Why Buying Likes Makes You An Insta-Fraud

You post like crazy, but your profile still lacks the ‘likes’ to make you the next Insta-star. Would you pay to give it a boost?

- Miriam Raphael

Who wouldn’t want to wake up to 40 million Instagram followers? For emerging beauty or fashion bloggers, it would be a social media dream come true. With such huge amounts of online followers comes the kaching of a rapidly filling bank account (top-tiers fashion bloggers reportedly can earn six figures a year) and lucrative endorsement deals – not to mention all of that free stuff.

This year, telecommunications company Digi released findings of a study by parent company Telenor’s research arm Telenor Research which showed that Malaysians are ‘digital frontrunners’ – with a high daily use of Internet communications at about 85%. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Total Retail Survey 2016, “Nearly three quarters of Malaysian respondents use social media to access promotional offerings while shopping. Consumers in South-East Asia demonstrate a strong desire to use social media in forming associations with their preferred brands.” So can you blame the tech-savvy generation for wanting a slice of this multi-million dollar pie, especially when all we need is a smartphone?

FOOL ME ONCE, SHAME ON YOU

But let’s face it, we’re not all Kimmy K; and with more than 400 million Instagram users, it’s hard to stand out from the crowd. It’s difficult competing with feeds filled with models, far-flung tropical locations, camera wielding boyfriends and swags of amazing clothes. But, now, aspiring social media influencers are also vying against mega-bloggers who are getting a boost via the dubious practice of buying their Instagram followers.