Woman Racks Up $10k in Debt Chasing Instagram Fame

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In every tale of woe there is a hint of warning for anyone that reads between the lines and, in the case of one woman that chose to spend thousands of dollars chasing ephemeral social media fame, the lesson might be more than a little obvious to our readers.

Social media is amazing in how it has transformed everything from publishing to advertising to media broadcasting.

One aspect of the medium that has transfixed millions across the globe is a social media platform’s ability to elevate someone to star status – a lifestyle that only few could aspire to previously but which is now very democratized by the rise of ubiquitous and ever-present social media.

And while being Instagram famous may sound like a silly notion to some of us, to others it is a very real thing and a goal to which many aspire, perhaps indicating a shifting zeitgeist and generational gap more than anything between those who understand and those who simply shake their head.

Image via Pok Rie from Pexels.com.

Also let’s not pretend these services don’t help make this dream “possible.” With the ability to pay for advertising for your account, or even pay for “follows” and “likes,” platforms like Facebook and Instagram can give someone the semblance of fame – at a price.

Lissette Calveiro finds herself approximately $USD 10k in debt after pursuing the dream of Instagram fame. Calveiro lists herself as a content creator and became intrigued with the idea of social media fame after moving from Miami, Florida to New York City.

There, she says, she became entranced with projecting a certain kind of lifestyle and often tailored her photos to project non-existent wealth and prosperity. She even went so far as to forego reusing outfits in photos and choosing locations based upon their Instagram-ability (a trend in travel we recently discussed here).

She told the New York Post that, even though she was earning a decent salary, she was living well above her means. At the end of 2016, Lissette said she needed a change and conquered her debts over the ensuing 14 months. Overall she warns other content creators to beware pursuing an image at the expense of a sense of financial wellbeing.

Indeed, Lissette’s story is probably not unique and is indicative of a cultural phenomenon perhaps unique to our times.

You can check out Lissette's Instagram account here.

About Author

Kehl is our staff photography news writer since 2017 and has over a decade of experience in online media and publishing and you can get to know him better here and follow him on Insta.

How’s this much different from placing a page in a source book (which costs thousands of dollars), or self funding a shoot for portfolio/stock use? it’s just another cost/form of advertising that either works or doesn’t, price of doing business I would say.

Yes, but we had to use the Illuminati as middlemen, lest savvy web denizens such as yourself discovered our nefarious plot.

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