Are university influencers setting unrealistic expectations?

Social media algorithms are saturated with ‘inspo’ content that feels more like a lecture on ‘what your life should look like’, and university influencer content is no exception. Day in the Life or Get Ready With Me style vlogs, local food and shopping recommendations, and even finance and internship advice is pushed onto our social media feeds every day.

While marketed as inspiration or helpful tips, these often set a standard that is hard to achieve, making people feel that they aren’t doing ‘well enough’, or are being left behind. University influencers put out content that can be very helpful, such as highlighting alternative study strategies, or sharing money-saving tips for student life. But a lot of the content fed to us by social media algorithms sets expectations that are often unrealistic.

The problem with one-size-fits-all ‘inspo’ content online is that university is not a homogenous experience. University students are a diverse group, with many people moving far away from their families, some even internationally, and living alone for the first time. Each and every student comes from a different background, life experiences, and personal circumstances and will have a different experience of university life because of that. If our experiences, goals, and lifestyles are all different outside of being a student, it makes perfect sense that our student lives would also be different. 

University is a great time to try new things - maybe waking up at 4am to hit the gym is the perfect start to your morning, or maybe studying all night helps you really deep dive into your assignment. But starting every morning in the library at 7am with an overpriced coffee and ending each night in a new club is not realistic, nor is it sustainable for most of us.

University influencers can be very helpful sources of information, or a great resource for reviews and advice, but they often promote an ideal student lifestyle that is unattainable for the average student living on pesto pasta and Greggs sausage rolls. We often repeat mantras of social media being fake but seeing university influencers who attend your university makes it seem closer to reality, making it easier to get swept up.

Expecting to have everything figured out with finances, friends, family, and your future is a lot of pressure, and distracts from the university experience that allows you to create your community, discover who you are, and work towards your own goals and dreams.