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Lifestyle: Are blogs becoming unrelatable?

Wednesday, June 01, 2016

I’ve been blogging for around seven years now and in that time the blogging industry has changed tremendously. I first started my blog while completing my GCSE’s and to me it’s been a great hobby (and a slight addiction) alongside my studies. I still think it’s mad that I began fashion-train aged 15 completing my GCSE’s and now I’ve finished my degree and I’m nearly 22.

During this time I’ve seen blogs hit real ‘stardom’ in the sense that they have released books, make-up lines to name a few things and now we live in a society where some bloggers are considered ‘celebrities’ not just social influencers but have they taken this too far? Before I go on I’d like to point out that this post is not a ‘dig’ at anyone it’s just something I’ve continually noticed over the past year.

I don’t consider myself a ‘popular’ blogger and it still amazes me every time I upload a post that people want to know my opinions on a certain beauty product or fashion trend. I used to be someone who lived and breathed blogs; I used to read them all day everyday, as I just loved all things blogging. About a year ago now I became less interested in reading blogs, bloggers were becoming more unrelatable to me and I found that weird being a blogger myself.

The blogs I once looked up to were living ‘unrealistic’ lifestyles and posting about £500+ handbags, £45 lipsticks and the more and more posts I read about these topics the more I clicked ‘unfollow’ on blog lovin. I first thought is this jealousy? A lot of people could say it was, but to me it wasn’t.  I wanted to read about the latest Rimmel lipstick, not a £45 lipstick I could never afford on a student budget.

A few weeks ago I posted this tweet:



It received a lot of backlash from people calling me jealous etc when I’m really not. I love reading realistic posts, I’m still the everyday consumer, I still love buying the latest beauty products in Boots, I am not going to log onto Cult beauty and make a £200 purchase as that’s not within my means. I've noticed more and more tweets/blog posts appearing on my social feeds. Hayley from LDN Beauty Queen posted a tweet recently which received a lot of attention,



I read a blog post from the lovely Vix from Vix Meldrew and within it she wrote

‘What was once aspirational is now unobtainable. The girl who used to squeal in excitement over a Primark skirt that then goes to sell out, has gained 1 million followers in a couple of years and is now squealing over a new week away in Santorini with her new Mulberry bag and is taking away the entire Urban Decay newly released range.”

If you're looking for another good post to read on this topic check out Poppy's post here.

Vix really hit the nail on the head with her post. Not everyone wants to read a blog of constant holidays, £500 handbags and expensive beauty products. There is still a massive audience of people who want to read about those bargain make-up finds. The bloggers who lead this sort of lifestyle may get paid more money from sponsored posts/adverts etc but the readers haven’t changed to earn more money with them. The readers are still in the same job, making the same money as before and still want to read about the newest make-up launch in Boots which they can pick up on their lunch break.

What do you think of blogs right now? Are they still relatable to you? Have you stopped reading blogs which promote expensive products?
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22 comments

Anonymous said...

This is so true! I prefer to read the smaller blogs, I feel like the ones with a bigger followers are more commercialised now :(

Unknown said...

I find some blogs ridiculously ridiculous (great wording haha) especially when every other week they are going abroad and bragging about how much they all these different countries. What annoys me is when a blogger tweets about things they want and include the brand then a few weeks later they do a post on said item.

I'd rather read "normal" things anyone can afford written by normal women. :) I'm a new blogger and feel intimated by them.

Unknown said...

I'm so glad that you posted this, it will speak out to a lot of people who are in the same situation (like myself) who love reading blogs, but some are just aspirational which there's nothing wrong with it, but I'd so rather know about people's high street top picks than their Givenchy bag reviews! as you know, I've followed your blog for so long (and that was the first thing I said to you!!😂) and I enjoy that it's relatable, and always has been. Great post, well done babe! 💗💗

Unknown said...

I agree with most of your points and more. I started reading blogs about 4 years ago and I can see how the game has changed by far since then. What makes a blog unrelatable is when I sense pretence, desperation and lack of originality. But then again, I think there's an audience for every blog.

Unknown said...

