Influencers and the White Sock Phenomenon

Image Courtesy: CNN

At this point, I’m hopeful that we all can agree that the influencer market, while effective, has significantly lessened the presence of individuality. Social media has evolved to a point of what appears to be no return, drawing us in with trending music, distinctive opinions, clothing hauls, and product-pushing content. It’s not to say that I haven’t engaged in the somewhat harmless ecosystem of influencing, where our environment is defined as a digital space, and the cycle is perpetuated by products, content creators and media personalities, and the everyday individual like you and me.

As we scroll mindlessly, we are greeted by hundreds, if not thousands, of advertisements. I swear I’ve seen the same “Amazon Must-Have Closet Staples” video too many times to count, and, honestly, it has yet to pique my interest. When we are not watching carefully manicured advertisements from companies that don’t really need that much marketing, it is product recommendations (think essentials, “holy grail” items, what you need from [brand name]) with which we interact. From makeup to hair products, to shoes, blankets, appliances, water bottles, foodstuffs, lightbulbs, pens, planners, cleaning products… there isn’t a single area of life in which someone, somewhere, hasn’t been influenced. While this isn’t inherently a bad thing, it contributes to the excessive materialism we see in everybody we meet, promoting overconsumption and piling more out-of-style waste into our landfills. Influencer culture pollutes our environment, yes, but it also contaminates our minds.

The problem lies in the fact that we subconsciously decide to ignore such a dynamic, making us feel more confident in our choice to do what everybody else does without a second thought. At the risk of sounding cynical, I believe that we have grossly underestimated the power of influencers and made it next to impossible not to conform to groupthink. This is not to say that all individuality is lost, thrown into the heaping piles of toxic waste alongside last season’s sweater vests. Rather, it is meant to illustrate the transactional relationship between the company, the influencer, and the influenced, all reliant upon one another for one reason or another.

With that said, I’d like to take a moment to draw your attention to a trivial piece of news. Last night, I stumbled upon a video uploaded by some random TikTok user, who was raving about she’d found the last package of “hot girl socks” during a trip to Target. Curious as to what this even meant, I watched the remainder of the video, where she showcased images of Hailey Bieber. In these photos, there was not much of significance; however, Hailey was wearing run-of-the-mill crew socks in every single snapshot.

Image Courtesy: Byrdie

I remember thinking to myself, “she can’t be f*****g serious”, but I’m afraid that I was wrong in my assumption. What I was hoping to be satire took an unexpected turn, as the video revealed none other than a multi-pack of Hanes white crew socks. Socks that I, my father, and literally everyone I know have been wearing since I was old enough to form a coherent thought. Although scouring the comment section allowed me to find some comfort in the fact that there were others who agreed with me, I was alarmed by how many users expressed the inclination to buy these specific brands and styles of socks.

Image Courtesy: E! Online

Such a disappointment made me recall a time in which Nike Pro socks were considered the best of the best. From tie-dye to patterns, to regular solid colors, the grip those socks had on our generation was unbreakable. I remember when it was considered tacky for me to wear my socks over a pair of leggings, but now, the rise of the Hanes crew sock says otherwise.

With that said, the point I'm trying to get across is this: don't let social media tell you what to like. Instead, buy what makes you feel good, regardless of what you feel pressured to do (even if it means going to target for a multi-pack of Hanes socks). Our existence was not meant to be defined by material possessions. 

Have fun. Be yourself. Find something to occupy your time other than purchases and trends.

Strike Out,

Writer: Lexi Fernandez

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