Deinfluencing is less about rejecting influence and more about choosing intentionality — it’s a quiet philosophy rooted in care, honesty, and enoughness. It invites us to slow down, question the noise, and reconnect with what truly matters.
How shared values — not trends — are shaping communities rooted in honesty, connection, and purpose
Not everyone is trying to go viral. That’s one of our big focus points in our meetings and discussions this week.
Many of the youth in our programs are often asked to make TikToks or social media videos — but they consistently choose not to. And we don’t push them to. In fact, we actively support and encourage their stepping away from that pressure and trend.
For many of the young people we work with, influencer culture feels like the opposite of who they are. It can seem theatrical, forced, extractive, and even grotesque — a kind of performance that doesn’t contribute to or reflect their authentic selves.
Instead, what we’re seeing emerging is a different kind of network focus — one that doesn’t chase trends, numbers, metrics, or analytics, but begins, simply, with care.
De-Influencer Culture
De-influencing — if we call it that — isn’t just about rejecting social media trends or viral fame. It’s about saying yes to a slower, more intentional way of engaging with the world and each other. It’s about moving away from social media as a stage for performance and towards spaces where honesty and care come first.
Before we can practice anything — whether it’s creativity, sustainability, or mutual support — we first have to care. Care for each other, for our well-being, and for the world around us. That care is the quiet foundation of this movement: people coming together around shared values like authenticity, transparency, and real connection.
This isn’t about building influence or obsessively tracking engagement statistics. It’s about building authentic relationships, genuine connection, and returning to the grassroots of community.
These communities prioritize connection over clicks, honesty over hype. The goal isn’t to be the loudest voice in the room, but to create spaces where people can show up as they are — imperfect, learning, and figuring it out together. There’s relief in that. There’s room to breathe.
What holds these communities together isn’t a product, a trend, or follower count. It’s a shared sense of purpose and the understanding that we can choose to live and engage differently — and that we don’t have to do it alone.
We’re not here to be something we’re not. We’re here to care — and to learn as we go.