Really glad I read this post, it gives hope to new bloggers like me that there will still be interest and readers when blogging about high street buys and offers!
chloemariecx.blogspot.com

Yasmina Magdy said...

I definitely think 'bigger' blogs are becoming are lot more lost and obsessed with sponsored and paid for posts. I completely agree with everything you said, the average blog is wanting to read about your bargain finds, what you got up to with your family last weekend or how to budget on a student lifestyle not about the £50 skincare product or the £100+ handbag that we can't afford. It's so upsetting to see it all change but I suppose everything does in time :) xx

Yasmina | The July Journal

Anonymous said...

This post is such a breath of fresh air! It's such a taboo these days talking about how blogs have changed and I'm glad to read your opinions on it! Sadly blogs aren't like they used to be but I still love reading posts about people's beauty bargains!

Love Katy @ The Rawrdrobe x

Aby said...

You raise a very fair point here,
When I was interested in blogs, there were always high end bloggers but the ones I followed religiously were 'similar to me' in the sense that I could buy what they bought and so on.
I do think it's a difficult issue though because their blogs are now 'progressing' as they start to work with bigger brands and earn more money - so their reality changes and they change from 'normal' bloggers to high end bloggers.
This leaves people like us two options - either continue reading and be annoyed that they have changed on us or we have to find the new wave of 'normal' bloggers which is not always easy because not everyone has that kind of time.
I don't really know what is right or wrong here tbh - they have a right to show us what their new normal is but then we are losing out on content that we find useful.

Do you reckon they could probably still do 'normal things' as well as their expensive expensive hauls?

(please I'd appreciate your thoughts on my blog btw)
capricornchic.blogpost.co.uk

Unknown said...

I totally agree and since I am still a new blogger and a student I can't afford all the high-end makeup. I only rely on the cheaper brands that also have great quality for example Rimmel or Essence. :)

blogbygreete.wordpress.com

Sahra said...

yessss! I've been feeling this way for awhile; these "top bloggers" don't have day jobs and wear fancy clothes that they are gifted and don't have to pay for. They're basically disconnected from reality and it's IS unrelatable. I've stopped reading some blogs because they are so hard to relate to.

You've always been a great and "real" inspiration. Keep it up girl!

XO Sahra
Que Sera Sahra

Selina said...

yes yes and yes. I'm going to retweet you now because it's just so true

https://matchamilady.wordpress.com/

Gatsbyandglamour said...

I agree completely! I just blog about my normal life as I enjoy blogging amd writing and to be honest, I love that I can look back and see what I was upto. And although occassionally I will buy the odd designer treat, I am high street and bargains all the way!!

Rachael!

Http://gatsbyandglamour.blogspot.uk

Unknown said...

Couldn't agree more! :)

I think we all secretly enjoy reading those "luxury blogs", just for the sake of fantasising. But those kind of posts don't hit the right soft spot. If you see 10 blogposts about a new 1000€ worth IT bag, you will maybe still like the bag and wish you'd had it, but in really you know it's not possible so you won't dwell on it. Whereas the posts with more attainable products will have more chance of convincing you to buy it.

But I think there's a bigger problem here. Blogs, especially fashion oriented ones, used to be for readers to draw inspiration from it, not just another selling channel like they can be now... It's sad, because you can literally see the same 10 pieces, styled almost the same way, on all top 50 fashion blogs, when they used to be so different.

♥ Pela

Cristina said...

Somehow throughout time I developed the ability to 'smell' fake and unrelatable blogs or blog posts. Although I appreciate those bloggers that inform you that a certain blog post is sponsored and so on.

www.janded.eu

Olivia said...

I completely agree with everything you've said. I think people tend to forget that the reason why blogging became a "thing", is because the girls behind it were more relatable than the magazines. Now, you don't "succeed" as a blogger unless you have outfit photos that look fresh out of a Vogue editorial, or have rose gold beauty products perfectly flatlayed against a marble background (complete with out of focus peonies and candles flickering).

