The YouTubers faking trips around the world seem to be missing their own point.
Popular influencers are tricking their followers by staging vacations around the world, often without even leaving their home countries. Through some skillful Photoshops, elaborate planning, and careful posing, influencers almostmanage to convince their followers that they're really traveling to places like Italy and Japan.
But while they claim they're calling out social media for portraying constant perfection, the criticism falls flat coming from influencers.
As YouTuber Liraz Roxy noted in a video about her faked trip to Bora Bora, "If you have Instagram nowadays, you can pretty much fake everything, from your relationship to literally your lunch ... and it's so, so easy."
With a bag of leis and a few leftover photos from a vacation to Hawaii — which she pointed out was a cheaper trip from Los Angeles than buying an international ticket to Indonesia — she tricked her followers into believing that she was actually spending a luxurious week on a Polynesian island.
SEE ALSO:A 15-year-old influencer says she's married and pregnant, but is it just for clicks?"Please you guys, don't be depressed over something you don't know for sure because it can still be fake," she concluded.
The London-based YouTube channel Meet The Vloggers echoed a similar sentiment in their video about pretending to visit New York City. The video opens with an intense voiceover questioning whether the trio of vloggers can even pull it off.
"What you're about to witness will make you question everything you see on social media," the narration states. "Have we taken the lie too far? Will our subscribers ever believe us again?"
Most recently, vlogger Gabbie Hanna pulled off a staged weekend at Coachella without once leaving the greater Los Angeles area. She offered some thoughtful insight on the people who actually dogo to the desert music festival.
"It seemed like a lot of people weren't looking forward to Coachella," she said, listing the extensive cost of the festival and the numerous outfits, meals, and accommodations that go along with it. "There's a lot of people that go to Coachella who do not enjoy the experience just because they're going for Instagram pictures. And that to me, feels stressful."
In an effort to make a statement on how nothing on social media is real, the influencers seem to miss a crucial point: Despite calling out others for traveling for clout, they're still profiting off their faked Instagram posts.
Despite calling out others for traveling for clout, they're still profiting off their faked Instagram posts.
After posting a photo of herself against a Photoshopped desert backdrop, Hanna noted that she had never received as many tags and reposts as she did with the faux Coachella post. Earlier in the video, she said that fellow YouTuber Nikita Dragun gained 100,000 followers after posting Coachella weekend — so even if Hanna faked it, she was still benefitting from the status symbol that is attending the festival.
While it's admirable that influencers are using their massive platforms to call out the pressure for perfection on Instagram, hearing it from influencers feels a bit hypocritical. Even though the gag isn't as insensitive or dangerous as other YouTube pranks, like faking a pregnancy or walking around blindfolded, critiquing Instagram culture by faking a perfect trip is disingenuous because they're stillportraying a perfect life.
"I know a lot of people look at people on Instagram and social media and think, 'Wow their life is impossibly perfect," Hanna said in her Coachella video, acknowledging that she can't judge because she's also an influencer. "Looks and appearances are important when it comes to branding and your social presence ... just know that those things aren't always as attainable as they seem."
You have to admit that the challenge is way more cost effective than actually traveling, though.
TopicsInstagramYouTube
(责任编辑：百科)
Hiddleswift finally followed each other on Instagram after 3 excruciating daysStruggling to lead? Turns out, people like being treated like people (here’s how)Queer chef declines being interviewed for Ivanka Trump's website by spitting straight truthTrump remembers what cake he ate but not what country he bombed and help us somebody pleaseU.S. pole vaulter skids to a halt for national anthemCarlos Beltran made a very interesting hair choice
Apparently the Texas Rangers' Carlos Beltran is taking hair advice from another Carlos in sports --
...[详细]Completely understandable reasons why Trump and I both won't release our tax returns
President Trump has resisted extraordinary pressure to release his tax returns, and as someone who s
...[详细]Netflix puts troubling rumors about 'The Office' to rest in the best way
Fact: Episodes of 。 The Office 。are not leaving Netflix.
。Don't believe us even though we just did our
...[详细]Korn still exists and will tour with the 12
And so the nu-metal torch passes to another generation.
。 Korn, the band you listened to on a Discman
...[详细]When Honda revealed its stunning and grandparent-scaring Civic Hatchback Prototype earlier this year
...[详细]The cast of 'Silicon Valley' is totally divided on Snapchat
Snapchat or Instagram Stories?It's the eternal question of the social-media age, and the cast of HBO
...[详细]Twitter is gloriously roasting the ridiculous premise of House Hunters
Get your budget sheets ready.The HGTV hit show House Huntersfollows couples who are trying to find t
...[详细]Surly swan blocking traffic DGAF about your morning commute
People who say the wildlife in Britain isn't dangerous are, quite frankly, wrong.They've clearly nev
...[详细]This company is hiring someone just to drink all day
For the non-Don Drapers among us, drinking at work is a far-off fantasy. But UK company ILoveGin wan
...[详细]Of course Taika Waititi cameos as a huge stone alien in 'Thor: Ragnarok'
Prince of hilarious cameos and director of all that is good and funny, Taika Waititi is at it again.
...[详细]Xiaomi accused of copying again, this time by Jawbone
Iron Chef is coming back! Iron Chef is coming back!
