What are “junk influencers”?

Junkfluencers are influencers who promote unhealthy foods in their posts: On YouTube, TikTok, Instagram & Co., online stars pose with snacks and drinks that are particularly high in fat, salt and sugar. This usually involves collaborations with companies that pay successful influencers to advertise their products .

Where is the problem?

Of course, children and young people are confronted with advertising everywhere. However, what influencers do, think and recommend on social networks has a particularly lasting influence on them. When their idols promote junk food, it has an effect on their eating habits. And of course, the influence of online stars is not only present in the promotion of unhealthy food - but also in the marketing of all other products, brands and services.

Why does influencer marketing work so well?

Influencers are extremely credible for children. They serve as role models, but are not perceived as aloof stars - in fact, they almost have the status of real friends . You can communicate with them directly by watching their stories, liking their posts, or sending them private messages. By letting their young fans share their very personal everyday lives through photos and videos, online stars offer an important source of identification and convey a feeling of appreciation and friendship .

When influencers pose with their supposed favorite soft drink in their hand, try out a new ready-made cookie dough or praise their own pizza creation, children do not perceive this as annoying advertising, but rather as a trustworthy recommendation - comparable to a purchase recommendation from a circle of friends.

On the one hand, children lack the critical distance from influencers, and on the other hand, younger users in particular find it difficult to recognize advertising as such. The challenge is particularly great online because editorial content is often difficult to distinguish from advertising product placement often used. For these reasons, children must be particularly well protected from advertising on the Internet. However, there are still legal gray areas here.

Which laws do influencers have to adhere to?

Advertising by influencers is subject to legal framework conditions . This primarily concerns the ban on direct purchase requests to children and the labeling requirement : Influencers must label advertising content as such as soon as they receive something in return for the advertised product - usually money, but also free test products or paid press trips, etc. receive.

German UWG that came into force in May 2022 , after contradictory court rulings and warnings in recent years have repeatedly led to confusion regarding the labeling requirement.

There are no clear rules . This means that influencers often design their advertising information very inconspicuously or do not clearly label their posts and videos as advertising at all. In order to protect children from advertising, it would have to be recognizable at first glance.

The fusion of editorial and advertising content becomes problematic when it comes to promoting junk food . Children's marketing for unbalanced foods is subject to hardly any legal restrictions in either Germany or Austria. here is primarily on recommendations and voluntariness such as the EU Pledge (a voluntary commitment by the food and beverage industry), the advertising standards of the World Health Organization (WHO) for children or the rules of conduct of the German and Austrian Advertising Council . But none of this is mandatory - that's why some companies and advertisers don't take part at all and others don't stick to it.

The influence of junk influencers

Recent studies on the subject of influencer and children's marketing show how much junk influencers influence their young fans: where there are no legal restrictions, the consumption of junk food is increasing significantly, as a report by Foodwatch revealed in 2021 - and worldwide More and more children and young people are overweight. Three quarters of the products promoted by influencers are so unhealthy that they violate the World Health Organization's advertising standards for children, as a recent study by the Medical University of Vienna shows. That's why experts are calling for restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy foods on the Internet - especially on social networks.

What can parents do?

  • Talk about influencer marketing. Explain to your child what advertising is and what it aims to achieve - namely, to get people to buy certain products. Make your child aware that influencers also advertise using sophisticated business models behind their appearances. Discuss what forms of influencer marketing (e.g. product placement) there are.
  • Practice recognizing advertisements on the Internet . Look for advertising references with your child (e.g. hashtags like #ad, #advertisement, #ad, etc., tags from advertising partners or links to companies), question product placements and puzzle together about what is really real about the posts is. The best way to do this is through play - the quizzes on social networks and online advertising .
  • Show interest in the online stars. Ask your child which influencers they like and why. Show you videos and posts from his idols. This not only helps you better understand your own child's fascination - it also gives you a better insight into the world of social media stars and an understanding of how influencer marketing works.

“Children in the Targets of Influencer Marketing” by the Chamber of Labor (AK) provides further information on the subject of influencer marketing

Source: SaferInternet

Also read: When companies manipulate children with YouTube stars!


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