Who Is Influencing Your Teen?

Most people want to feel accepted and valued by their friends, but for teenagers, the desire to fit in with a group is particularly strong. Peer pressure and peer influence can affect every aspect of a teen’s life, from the choice of clothing, hairstyle or music to decisions about drugs, alcohol and sex. While the concept of peer pressure has been around for ages, technology has created an entire new category of “peers” in the form of social media influencers.

Influencer culture

In a nutshell, social media influencers are online stars who use their popularity or perceived expertise to influence others to buy products that companies pay them to promote. The influencer marketing industry has grown tremendously in the past decade, approaching a value of $21.1 billion in 2023.

While using celebrities to sell products isn’t new, the dramatic increase in the number of people using social media platforms and the amount of time spent on those platforms has provided companies utilizing influencer marketing with unprecedented access to potential consumers. Combined with sophisticated algorithms, ad targeting and the use of AI, today’s social media marketing is as ubiquitous as it is subtle and even deceptive, making it difficult for the typical teen to realize they’re on the receiving end of a purposeful promotional campaign.

Tips for Parents

Giving adolescents the tools they need to think critically about the messages they’re receiving from social media influencers will not only help them navigate these walking, talking, interactive advertisements, it will help them develop decision-making skills they’ll use the rest of their lives. As always, communication is key.

Express curiousity

Expressing curiosity and engaging with teens about the influencers they follow and why they follow them is a good place to start. Consider following the accounts your child follows to stay up to date. As challenging as it can sometimes be, try to remain nonjudgmental, with a goal of open dialogue.

Talk about photo editing and marketing

This can also be a good time to talk about the way photos, videos and posts can be, and often are, edited and may not accurately reflect reality. Remind your teen that many influencers are paid to talk about or promote a product and discuss the ways this might affect the messaging.

Ask questions to help with the conversation. “Who created this video, and what is their point of view?” “What, if anything, makes this person an expert or someone you should trust?” “Why was this post created? To persuade me to do something?” “What information has been shared? Has other information been left out?” “How does this post make you feel?” “Do you agree with this opinion?”

Explore values

Help kids explore their own values – what is important to them and why, and how does this compare to what they’re seeing on influencer accounts. Encourage a “healthy skepticism” about influencer messages, and teach teens how to use fact-checking tools like Snopes and FactCheck.org. Talk about ways to identify sponsored content – look for hashtags and collaborative posts with corporations and brands.

Engage in real-world activities

Of course, the less time spent online, the less exposure adolescents have to this type of influencer peer pressure. Supporting real world activities, like sports and creative endeavors, that don’t involve computers and smart phones keeps kids offline and gives them a sense of identity and self-confidence. Developing a plan together to limit screen time will help create a lifetime of healthy habits.

Lead by example

Although it’s easy to forget, as a parent, you’re an influencer in your kid’s life, too. It’s important to lead by example. Parents who spend significant amounts of time online scrolling social media may struggle with “do-as-I-say-and-not-as-I-do” syndrome, making their own messages less credible to their children. Turn a critical eye to your own set of influencer peers and consider the role they play in your own life. Helping your child resist the pull of influencer marketing may help you do the same.

Julie Wenger Watson is a freelance writer who’s worked in all aspects of music promotion. She’s also Co-Director of “Live From Cain’s,” a public radio show pilot.