Natasha Huggins is mobilizing a wave of "neo-influencers."

The budding social media creator -- with over 11,000 TikTok followers -- uses much of her platform to introduce her concept of neo-influencing to the masses. Throughout a series of uploads, she explains that neo-influencers prioritize posting on social media in ways that feel genuine and authentic to them. The content doesn't harp on fueling consumerism and celebrity obsession. Instead, it idealizes never selling out "for a check."

Huggins highlights that neo-influencers subverse what traditional influencing is and is perceived to be. A big pillar of her concept is avoiding gaudy and disingenuous brand promotion.

"Thought[ful] leadership and honesty over superficial flaunting and deceptive advertising," she imparts in the caption of a Jan. 11 post.

Huggins also notes that neo-influencers may set trends instead of follow them, use their platforms "for good," and support BIPOC brands. They mostly upload impactful, immersive, experience-driven content -- not cookie-cutter posts.

At its core, neo-influencing might seem dismissive and too simplistic for today's ever-changing algorithms and push for online virality. That said, isn't that what many crave? A return to when everyone didn't have to have a specific niche or aesthetic? When we could post everyday moments without worrying if they were "Instagram-worthy?" When nearly every post on our timelines wasn't an advertisement, sponsorship, or haul?

The conversation surrounding nostalgia for the social media scene of years past is a growing one. While Huggins is the brain behind the term "neo-influencing," the call for returning to less marketing-heavy and forced content is a bubbling sentiment.

In her piece "You Don't Need To Post Everything," writer Freya India suggested that the weight of posting on social media and traditional "influencer" culture has negatively impacted Gen Z. 

"Influencers are of course the most extreme examples -- but this impulse is so ingrained in everyone now. This pressure to post everything. And I think it's a massive cause of anxiety for Gen Z. There's a sense now that something didn't happen if you don't share it," India writes. "I think if this generation is on track to regret anything, it will be the time we wasted documenting and editing and filtering and marketing ourselves for social media. Time we will never get back."

Although India advocates for embracing IRL experiences and putting the camera down, Huggins' neo-influencer approach might be the middle ground many aspiring content creators long for. The concept seems to chase authentic person-to-person connection rather than connection based on following, subscribing, liking, commenting, and aspiring to others' statuses. In fact, it could be said that neo-influencing encourages more admiration than aspiration. 

It gives hope of incorporating social media with more mindfulness, appreciation, and less FOMO.

"A neo-influencer is the revival of influencer culture -- like the 2016-2018 era," notes Huggins. "Back then, you didn't need an aesthetic. You were the aesthetic. Whatever kind of house you lived in or car you drove, material things didn't matter so much to people. We made videos for the fun of it. Your humanity, compassion, creativity, relatability, and community were what made an influencer so popular."

True to her neo-influencing ethos, Huggins is not hiding her concept behind a paywall or in an e-book she wants you to purchase. Instead, she's expressed a desire for her neo-influencing content to serve as "mentorship." She wants to guide the decentralization of influencer culture so we can be more engaged and authentic both online and IRL. 

Huggins believes 2024 is "The Year of the Neo-Influencer." What do you think?

 #AMAKACohortFeb2024