The sub-Reddits r/NYCInfluencerSnark and r/LAInfluencerSnark strike fear into the heart of any content creator whose name appears in their endless comment threads. Here, anonymous users share their unfiltered (and sometimes unhinged) thoughts about influencers — regardless of whether they follow them, like them, or even know who they are — for upwards of 145,000 people to see. One mom in her 30s tells me she reads these snark pages every morning over her cup of coffee while she breastfeeds her baby. “I’m taking the temperature of pop culture,” she says. But what exactly drives people to breathlessly speculate about the cause of TikToker Aspyn Ovard’s divorce or ruthlessly dissect every post from podcaster Alix Earle? We asked five Redditors how they fell down this rabbit hole and what drives them to snark.
The former marketer who knows exactly how much influencers get paid to post
Age: 28
Location: San Francisco
I went to college in New York City and then got a job in advertising. I worked at a bunch of different agencies, including influencer agencies. Because my job was so focused on being in touch with what’s going on in culture, like what’s trending and who the big names are, I was online so much and got really frustrated seeing how influencer culture has changed from when I was in high school. I secretly joined Facebook at 13, and then eventually discovered Tumblr and those first Blogger-esque influencers. The vibes were so much better. There was so much more effort being put into these channels, and they weren’t even necessarily making money yet. But then brands started to tap into it, pushing the needle from “I recognize this brand because it shows up on my screen all the time” to “I see someone who I want to be or who is like me with this product; I should try this. I’m gonna buy it.”
Knowing the business side, like how much these people get paid — more than my yearly salary in 30 seconds — it changed my perspective a lot and made me jaded. You start out working in a PR firm, you’re a junior-level person, and you’re making like $40,000 in New York City. You’re working 20-hour days. Then you look to the influencers who are like, “Day in my life: I just did Pilates and went to a happy hour and got 30 boxes of PR for free.” You’re just like, This sucks. I wonder if people feel the same way, or am I just a hater?
But then I found Reddit. I started looking at snark pages during the pandemic; I scroll first thing in the morning and at night. Sometimes I’ll take a little afternoon scroll with coffee or a snack. I only started posting this year. There was a weekly thread about this fashion blogger and her little universe of friends. I liked her, she’s been in the game for a while, and she’s in her 30s. But it’s been interesting to see how her content has shifted. She used to have these big content themes and YouTube videos. Now she’s just putting up Amazon Shop links. It’s superficial, and you don’t really get any personality from her anymore. It’s like, “You’re a glorified salesperson. Why should I follow you?” Plus, these people live unattainable lives. Looking at some influencers who started on TikTok, they’re buying a house at 23. Who’s doing that? I’m not trying to knock another woman’s accomplishments, but these are the people we put on pedestals. For what? They’re not doing anything important. I’d rather be following athletes or artists, people who contribute to society a little more than just saying, “These are the products I use. Buy them.”
I could have these conversations offline, but not all my friends are into the tea. So I’ll post, “did you see what happened with?” about an influencer, and if they’re relevant enough, people know. It’s validating. You’re just like, Oh my God, yes. Someone understands me. Gossip can be a powerful tool, and not in a bad way. Cultural commentary has always been a thing. This is just a more open-forum way of doing it.
I’ve had influencers respond to my comments. They go as far as to rant on video, which I think is so funny. I have to laugh because I’m so unserious; I don’t care about this person enough. I do care enough to say something if it bothers me. But the fact that you, as an influencer who has so much more money and power than me, felt the need to respond and explain yourself — don’t draw more attention to it. I’m not your PR person.
The cynical UX researcher who doesn’t believe influencing is a ‘real job’
Age: 36
Location: Milwaukee
I didn’t get on TikTok until late 2020. I was going through school still at the time, publishing papers in medical journals, and feeling very underappreciated, working my ass off to try to get somewhere. I’m a very cynical person, kind of snarky at heart. I think I’m still a good person, but I’m very jaded because I went through so much to get where I am. Then I see these content creators who don’t really have to do that much and don’t have a lot of substance, for the most part.
I don’t even know how I got on Reddit. All of a sudden, I fell into it. I liked the anonymity of it. On other social media, everybody knows who you are and what you’re doing, what you’re saying, what you’re posting. To this day, I’ll tell my friends, “I have this much Comment Karma,” and they’re like, “What the hell is that?” I won’t even tell them what my username is.
I like being able to say what I feel without worrying about what people think. I think I’m being funny, and I know I’m gonna get people responding and commenting; that does make me feel good. I’m not trying to be funny at somebody else’s expense. I could totally see why it would look that way, and I wouldn’t back down from that argument if somebody made it. But there are influencers who are fabricating their lives for quick money. My posting definitely comes from a cynical place. I’ve worked really hard to be a productive member of society, and you don’t really get recognition for that. But you can get recognition for finding the dupe of a Bottega bag on Amazon. It bums me out.
I will never go after somebody’s body or judge somebody on their sexuality or race. It’s just stupid stuff, like, “Why is this person blowing up her lips? They look like they’re gonna explode,” or, “this person has no substance. I’m sick of her talking.” The other day, I wrote something about an influencer who was like, “I’m gonna reopen my creative agency that I had.” It’s like, “You didn’t have a creative agency before. You’ve never worked.” A lot of people on Reddit work real jobs, and these girls will go on their Tiktok pages and be like they’re so miserable. I make really great money. I bought two homes. Like, I’m doing fine. This is just something fun for me to do. It’s a release for me because a lot of my life is research focused. I have to be so serious, and then on Reddit, I don’t. It’s hard for me to feel that much sympathy for anybody who’s willing to sell out for money, hawk really shitty products, and add to how terrible the world is already.
