THE INFLUENCER TIPPING POINT.

• Author: Farsad, Negin
• Position: HEMMING AND HAWING

What did we even have before influencers? Who told you about the latest skin care trends? How did you know to buy white furniture and accent it with pink pillows? That trick to calm a toddler's tantrum--who did you get that from when it was 2005?

It wasn't so long ago that the world of influencing was, what, magazine stories? Cultural critics who spotted trends? Or even more basic, conversations with friends?!

But now, we seem to be at the influencer tipping point. Firstly, there are too many--too many in sheer numbers and too many in distinct and increasingly ridiculous categories. There are influencers delineated by count: Nano (1,000 to 10,000 followers), Micro (10,000 to 100,000), Macro (100,000 to one million), and Mega (a crazy number).

There are influencers delineated by subject: "Momfluencers," Gaming Influencers, Beauty Influencers, Food Influencers (which for some reason aren't called Food-fluencers), Pet Influencers (like, actual people's pets who influence), Military Influencers, Senior Influencers, and many, many, many more. With every passing day, newer, nicheier categories are developed and monetized.

We're at a tipping point in terms of the reach of the concept. But we're also at a tipping point in terms of how we receive influencers. Everyone seems to love to hate them. But everyone also can't stop scrolling through their feeds and be unironically influenced by them. They seem to be taking over your Instagram and TikTok feeds, and yet, you don't remember following any of them. It's a weird influencer creep that you're begrudgingly accepting until... you start unfollowing.

Then there's the ethics of the thing. It's not a regulated industry, and everyone is now suddenly realizing that. Sure, peddling some kind of luminous skin serum seems ethically OK when you're a single lady with a pretty face to show off, but once you get into the world of parenting and Momfluencing, that's a whole different can of worms. There are photos of children that aren't old enough to consent. There are streams of income based on how good your entire family looks while, say, jumping on a trampoline. Do the kids get a cut of that money? There are children actually doing the influencing. And unlike child actors who are regulated by a series of unions and bylaws, children in the influencing space have no actual advocacy apparatus. We're just hoping that their parents are "good."

Again, what about the ethics on...