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How are we this easily influenced?

Social media has become a big part of our lives. It is not only a source of quick dopamine or a way to relax and spend our time. Our phones, especially social media apps, have dictated our feelings and shaped our thoughts. They influence how we interact, communicate, and decide. For instance, when we see a post with many likes, we are more likely to perceive it as popular or important, which leads us to interact with it or imitate similar behaviour. If more people like it, it seems more valuable and worth our attention, right? We tend to follow the crowd and lose our independent thinking.


So what are the core psychological mechanisms behind it?


•Attention capture and scarcity of cognitive resources - social feeds are designed to keep our attention through short videos, push notifications, vividness and bright images. All these things manipulate our short attention span providing us with a rush of dopamine. We often like something without even thinking about it, and it stays in our subconscious.


•Intermittent reinforcement and dopamine - every like, comment, or share acts as a small reward. Seeing others react positively to an influencer’s post makes us feel good and encourages us to join in, try the trend, or repost ourselves. This reward system makes us want to engage repeatedly.


•Social proof and conformity - when we see that many people are following a trend or liking a post, we assume it’s popular or desirable. If thousands or millions liked a trend, it signaled “this is cool” or “this is worth doing,” making us more likely to imitate it. We very often do things only because the majority likes it.


•Emotional amplification and motivated reasoning - funny, surprising, or cute content spreads faster because it triggers emotions. A celebrity doing something quirky makes us laugh, feel intrigued, or want to share. We tend to follow the trend because it’s enjoyable and makes us feel part of what’s popular.


•Authority and credibility heuristics - when we see a celebrity doing something, we automatically give them the authority. We trust their choices and are more likely to copy them without critically evaluating why it matters or whether we even like the trend or whatever they are doing ourselves. If they are celebrities, it means everything they do is worthy of imitation, doesn’t it?


What is mimetic theory?


Mimetic theory, from René Girard, explains that we desire things because we see others desiring them, and social media acts as a powerful “mimetic engine,” amplifying this imitation through influencers, curated perfection, and constant comparison, leading to intensified rivalry, envy, and a cycle of wanting what others have, from products to lifestyles, accelerating traditional human desires into viral trends and conflicts. Basically, we imitate not just behaviour but desires. We often have no idea what we want and hence just imitate others.


How can we notice it in our daily lives?


There are many examples of us being very easily influenced by some celebrities or influencers. Basically, most of the trends that we see on TikTok or Instagram have to do with it. Here are some examples that had the most impact on customers:


— Hailey Bieber - sushi and face mask

If you have a TikTok account, you have probably heard about it. Hailey Bieber is an American model, businesswoman, celebrity and influencer. A few months ago she posted a video where she was eating sushi in a face mask, and the whole world went crazy about it. Everyone started imitating her and adoring it. It may sound weird because it seems like something not unusual and ordinary. In fact, it was. It’s a great example of Mimic theory - it’s not really about Hailey Bieber, the sushi or the face mask. It’s about wanting what that represents, the whole aesthetic of it. People want to become the type of girl she is, her ease and luxury.

— Gigi Hadid - pasta

It’s very similar to the situation with Hailey Bieber, sushi and face mask. Gigi Hadid is also a very famous model, celebrity and influencer. Some time ago her pasta went viral. Again, there wasn’t anything special about it, it was just an ordinary recipe on pasta. It wasn’t an original idea, yet people started obsessing about it. If you would type in search (especially on TikTok) “pasta recipe”, at that time, Gigi’s recipe would definitely pop up first. By her authority, people idolize almost everything she is doing.


— “What are we wearing this winter/summer?”

Every season, people are asking, “What are we wearing this fall/summer/winter?” “What shoes are fashionable?” “What backpack should I buy for school?” instead of wearing what they really like. Fashion stops being self-expression and turns into a way of fitting in. We look for approval online, follow influencers’ recommendations, and choose clothes based on what is trending rather than what feels authentic to us. As a result, many people end up dressing alike, driven more by social validation than personal taste. We have come to a point as a society where uniqueness is no longer celebrated.


As we can see, social media has a tremendous impact on what we like and how we want to live. We feel the urge to do or buy something just because we saw that on TikTok or Instagram, and we don’t even realize that. We are thinking as an entire group, not for ourselves. There are so many microtrends that were popular on an enormous scale for no particular reason. However, I think it grew to that point where some people started to become aware of the absurdity of it. Maybe we started to notice it and will try to step out of the box as a society?

Page design Amelia Puchalska


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