Written by Ida @hudvardshyllan

I created my instagram account last year to be able to post content about my main hobby - skincare. This is an account with the main idea and focus to inspire and be inspired by other like-minded people.

This account has been my release and along with it I have met many wonderful people. However, an unpleasant vibe has begun to spread and has worsened recently. This has affected my motivation to publish posts and also my energy to scroll through other people's content.

One day I was sad and published a story where I questioned this unattractive atmosphere/vibe. I have never received this amount of responses before, lots of others, just like me, testifying and feeling the same way.

This cozy, beautiful and supportive community has become like a rash (no skincare jokes intended) instead. What we need to remember is that; with social media in general is that trends come and go.

We are all inspired/affected consciously and unconsciously by what we see daily on social media. If this inspiration from others did not exist, almost no content would have been published. What we also need to remember is that -  the Swedish community is relatively small in comparison with the outside world, much of what is seen on social media has probably been trending internationally, for over a minute...

What a person posts will most probably not be the first or last time - and there is nothing wrong with this. The problem lies with people that begin to claim that they have exclusive rights and are "the first" on the ball with certain types of content - which actually already exists elsewhere.

We are here because we have a common interest, inspiration and education should be the focus, not a popularity war. Being able to google and collect information is called research and this is something that can be done by all literate people.

This however, does not mean that we should sit and pretend to be experts when there are individuals out there who have spent time training, ex: dermatologists, doctors, aestheticians or other skin experts.

If you become ill, you are probably looking for a licensed doctor, not a random person who calls themselves an online expert, "doctor google?".  Don't forget -  you, as a private person, may be equally responsible for the consequences of a recommendation that goes wrong - which also damages your brand in addition to your follower's skin.

Another contributing factor to all of this is when advertising links were released for "everyone" to use. Advertising links in general are not wrong, it's more how they are used.

What is evident are those who use their links in a genuine way on products they genuinely like, and then you see others who are more interested in making money.

Again, let's make it clear - there is no competition in who can deliver the most advertising links. We should raise and inspire each other to create great/inspiring content. Let's not create a witch hunt where we will pretend to have patents on things and kill a community that means so much to many of us - whether you make money or not.

As a consumer - don't believe everything that you see in social media channels. I know it may sound cliché, but there is no human on this planet that can test several skin care products every week or month, year in and year out and from that create a good image of something. Find out what skin type you have and if you have any questions, contact a trained person - no skin flu. Without seeing what appears on social media as inspiration.

No one is reinventing the wheel - not today, not tomorrow.

Peace

Ida @hudvardshyllan