A previous poster asked why follow these accounts if we find them annoying. Good question and for me it was entertainment/escapism to begin with but I have since unfollowed several of them and the ones I didn’t follow anyway, I stopped looking at them.
The ones I followed initially for some pleasant home/interiors content morphed into these selling platforms, some of them hustling hard. Sarah’s account was one of those that changed the most. Over time it was constant selling/ads - food, interiors, hair and beauty, kids clothes, fashion, kids accessories, dental and honestly cannot remember the rest. It was easy to swipe on by as the items didn’t interest me in the least. Also, some of the products were promoted by various other accounts and so that in itself became less genuine content - the promoter wasn’t necessarily a devoted user of the product but instead was just pushing sales irrespective of how good the product was.
Then there was the asking for recommendations - I recall one question about hairdryers - and lo and behold she was gifted a personalised hairdryer by a company that I can’t even recall. I seem to remember her talking enthusiastically about her food mixer and then was maybe gifted a competitor brand and then was extolling the virtues of it. Then there were the constant references to Foxford and now lo and behold she’s a BA. I do think there is most definitely strategy at play in all of the above. And you know what, if that’s where her aspirations lie then good for her. Just as long as the viewers/followers understand it for what it is - the objective being to sell, sell. Just because a mam and housewife from down the road is promoting a product, it may seem more relatable but don’t assume that it is her personal recommendation. I get that sales is part of her job now but it is important to understand marketing strategies and not just fall for the notion that Sarah is just like us so if she says it’s good then you should buy.
To be honest, the main reason I stopped following Sarah is not about the selling - that is merely an irritation resolved by swiping on by. It was because of the content.
Firstly, it was dull - bed runs, hair bands, tablescaping to name but a few things. It felt like a 1950s housewife page. There was nothing of interest to me any longer, it was all a bit vacuous and self-absorbed. And in many ways it was also a bit tone deaf. As others have said previously, she never mentioned the pandemic that I can recall. People dying, loved ones not being able to be there, the inevitable impact on livelihoods, parents struggling with homeschool, health workers and retail workers and teachers and the refuse collectors and many others keeping essential parts of society functioning yet all we got was look at all the stuff I ordered from Zara this week. I just don’t get that mentality at all.
Secondly and most of all, what put me off was the over-sharing. The kids were shown too much in my opinion but then again that is a decision she must justify as a parent. What sealed it though was the promotion of a podcast about grief. I never listened to the podcast as it doesn’t feel right to me to do so. From a previous post on here, it seems that she described her sister’s last moments as she held her daughter’s hand. Correct me if that is wrong as like I said, I have never heard the podcast. I would never want to diminish Sarah’s grief about her sister’s death but her sister had a partner and a daughter and other family and friends. To share those intimate last moments that the little girl and her mother shared should not be for public consumption. It’s more than just Sarah’s story to tell - it’s a story that belongs to her niece and her niece’s father and that little girl was too young to have a say. I don’t know if she got paid for the podcast and therefore monetised the situation but if not, the very fact of using that as content in any case put me right off. It seems that nothing is sacred.
The ones I followed initially for some pleasant home/interiors content morphed into these selling platforms, some of them hustling hard. Sarah’s account was one of those that changed the most. Over time it was constant selling/ads - food, interiors, hair and beauty, kids clothes, fashion, kids accessories, dental and honestly cannot remember the rest. It was easy to swipe on by as the items didn’t interest me in the least. Also, some of the products were promoted by various other accounts and so that in itself became less genuine content - the promoter wasn’t necessarily a devoted user of the product but instead was just pushing sales irrespective of how good the product was.
Then there was the asking for recommendations - I recall one question about hairdryers - and lo and behold she was gifted a personalised hairdryer by a company that I can’t even recall. I seem to remember her talking enthusiastically about her food mixer and then was maybe gifted a competitor brand and then was extolling the virtues of it. Then there were the constant references to Foxford and now lo and behold she’s a BA. I do think there is most definitely strategy at play in all of the above. And you know what, if that’s where her aspirations lie then good for her. Just as long as the viewers/followers understand it for what it is - the objective being to sell, sell. Just because a mam and housewife from down the road is promoting a product, it may seem more relatable but don’t assume that it is her personal recommendation. I get that sales is part of her job now but it is important to understand marketing strategies and not just fall for the notion that Sarah is just like us so if she says it’s good then you should buy.
To be honest, the main reason I stopped following Sarah is not about the selling - that is merely an irritation resolved by swiping on by. It was because of the content.
Firstly, it was dull - bed runs, hair bands, tablescaping to name but a few things. It felt like a 1950s housewife page. There was nothing of interest to me any longer, it was all a bit vacuous and self-absorbed. And in many ways it was also a bit tone deaf. As others have said previously, she never mentioned the pandemic that I can recall. People dying, loved ones not being able to be there, the inevitable impact on livelihoods, parents struggling with homeschool, health workers and retail workers and teachers and the refuse collectors and many others keeping essential parts of society functioning yet all we got was look at all the stuff I ordered from Zara this week. I just don’t get that mentality at all.
Secondly and most of all, what put me off was the over-sharing. The kids were shown too much in my opinion but then again that is a decision she must justify as a parent. What sealed it though was the promotion of a podcast about grief. I never listened to the podcast as it doesn’t feel right to me to do so. From a previous post on here, it seems that she described her sister’s last moments as she held her daughter’s hand. Correct me if that is wrong as like I said, I have never heard the podcast. I would never want to diminish Sarah’s grief about her sister’s death but her sister had a partner and a daughter and other family and friends. To share those intimate last moments that the little girl and her mother shared should not be for public consumption. It’s more than just Sarah’s story to tell - it’s a story that belongs to her niece and her niece’s father and that little girl was too young to have a say. I don’t know if she got paid for the podcast and therefore monetised the situation but if not, the very fact of using that as content in any case put me right off. It seems that nothing is sacred.
Last edited:
. It's mortifying.
Neptune 
However, while you are unlikely to compare yourself to Bethenny in NYC, you may be more susceptible to comparing yourself with Sarah down the road in Ballina (or any of the others who go down a similar path or are hoping to follow suit). After all they are just like us in some ways - local women, mams, some with careers outside the home. So you begin to feel inadequate as you perceive that they are all winning at life on the basis of what you see on screen - a nice home, everything tidy, make-up applied, different outfits every day, plenty of disposable income (to spend on frivolous tablescaping accessories - can’t get my head around that one lol), self-care/me time, all while juggling the family demands of sleepless nights/breastfeeding/homework/after school activities. You may buy what they are trying to flog through their brand ambassador roles because on some subconscious level you feel that you need that item so that you too can win at life. That’s the basis of marketing but when the marketing is delivered by ordinary mams/housewives rather than celebrities it is a little more sneaky in its methods. But....
