I think we can all probably agree that the golden age of social media is officially over. We’re no longer posting wholesome and heartfelt statuses on Facebook or being unapologetically cringe on Instagram while simultaneously running a successful One Direction Twitter fan account. Instead, social media has become inundated with conspiratorial bullshit, the alt-right, fake news, and, of course, influencers.
Now, I know what you’re probably thinking: surely influencers promoting discount codes and self care tips isn’t as bad as everything else we have going on. Right? And while that’s true, it’s also time we talk about the fact that influencers and wellness culture is actually just yassified colonialism.
Let me break this down a little more. Originally, colonialism was basically just taking control of an indigenous population and land. As society has progressed, this initial form of colonialism has morphed into a bunch of other (more subtle) ways to reinforce colonial society. Technology and the invention of the internet facilitated global communication which coincided with a rapid increase in media production and subsequently gave birth to social media, all of which work to maintain and uphold a Western way of life. It doesn’t matter if it was intentional or not, the point is that social media tends to uphold Western values.
Let's park this up for a second, and talk about wellness influencers specifically. You know the type: Instagram and TikTok accounts filled with pictures of acai bowls (um, actually, it’s “Açaí”), green juices, poké bowls and supplements made out of God-knows-what while also promoting yoga, taking swims under the sunrise, and going on hot girl walks. This all seems to be under the guise of promoting wellness, balance and “reconnecting” with nature and ourselves.
Buzzwords like “nutrition”, “journey” and “performance” are used, and it gives you this weird feeling that you’re somehow unsatisfied or missing something if you don’t subscribe to this rhetoric or take the advice from these esteemed wellness gurus (they’re, like, 21 at best). This new social media “wellness” movement has become a lucrative marketing scheme, targeting the very vulnerabilities capitalism created. But here’s where things get fucked up: wellness influencers, and influencer culture at large, make bank off promoting a lifestyle of genuine connection of holistic health as if it’s some sort of new fad. I think you see where I’m going with this.
The values of community, connection and understanding the relationship between ourselves, our environment and our mind are pretty central to indigenous cultures everywhere. Even in Europe, where colonists tend to come from. We understand the importance of how all of these aspects work together, providing us with the mental, physical and emotional health required to look after ourselves and each other. And here, the environment is not a backdrop to our business, instead, it’s a part of us.
One’s physical health (a-tinana) supports the relationship between our bodies and our external environment. Our spiritual health (a-wairua) determines our inner self and our sense of direction. Our family health (a-whānau) helps guide our ability to care and connect with those closest to us, creating a wider support system. Our mental health (a-hinengaro) ensures our mind and body are connected, and helps nurture our thoughts and emotions. In Māori culture, these are all integral ways in which we can understand our sense of “wellness”, and where one element may be lacking or impacted, this provides insight into what we may need to seek out in order to get better.
The point is that for Māori, and indigenous people more broadly, this holistic view of health and wellness has been here forever. I don’t know how colonists lost sight of their version of whatever that is, but this new “discovering the secrets of health” bullshit reminds me a lot of “discovering” a new continent. Like, sure ya did. Good job.
Now, this form of wellness is being repackaged as “new” and “necessary” by wellness influencers to deal with the perils of living under a capitalist system, which perpetuates exhaustion and disconnection. Instead of looking to indigenous people, or critiquing the wider, systemic issues in our world, we’ve opted to buy into the wellness influencer scam, as if their discount codes and fruit bowls will fix all our problems. Colonialism relies on capitalism, and capitalism needs something to sell - so it’s now selling the very thing it single-handedly destroyed: a feeling of health and human connection.