I think I am lucky, in that I didn't get the internet until 2003, when my youngest daughter was 1. I already had 2 older boys who were 8 and 6. Back then it was mainly message boards/forums like this. I used to frequent the old Bounty boards which was fine, but I was on my 3rd so pretty secure in my abilities.
I do wonder what I would have done if insta was around then, because I have severe and enduring mental illness. I was/am basically an influencers wet dream. Part of my illness is I am prone to manic behaviours and I can become obsessive. I was in £55k of debt because of it, I am now down to £29k debt after 9 years of being in a debt plan. I can't blame influencers for my issues, but I can point to the internet for making it very easy for me to buy stuff quickly. Yes, I was doing that in the high street, but I could drop a lot of money quicker on the internet.
I think that modern life makes people feel much more isolated, while at the same time more connected. What I mean by that is, we have so many more ways to find people with the same interests, but they may not have our best interests at heart. Take the HInch for example, her stuff started off with cleaning and most people could drop 10 quid on cleaning products to be like Hinch, but she has morphed into... I don't know what exactly? Is she a home account or a cleaning account or a mum account or all of them?
I think it's really unfair and cruel to berate people and call them weak for buying what people on insta are selling. People on insta are "relatable". We see advert on tv and know that's an advert. But we see Clemmie or Mrs Hinch or Zoella or whoever saying, "Hey everyone, I got this thing and it is the best thing ever, I totally love it, I know you'll love it too so here's a 10% off code"
I've rambled but what I think I am saying is that insta is nowhere near regulated enough. It is pure manipulation and the sooner the tide turns the better.