I Don't Want to Be Influenced, I Want to Be Understood

We’re Over the Everything Influencer

There was a time, circa 2018, when the goal was to follow that girl. You know, the one with 1.4M followers, a neutral aesthetic, a skincare routine she doesn’t actually follow, and a house that suspiciously looks like an Architectural Digest set despite her job being “content.” She posted about fashion, wellness, her emotional support oat milk, and once did a Revolve haul with 36 links.

And we were obsessed. Because that girl was everywhere. Until she wasn’t.

Now? The girls have left the content compound. We’re unfollowing the Everything Girl and subbing in 17 random micro-influencers with hyper-specific vibes and chaotic niches. The girl who reviews obscure French body oils and only wears black. The guy who posts memes about brutalist architecture and his Vivienne Westwood boots. The ADHD girlie who posts protein oatmeal, anime recs, and low-light mirror selfies with zero context.

Niche is the New Aspirational

People don’t want aspirational anymore, they want attainable with taste. They want a girl with 12K followers who thrifts lace gloves and says things like “I bought this to cry in at the museum.” They want the boy who posts blurry film dumps of flea markets and unread Proust. They want specificity. They want POV.

We’re entering the era of identity-based influence. If the 2010s were about curation, the 2020s are about personality cults built around girls who own one (1) good trench coat and a blogspot from high school.

It’s Not “Micro” Anymore, It’s Main Character

The reason niche creators are winning? Parasocial intimacy. When someone has 9,847 followers, you feel like you know them. They reply to comments. Their morning matcha feels real. Their bad outfit days feel intentional. You trust their recs, because they’re not getting PR mailers from Dior, they’re literally buying the same $8 lip liner as you.

Micro-influencers don’t post for algorithms, they post for culture. For community. For the five girls in their DMs who are also deeply into obscure Czech cinema and silk scarves.

The Algorithm Can’t Manufacture Taste

The best part? Big influencers can’t fake this. They’re too polished. Too broad. Too “here’s five things I loved this week” and not enough “here’s the tea on this brand that canceled my order in 2021 and I’m still mad.”

Taste can’t be mass-produced. And in 2025, taste is currency.