JurnalPost.com -- Imagine opening your social media in the morning. Within minutes of browsing TikTok or Instagram, your screen is flooded with influencer posts. Some are enjoying coffee at luxury cafes, wearing designer clothes, vacationing abroad, attending concerts, celebrating birthdays with lavish parties, or showcasing what is considered an ideal physique.
For some in Generation Z, or Gen Z, such content may serve as a source of inspiration and motivation. However, behind that seemingly enjoyable life, an important question arises: is the lifestyle displayed by influencers truly worthy of being a standard for living?
This question is increasingly relevant because social media has become an integral part of Gen Z's daily life. Influencers are no longer just a source of entertainment; they can influence how one views success, makes choices, and forms their social identity.
Research by Pohan et al. (2024) explains that influencers play a role in shaping the preferences, purchasing decisions, and social identity formation of Gen Z. This means that content appearing on social media is not merely consumed as entertainment, but can also influence how the younger generation defines an ideal lifestyle.
The problem is that what influencers display on social media does not necessarily reflect their entire lives in the real world.
The Perfect Life Displayed on Social Media
One reason influencer lifestyles easily become a benchmark is that social media relies heavily on attractive visuals. Photos, videos, music, and even the choice of words in a post are designed to capture the audience's attention.
Even content that appears spontaneous may have gone through a process of planning, repeated takes, editing, and the selection of the best moments before being published.
The life shown is usually dominated by pleasant experiences, such as vacations, personal achievements, luxury goods, or trending activities. Meanwhile, daily struggles, failures, work pressure, and personal problems do not necessarily get the same space.
As a result, audiences often only see the best parts of someone's life.
In my opinion, this condition can create an unrealistic picture of an ideal life. Someone might start feeling their life is mediocre because they are unable to enjoy experiences similar to the influencers they follow.
Yet, comparing one's daily life to curated, attractively packaged content is an unfair comparison.
Photo caption: An illustration of a young person looking at social media displaying various posts about success, vacations, and luxury lifestyles. (Photo: Illustration)
When Trends Trigger the Fear of Missing Out
Another phenomenon that arises due to exposure to lifestyle content is Fear of Missing Out or FOMO, which is the feeling of anxiety about being left behind from experiences or activities that others are doing.
Research by Hakiki et al. (2026) shows that content regarding ideal lifestyles, personal achievements, and trending activities can be linked to the emergence of FOMO. This condition is also related to the tendency to compare oneself with others and seek validation through social media.
In daily life, this phenomenon is quite easy to find. When a product goes viral, some people feel the need to own it. When many influencers visit a certain tourist destination, a desire arises to go to the same place. Even simple activities like drinking coffee or buying clothes can turn into a need to follow trends.
The problem arises when these decisions are no longer based on personal needs, but rather on the desire to gain social recognition.
In my opinion, FOMO becomes an issue when someone feels they must always keep up with the latest developments so as not to be considered outdated.
If this habit continues, social media is no longer a place to find entertainment or information, but a space that creates pressure to always appear to be following others.
Not All Trends Must Be Followed
Nevertheless, the influence of influencers does not always have a negative impact. Many influencers share useful content, ranging from education, self-development, sports, and health, to skills that can be applied in daily life.
Content regarding study habits, time management, or someone's journey in building a business, for example, can provide motivation for Gen Z to develop their skills.
In such conditions, an influencer's lifestyle can be a positive inspiration because the audience takes values and knowledge that suit their needs.
Conversely, this influence can become a problem if the influencer's life is used as an absolute measure to determine success.
Someone might feel they are not yet successful because they do not own designer goods, have never traveled abroad, or are unable to follow the lifestyles popular on social media.
In reality, every individual has different economic conditions, family environments, responsibilities, and life priorities.
In my opinion, a person's success cannot be measured solely by the goods they own or the experiences they show to the public.
There are people who feel successful when they are able to complete their education, help their families, have a stable job, or achieve personal goals that may never be shared on social media.
Therefore, not all trends must be followed. Something that looks attractive on a screen is not necessarily in line with our needs and capabilities in real life.
The Influence of Social Media on How Gen Z Evaluates Themselves
Another thing to note is how social media can affect how someone evaluates themselves.
When seeing other people's lives that appear perfect too often, one might start questioning their own personal achievements. Feelings of being less successful, less attractive, or left behind by peers can arise due to the habit of comparing oneself.
This situation becomes even more complicated when the number of likes, comments, views, and followers is considered a measure of social acceptance.
In my opinion, social media should not be the primary determinant of a person's self-worth. Popularity in the digital world does not always reflect the quality of life, capabilities, or happiness of a person.
Gen Z needs to realize that everyone has their own life journey with their own timing and challenges.
Not all achievements need to be announced, and not all happiness needs to be proven through posts.
Understanding this can help us enjoy social media without constantly feeling the need to compete with other people's lives.
Setting Your Own Life Standards
Amidst the abundance of influencer content, critical thinking skills become increasingly important. Gen Z needs to understand that social media is a space where people choose specific parts of their lives to display to the public.
What is seen on the screen does not necessarily depict a person's situation in its entirety.
Therefore, every individual needs to determine their life standards based on their needs, capabilities, values, and personal goals, rather than merely following the life images popular on social media.
One simple step that can be taken is to get into the habit of questioning the reason before following a trend.
Is the item you want to buy really needed? Does the popular activity provide benefits? Is the decision in line with your financial capabilities? Or is the desire arising only because of the fear of being left behind by others?
These questions can help someone make decisions more consciously.
In addition, choosing accounts that provide useful information, limiting exposure to content that triggers excessive comparison, and appreciating personal achievements more can also be steps to build a healthy relationship with social media.
In my opinion, we do not need to stop following influencers. What is more important is understanding the boundary between taking inspiration and making other people's lives a demand for oneself.
Conclusion
Influencer lifestyles can be a positive inspiration while also potentially creating unrealistic life standards for Gen Z. The impact depends heavily on how the audience receives, understands, and responds to the content they see.
Influencers can provide motivation, knowledge, and new ideas that are beneficial. However, when the displayed life is considered an absolute measure of happiness and success, social media can actually create unnecessary social pressure.
In my opinion, Gen Z needs to be wiser in using social media and understand that everyone has different conditions and life journeys.
Happiness does not always have to look luxurious, success does not always have to be flaunted, and a meaningful life does not have to follow trends.
Ultimately, before deciding to follow something that is trending on social media, there is one simple question worth asking yourself: “Do I really need it, or am I just afraid of being left behind by others?”
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