Are celebrities having a bigger effect now than they did before?
A US study conducted last year on over 2, 000 adults revealed a rise in confidence in influencers among Gen Zers and millennials, from 51 % in 2019 to 61 % in 2023.  ,
More broadly speaking, market research firm YouGov discovered earlier this month that 21 % of Singaporeans surveyed in trust in “at least some” health advice provided by social media influencers. This is higher than the average of 16 % worldwide.  ,
Pertinently, the younger the members, the more comfortable: the characters were 28 per cent for Gen Zers and 12 per share for baby boomers.  ,
The COVID- 19 crisis that lasted for so long may have also played a role.  ,
Nicholas Teo, a full-time information publisher, uses the social media nickname @hargaochunks on TikTok, believes that the rise in influencers is also a result of the past few years of enforced loneliness, which has caused many young people to become immersed in social media.  ,
” There has been a boom just because of TikTok and COVID, people are really consuming more online media than standard media”, said the 29- year- older, who has over 50, 000 followers on Chinese- owned TikTok.  ,
According to Lim Sun Sun of the Singapore Management University ( SMU), influencers are also hitting a chord because they are more relevant than your typical CEO or brand.
” Formerly, our nation was very much concentrated on people in positions of power, or people who are particularly popular or powerful, these were the very popular representatives used for various kinds of advertising”, said the doctor of communication and technology.  ,
But social media has democratised material development and then “basically people” can build a following, she added.
Let’s say a mother with two young children who is very nice at juggling her work and her children, she may have a particular move and traction, she said.  ,
Businesses and governments are tapping on celebrities with a strong following among populations to tailor materials or policies to, according to Prof. Lim.
She continued, noting that these influencers do n’t necessarily need to produce well-written content to convey their message.  ,
” Sometimes, ( influencers ) will show certain days of their lives they feel less competent, when they talk about certain setbacks”, she said. According to  ,” This kind of credibility actually gives them that air of sincerity, which allows the visitors to interact with them on a different degree than if you use an established director or a celebrity.”