Niche advice and self-help used to only be found in small bookstores and local talk shows. Now, they have become the backbone of contemporary social media. “Knowledge is becoming the ultimate status symbol,” brand strategist Eugene Healey says in a recent TikTok. “[It’s] something you can own and display, but never buy.” He claims that this “show of expertise” acts as a rejection of AI, making it a bigger flex over any material goods.
The creators who make it their business to empower their followers with knowledge encompass a wide range of disciplines. However, they often dwell on ever-popular topics like relationships, health, and money making, usually with a podcast mic or several involved. That’s because they want to appear as an “authority” in their self-improvement topic, which can be easily staged with an “expert” interview. They all want to appear like Steven Bartlett’s The Diary Of A CEO.
Some people simply regurgitate the ideas of other self-helpers that have come before them. A TikToker may share dating advice for heterosexual women via extracts of the book Why Men Love B*****s (2002), for example. Others preach the benefits of Neville Goddard, a writer whose promotion of manifestation (turning dreams into reality through positive thinking) could be interpreted as a predecessor to an entire subgenre of the self-help doctrine we find today.
The issue has become so widespread that in some places, measures are being taken to counteract it. China has introduced a law to fine influencers 100,000¥ ($14,000 USD) if they speak on “serious” topics like finances or health without a professional license or related degree. Although the spread of misinformation is undoubtedly the most serious risk that comes with this genre, its more immediate offense is that it’s simply irritating. There are only so many theories and sayings that can be applied to our existence before we forget how to do the business of existing altogether.
One of the biggest draws for these types of content is that they appear to answer the big philosophical questions that most affect the day-to-day lives of many. How can we manage our lifestyles to stay healthy and productive, earn enough money to live comfortably, or find and maintain a serious romantic relationship? How do we parent our kids and ourselves in a better way than our parents did? When the advice comes from the mouths of these relatable influencer types, finding a solution to these worries seems attainable and not yet another thing to keep you up at night. It also helps that we are presented with these answers in short-form video format, tricking our brains into thinking that the results are going to be just as fast and effective.
Some of the tips shared by creators who fall under this self-help umbrella are perfectly harmless. They can be useful, in fact. A platform like TikTok proves indispensable when it comes to finding free advice from qualified professionals or being introduced to verifiable life-improving tools that viewers might not have been exposed to otherwise. Advice like identifying signs that you might be in an unhealthy relationship or advocating for yourself as patients in a difficult healthcare system. Even some of the more hackneyed motivating theories and mottos are things that many will find helpful as they try to implement positive changes for themselves. Still, the examples that people are inclined to apply in their everyday lives become diluted when every other voice is shilling the “ultimate personal philosophy” that changes everything.
In a matter of years, we have gone from marveling that anyone can use the internet to become a celebrity to valuing those who rise above the tawdriness of five-minute online fame by dispensing pearls of wisdom in a convincing enough package. One Twitter user proclaimed in 2022, “I understand tht a very popular personality to perform rn is like ‘glamorous philosopher’ but some of you are stupid.” Basically, summarizing an issue that has only intensified since then.
Decades of living with social media have taught us that everyone is capable of having a public voice, but that doesn’t mean that everyone is worth listening to. Being perceived as intelligent is a powerful way to build clout, but even if your message has substance, there is only so much good it can do in an environment dependent on people always looking for the next truth bomb that will upend their lives for the better.
This content can have a positive impact when it has a solid basis, and those who consume it correctly put its message into practice. However, most of the time, it is every bit the escapism of AI slop. It allows people to dream of being a better version of themselves without ever putting their phones down.
