Influencer Comparison Depression

Social‑media feeds dominated by professional influencers (not friends) have shifted the reference class for ordinary consumers, increasing upward material and lifestyle comparisons and lowering aggregate consumer sentiment even when traditional macro indicators are stable. The mechanism is attention‑driven: algorithms prioritize aspirational, monetizable lifestyles that function as persistent benchmarks and fuel chronic dissatisfaction. — If true, this implies platform regulation, advertising standards, youth mental‑health strategy, and macroeconomic forecasting must explicitly account for attention‑shaped preference shifts that alter consumption and confidence.