Influencers Are Not All Right

Look inside the lives of those with a “dream job” that ultimately takes an incredible toll on their (and their followers') mental health.

- By Madeline Howard

Victoria Paris, 24, an influencer and Tik Tok It Girl with a total follower count approaching 2 million, was known for her "fit pics" with classic New York City backdrops, like graffitied storefront shutters, fire escapes flanked by skyscrapers, and her eclectic Manhattan loft, filled with Instagram-friendly plant life.

New York was Paris's aesthetic. Her aesthetic made her money. She left anyway.

For Paris, the benefits of documenting her life online (from her #HotGirlsSweat workouts to procedures like lip tattooing and chin liposuction) came with serious consequences. "I'd hear somebody scream my name at the top of their lungs, and then they'd run across traffic and grab me," she says. Now, "I hear somebody say my name and I flinch."

One of Paris's worst encounters was when a group of girls stood outside her apartment building, blocking the entrance and screaming her name as she tried to pass by. She realized for the sake of her mental health and creative spirit-that she couldn't stay in the city and moved to a less populated area of Los Angeles County.

"I just want privacy for the first time in years," Paris says. "I have really bad paranoia-which I have struggled with my whole life-that exploded under influencing. My brain just doesn't operate anymore. It operates with the fear of the future." She hopes nature and a more relaxed California lifestyle will help her heal.

Still, a cross-country move won't protect Paris from nasty comments, trauma-dumping in her DMs, and privacy issues in the future. "The Internet is so emotionally volatile that," after being dragged through the highs and lows on a daily basis, "I wake up feeling zero," she says. And while Paris is certainly a well-known presence online, she isn't alone in feeling unsafe or anxious about her influence.