So… can we talk about the political and economic state of the world right now?
The national and global economic divide is getting wider, infrastructures are failing and impending doom seems right around every corner. In trying times such as these, what can you do to help? Solving an innumerable amount of world issues, or even educating yourself about them, is paralyzing. In a sea of bleak realities, the wonderful distraction of social media is the lifeboat of our generation.
Amongst these life rafts sits Becca Bloom and her content as the internet’s premier billionaire influencer. With over eight million followers on TikTok and Instagram combined, reactions to her content have ranged from adoring to spiteful. At a basic level, she just posts content about clothing she buys, trips with friends or even discussion videos about relationships. Seems pretty inoffensive, right? So what exactly about her or her content creates such a divide?
Let Them Eat Cake!
As a lot of her content centers around luxury shopping hauls, people have criticized her for flaunting an exuberance of wealth in a time where people are struggling to even meet their daily needs.
Her fans have lauded her for “rich-ing right” as some say that simply displaying the expensive things she purchases isn’t the same as rubbing it in people’s faces. Her soft tone and well-spoken demeanor play a lot into this, as she never falls into the trope of the snooty influencer.
On the other side of this, her critics bring up the fact that even posting the video, despite the polite tone, shows how out of touch she is. This has led to her being compared to Marie Antoinette, as she almost never speaks up about her wealth in the context of those without. Her content is never mean-spirited or malicious, but there is something to be said about how jarring it is to see in comparison to the state of society today.
Do Politics Matter?
In conjunction with these luxurious posts, Becca Bloom never speaks up on current events or political issues. In some of her longer-form discussion videos, she talks about relationships and women’s rights, but she never goes beyond that on issues that could affect people besides her. However, does she really need to?
Her content has not, and likely never will be, politically or economically focused. This is the case for a lot of content creators online, yet they don’t always get the same criticisms.
People who support Bloom say that her content is innocent and does not hurt anyone.
However, Bloom’s videos, like any creation, don’t exist in a vacuum. The people who watch her will inevitably connect her experiences to their own and to others, and that contrast will be jarring.
While social media serves as an escape, every other scroll is often a reminder of the world outside our screens. Going from a news reel of people starving in the U.S. and countries across the globe to a woman feeding her cat caviar off a Versace plate is the epitome of dystopian.
Rich is Not Relatable
Since her content almost purely revolves around her luxury lifestyle, it’s clear that she wants to connect with people through that medium.
However, there will always be that divide that her audience will be aware of. What she has, versus what you don’t.
What people seem to latch onto now is that they analyze how she isn’t as rich as she may appear to be. She’s been nicknamed the “billionaire” influencer, but internet detectives picking apart her lifestyle say she’s not even close.
Additionally, many of her TikTok and Instagram posts are sponsored, but not by the luxury brands she covets. She runs her account like your average rich influencer who takes sponsors, rather than what you’d expect from a “billionaire” influencer.
Ultimately, despite criticisms and comments made by numerous people online, Becca Bloom’s content has stayed the same. Hate comments are either deleted or disregarded. She has the right to do what she wants with her money, but should anyone even have that much money in the first place?
The guillotine may not be around anymore, but the critics of the internet cut just as sharply as any blade.
Have you heard of Becca Bloom? Let us know by tagging @VALLEYmag on Instagram.