I used to take my outfit photos against a brick wall in my garden - I'd have people comment asking where I got my shoes from, people emailing to say "I'm going to a party and don't know what to wear - can you help?" and I loved it. Then slowly, the visual aspect overtook the content aspect and I couldn't handle the pressure of looking perfect in my OOTD's. I think a lot of it is because visual platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram were on the rise, and before you know it, you've got "Instagram celebrities" attending Fashion Week at sitting front row. No one cares about the content anymore.

It's just a complete shift from the online world I fell in love with and I'm sadly beginning to realise that, as much as I love blogging, it's evolved into something I'm just not that interested in anymore.

Jess D said...

I agree with Banke. It's lost its rawness!

www.lookwhatigot.co.uk

Unknown said...

Totally agree with you! I used to be obsessed with reading blogs and if I'm honest now I hardly do. I stopped making outfit blog posts because I felt my photos weren't "good enough" anymore - I simply can't afford to hire a professional photographer to follow me around London and take great candid shots of me! Reading blogs nowadays makes me feel similar to when I flick through a Vogue magazine - inspiration can be obtained but realistically I cannot relate to anything I see. It's sad and has made me wonder whether I should even continue blogging! My readership is nowhere near what it once was anyway lol x

www.akilahsp.com

Chichi said...

I totally get where you are coming from. I saw your Tweet and I understood what you meant. It's true - a lot of bloggers' lifestyles are unrealistic and unattainable, and calling that out is not a sign of jealousy.

I like reading luxury blogs/blog posts/articles because for myself, it's a form of escapism. However, it's hard to relate to that kind of life, and it's hard seeing bloggers now living a life of luxury when they were the total opposite before, though I still feel proud for them.

I like reading luxury post but I'm a down-to-earth lady. I still want to read about budget posts. I still want to read/watch Primark/Boots/H&M hauls. I want to see items from the high street. I actually want to see bloggers who have normal commitments - i.e. full-time jobs, study, family, etc - writing about their lives.

For myself, I want both. Yes I like reading about luxury, but there is enough space in the blogging world for down-to-earth posts too.

Chichi
chichi-writes.blogspot.co.uk

Unknown said...

I think it's good to have a mic of both. As a blogger they're still catering to An audience, and if majority of their audience doesn't live the kind of lifestyle they do and can afford the same things it's not fair to the people that got them where they are today. And let's be real: high end doesn't automatically mean "better" than more affordable prices things. A $10 pair of shorts at Forever21 is just as good as a $70 pair from Neiman Marcus. When they're recommending products they need to keep in mind who's listening. It doesn't make sense to constantly talk about hauls from Sephora and Nordstrom when most of their audience can only get Target. It isn't fair to the readers. I feel blogging used to be about connecting with people that lead real, modest lives. As said in the article, bloggers nowadays are siting front row at Chanel fashion shows in Paris and endorsements from brands like Estée Lauder as if they're celebrities themselves. They may work hard for it, but compared to the struggling student or the mother of two working a 9-5, or the 16 year old that can't afford MAC, it's definitely a huge stretch.
I mean, some of these bloggers make luxury seem like a necessity now. We used to get excited when we could finally treat ourselves to that $100 pair of heels. Now people are literally showing off their Christian Louboutin and Chanel collection?? Come on!

Unknown said...

This is such a good point! The expectations for bloggers to reach success is that their content looks as close to a magazine as possible. Reading blogs It's honestly like reading a magazine now lol you see an ad for Chanel here, Dior there, a list of beauty products where the only thing you could possibly convince yourself to buy is the $15 mascara (that's already pushing limits), and 15 ways to style your favorite pair of Jimmy Choos (huh? You have any idea what my salary is??)
It's kind of ridiculous. Are they that out of touch now??

Salted Suite said...

I feel like YouTube has made us (myself included) rather lazy, but reading blogs is definitely more worthwhile. I don't like how commercialised and dumbed down everything has become these days, although I understand a lot of these bloggers are catering to a certain market. I like blogging/reading blogs, and I hope others feel the same!

saltedsuite.blogspot.co.uk

Miss Emma Charlotte said...

I completely agree, bloggers need to be careful not to isolate their readers and remember where they started <3

X Emma | www.missemmacharlotte.com

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