The property manager who met one of her favorite influencers IRL and wasn’t impressed
Age: 40
Location: Philadelphia
My job gets boring. It’s just me sitting in my office, waiting for something to happen, and I’ve got time to spend. I really don’t watch movies or TV, so I just read blogs and Substacks and poke around on Instagram or TikTok. But I’m probably on Reddit two to three times a day; I’m not active on any other social media. Ten years ago, many of my friends were still following influencers and bloggers, but these days they all have kids and have less time on their hands than I do. Distraction is a big thing for me.
I started reading this fashion blogger’s website two years out of college, and it was cute because she was talking about her college years. There was a nostalgia for that. When I moved to Georgetown, I discovered we had a mutual friend. I mentioned it to this friend, and they introduced us once. She wasn’t very nice. It changed my opinion of her. People have off days, so it could’ve been that. But now I just watch her content for entertainment. She does have some good shopping recommendations, and compared to a lot of other bloggers, I think she’s more authentic.
But it really bothers me when people aren’t aware of their privileges, and this influencer is horrible about that. She’s always complaining about her workload and her lack of time. But when you look at her Instagram Stories, she’s reading, playing with her kids, or needlepointing. And I’m like, That’s a pretty charmed life. I mean, some people read your blog who have two or three jobs. They would love it if they had even an hour a week just to needlepoint, but she complains if she doesn’t get an hour a day to do it.
Snarking just comes with the whole influencer thing. Even if you like someone, you’ll find something about them to snark on. It’s like if you’re a fan of Jennifer Aniston, and she’s in a movie you just don’t like so you talk about it — that doesn’t mean you hate her. If an influencer does something I think is dumb, I write about it and discuss it with other people, and then I let it go.
The stay-at-home mom of three who treats Reddit like a book club
Age: 42
Location: Toronto
I’ve been following one influencer with over a million followers for years, like before she had kids, before she was married. I’ve seen her profile evolve and have been interested in her life and the accompanying scandals with her. Over time, you begin to form opinions of the people you follow. Aside from a few friends who might follow similar influencers, sometimes you just want to talk about the things they’re doing. I probably Googled something at one point and it brought me to Reddit.
I have an interest in people in general, so when people are putting their lives online where I can see it, I like being able to comment on it in real time. It’s entertainment. I often post when something enrages me or when someone is showing off, like, “God, they’re on another vacation. They’ve already been on six and it’s only February.” I post when I feel like I need validation, like, “Am I the only person thinking this?” People are obsessed with The Real Housewives, which never really interested me, but people follow those characters and look forward to the new episodes and follow them online. This is my version of that.
There are people you follow that you hate, but you’re still interested in their life for whatever reason. You just want to see what crazy thing they do next. Somebody sharing an outfit is not necessarily controversial, but then you could post something like, “How many Chanel purses does one person need? Didn’t she just buy a new one last week?” That wouldn’t be something that I would necessarily post, because that’s not a big enough topic to get people talking. It would have to be something more scandalous or controversial.
Snarking is not a secret, but it’s not something I go to my friends with either. It’s very niche, and you’re going to find people faster online. A friend might follow a certain influencer, but they may not be attuned to all their different nuances. Reddit is more purposeful for me. I use it to gather information. I feel like I’m discerning, and I can see what seems real and what seems like people just talking for the sake of it. I liken snarking to having a book club. It’s nice to be able to discuss things with people who have read the same book, and can talk about the characters and the ending and the plot. In the same way, it’s like these influencers are an open book in that they put themselves online, so their followers are going to form opinions of them over time.
The tech worker who doesn’t want her friends to know she’s deep into influencer snark
Age: Early 30s
Location: New York City
None of my friends are as online as I am, and they’re not super interested in pop culture. That’s what I’m interested in. I view social media as a temp check for society: When you zoom out, what’s that looking like? I don’t really follow any influencers directly, but I get a lot of information from these snark pages. I’m usually just doom scrolling. I check r/NYCinfluencersnark maybe twice a day.
I’m a casual snarker. I really only post when I see intense and irrational comments and I feel like I have to say something to shift the tides because the conversation is so baseless. There have been times that I type out a post and delete it, because there’s actually no reason for me to participate at all. I don’t want to get into a back-and-forth. If the first three comments on a post are mean, they set the tone for everything else to follow. So I like to throw a wrench in there and break up the pile-on. It’s the internet; we’re not all supposed to agree on the same things.
I don’t know if anything is off limits. I’ll sometimes see people saying, “You shouldn’t bring up their looks,” but if an influencer’s page or what they’re promoting is primarily about their looks, then of course you can comment on it. I get that it hurts their feelings — I don’t disagree with that at all. But they put their lives on display, so you can talk about it. Sometimes it just gets repetitive. When every post is like, “Look at her lips,” It’s like, “We’ve seen her lips. We’re very aware.” There’s less of a line being crossed, and it’s more like you’re not adding anything different to the conversation.
I don’t think there’s anything I say on Reddit that I wouldn’t say to my friends or in a public space. I’m not freaking Mother Teresa in person and then this evil person online. But I like the anonymity of Reddit, and I wouldn’t want my friends to really know the depth of how far into this I am. It’s not part of the vibe that I generally want to portray. In my regular personal life, I’m talking about significantly more interesting things. My friends are not interested in this, and I would like less social media in my life. It’s a waste of time. I’m honestly still not sure how I feel about the whole snarking thing. My social-media habits feel icky outside of when I’m using them for my art or connecting with people. The word embarrassing keeps coming up for me, and I’m not an easily embarrassed person.