and they should strive to post more realistic content.
On her podcast, “Hot Mess”, Earle mentions that her body has been altered by plastic surgery and she isn’t worried about spreading that online because she wants young girls who see her to know that her body isn’t natural. I do admire that she’s making an effort to let people know about her cosmetic procedures, but the other side of her online presence seems careless, showing unhealthy behavior.
Additionally to her wild pictures, she also posts a lot on her story showing herself at festivals and clubs on the weekend drinking large amounts of alcohol to the point where she talks about blacking out. It can be very dangerous after consuming a certain quantity of alcohol to a person’s health and Earle has taken that to the extreme. People can make their own choices about how they live their lives, but at the same time, Earle shouldn’t be posting those kinds of videos and setting immature expectations of what a night should look like for young viewers.
Many adults make the choice not to drink and it’s not a requirement by any means, but with few influencers showing a moderate drinking lifestyle, it makes it easy to think that everyone is drinking copious amounts of alcohol and never missing a night at the club.
I used to put up with the substance abuse and body image parts of Earle’s social media presence because she was relatable, but not anymore. Since going viral in late 2022, every single weekend she posts about some new VIP event at a club or celebrity party because of her recent gain in popularity, something most teenagers aren’t able to connect to. She used to post get ready with me videos for college classes which were a normal experience for most younger people, but I don’t know of any teenagers who are going to red carpet movie premieres every week.
Though she can be entertaining and give great advice on certain topics like relationships with friends and significant others, Earle and similar influencers promote an unhealthy lifestyle for their young fan base.
Influencers should move towards posting more safe and healthy lifestyles with moderate drinking and realistic body image, to help young viewers understand that they don’t have to follow the unsafe choices they see online.
Your talent for writing is evident, this was a pleasure to read.
You have a knack for making complicated subjects accessible.
Really appreciate how you’ve laid out your arguments, very convincing.
Love how you broke down this complex topic, much clearer now.