Influencer advertising with risks and side effects

Any parent with a teenager in the family is presumably familiar with the following situation: almost out of the blue, they suddenly “need” new sneakers. Or the latest headphones. To what extent young people are triggered by advertising posted by influencers in social networks depends on various factors. Within the FAIR research project, Tobias Vogel, Professor of Business Psychology at h_da, together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI and the University of Mannheim, has examined what makes young people particularly receptive to influencer marketing. One of their findings was that the partly meaningless consumption not only costs money but is also a risk to mental health. That prompted the research team to suggest practical ways to make young people more resilient. The project was funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment and Consumer Protection (BMUV).

Interview: Christina Janssen, 7.5.2025

impact: My daughter is 14 and says: I know who’s an influencer, and I’m not influenced by them. Where’s the problem?

Professor Tobias Vogel: There are influencers who have considerable expertise and make a systematic contribution to education through their reach, for example by dispelling myths related to healthcare. The greatest reach, however, is in beauty, fashion, and so on. In what are known as “fashion hauls”, for example, influencers present 60 different outfits. You then see 10 jackets or whatever within a minute. The problem with this is that many youngsters (not all of them) believe that these people are experts and think: That’s great, they know exactly what’s cool and what’s not.

impact: Why should that give us parents cause for concern?

Vogel: Influencers often convey certain values in this way. What we have in this particular case is a reinforcement of materialistic values: material goods are something that defines me, that are important and by which other people recognise my worth. In our view, this is not something we want to encourage.

impact: Because this attitude is not only socially questionable but also a health risk...?

Vogel: Materialism a risk factor for depression, for example. Studies show that materialistic attitudes heighten a number of serious problems. Why? Because I never tire of buying things: I buy something, maybe even something I never use. I find short-term satisfaction in this, and then I fall into a deep hole. It’s an endless loop. From a business perspective, of course, this behaviour is highly desirable. But it’s not necessarily a good thing for the person concerned.

impact: How is such binge shopping linked to depression?

Vogel: It has to do with self-image and a lack of self-confidence: My self-esteem is low, so I buy myself a “better” one via material goods. But then I realise that this doesn’t help in the long term. And so it goes on and on. This can lead to mental illness.

impact: Is it only influencers that trigger such binge shopping? Doesn’t classic advertising with celebrities work in exactly the same way?

Vogel: In principle, yes, but when you watch a commercial on TV with George Clooney, you know it’s been casted and filmed. But when advertising is embedded in influencer content, it has a completely different effect. They tell us what they are doing at that particular moment: they put make-up on or talk about clothes, sport, sometimes educational topics and often computer games. They then use a certain product, mention it briefly, perhaps even describe it as cool. And then you can click on a link at the bottom and buy the product directly online with a “personal” discount. The influencers come across as very approachable and genuine – and as if they are your friends. This mixes all the different levels and advertising is harder to recognise as such.

impact: Why are young people more susceptible to this than adults?

Vogel: Certain things occur in a person’s development during adolescence. Their social orientation increases, and young people have a more pronounced need to find role models they can look up to. These are no longer their parents; the peer group exerts more and more pressure to conform. In this situation, influencers often act as opinion leaders. If you go to your daughter and say: “That’s cool,” she will tell you “You don’t know anything about it.” But the influencer does know something about it. They are much closer to the target group and enjoy their trust more than you do. Then there is the lack of control of impulsive behaviour typical in early adolescence: they see something – and they want it immediately.

impact: Are there groups of teenagers who are particularly at risk?

Vogel: Yes. Firstly, it has to do with age: the younger they are, the more receptive they are. Then educational factors play a role, as well as the need for social relationships. And materialism is precisely such a risk factor. Regardless of all the other influences, we are seeing that if children are exposed to materialistic influences at home, they are more at risk overall. Social media are therefore not the only risk factor.

impact: How did you find that out?

Vogel: For the study we’re talking about here, we interviewed over 1,000 young people and analysed how their consumption of influencer content correlates with various effects, such as a greater desire to buy something or with “maladaptive” buying behaviour. This means that a young person buys a product and later regrets it because they didn’t need it and haven’t used it. Or they didn’t even have the money for it. This might even lead to social conflicts, such as an argument with their parents.

impact: Is this “maladaptive” behaviour linked to the amount of time spent on social media?

Vogel: In the first instance, how many hours a young person follows an influencer’s content is not the most important aspect. The deciding factor is how much advertising content there is on a certain channel. The increased desire to buy a product is related to how often an influencer posts advertising content.

impact: Meaning that social media as such are not “evil”?

Vogel: No, I wouldn’t say they are. Although this is being discussed at political level all over the world, I would not support measures like the social media ban in countries such as Australia.

impact: Why not?

Vogel: Young people need the space to find out about themselves and experiment. In Australia, social media are banned for youngsters under 16 years of age. When they then reach that age, they are confronted with this world of social media for the first time. I think it’s better for them to experience it earlier, in a protected environment, while their parents or teachers are still around. Overall, our studies show that the negative effects decrease with age and increasing skills. This seems to me to indicate that young people learn from their experiences: if a young person has bought something three times from someone they regard as a friend and then realises they’ve run out of money and on top of that the product was bad, they might well learn that you shouldn’t take everything at face value.

impact: But you nevertheless say that more needs to be done to protect especially children and young people.

Vogel: Yes, it might be possible to stave off the negative consequences to some extent. That’s why we’ve produced a manual, which is not, however, based solely on our studies. The aim is to empower young people so that they question influencers’ social function as a role model and recognise for themselves that there are more important things in life than an impulse buy.

impact: What exactly do you propose?

Vogel: It’s a manual for social work in schools. The target group is children aged around 12 to 14 years. It contains various modules. One module, for example, is concerned with reflecting on friendships: Why do I like someone, why do I admire someone? It was important to us not to design this manual in such a way that behaviour is rated. It’s about encouraging reflection and finding out: What’s good for me? If the answer at the end is “a new gaming pad” – then that’s how it is. Another chapter deals with the question: Is life as an influencer really something to aspire to, is it exactly as I see it on the screen? The young followers only ever see a small part, but not the reason why many influencers at some point suffer a burnout and are obliged to stop.

impact: Your project team has also formulated some political demands. What do you say about labelling requirements?

Vogel: There are clear rules on labelling: if influencers receive money or non-cash benefits, this must be labelled. This is necessary, but it’s not enough because the mere indication that advertising is included somewhere in the influencer’s post is quickly lost. And young people do not necessarily recognise from the labelling that a product is only being promoted because the influencer is receiving money for it. So that not only young people but also adults understand what the labelling means, they need the right education as well.

impact: Talking of adults: if you look at the huge scene with fitness influencers and so forth who plug protein bars and shakes – is that also an issue?

Vogel: That is indeed an issue. Although children might have a greater need for social affirmation and a sense of familiarity, this doesn’t mean that adults don’t have it too.

impact: Thank you very much for the interview.

Vogel: Thank you (laughs) and now I need to check my phone…