Influencers Gone Wild – All for Social Media Fame?

You all must have heard about ‘influencers gone wild’ on social media, while sitting with your peers, in conversations with friends, everyone is talking about this trend in 2025. 

But what does it actually mean? 

Influencers gone wild means influencers or content creators making untraditional, out of the box, out of the way, uncanny and sometimes controversial content mainly to grab attention of the users of the platform. 

Have you ever seen a content creator performing tricks over a rope? Have you seen influencers dancing BETWEEN roads while the signals are red? 

These are the examples of influencers gonewild. 

Why are influencers important for social media? 

Influencers play a pivotal role in the influencer market and social media. Influencers drive audiences and users on the respective platforms. According to a survey, 60% of purchases are made through social media recommendations by the influencers on the platforms. 

Influencers are important for driving traffic on websites through brand promotions and marketing and can help businesses reach more audiences conveniently. 

This makes influencer marketing one of the biggest markets on social media making it a lucrative paradigm for everyone. 

Why do influencers go wild on social media?

Influencers gonewild is an umbrella under which several terms and motivations thrive. One of the prime questions is, why do influencers do all this crazy stuff on social media? 

Following can be some of the reasons for that: 

Fear of becoming irrelevant

The fear of becoming irrelevant or the fear of missing out (fomo) is the prime reason for practising such tactics. 

There are nearly 5 billion social media users around the globe, so it sometimes becomes important as survival to become relevant. 

Attention-seeking behaviors

We all know attention spans are low so influencers try to seek attention in the first three seconds of their videos. 

For instance, in this 39 second video the influencers succeeded to grab the attention of viewers in the first 2 seconds. 

Peer influence 

Peer influence can come in different forms on social media especially in the forms of hashtags and trends. 

For instance the peer influence and trendiness of “rainbow kisses” motivated influencers to use the term in their videos on tiktok. 

How have the influencers gone wild on social media? 

Following are some of the examples in which the influencers have completely gone wild to create content for their audiences: 

The Tate brothers 

Andrew and his brother Tristan Tate are known to be one of the most controversial figures on instagram and beyond. While famous for their far-right ideologies and misogynistic comments they have often been called the gurus for creating ‘manospheres’ for the younger audiences. 

Logan Paul 

In 2018, YouTuber Logan Paul was criticized by the audiences when he posted a video of  a dead body in Japan’s “suicide forest”. Although the video sparked outrage among the public causing the temporary suspension of his YouTube account, the stunt was really wild in nature. 

Belle Delphine

In 2019, a social media influencer Belle Delphine posted a video in which she garnered attention by selling her bathwater to her fans. 

This ignited a lot of controversy and debate about the sensitivity of content being uploaded. 

Going wild by using trends

Many influencers have used and set trends on platforms like tiktok and youtube by posting videos which nearly sparked controversy and engaged massive audiences on the platforms. 

Running without clothes on tiktok

In 2022, some influencers started posting videos bottomless or nearly undressed on tiktok to gain massive attention on the platform. 

Although tiktok banned the trend it is a trend which sparked much debate on tiktok. 

Mukbang with insane quantities 

Mukbang is a food challenge in which creators eat a massive amount of foods such as greasy, spicy or other food items to become part of the trend. 

The trend set up a debate about eating unhealthy foods for setting trends. 

Blackout challenges 

Influencers encouraged the followers to hold their breath and restrict oxygen flow until they passed out — all for a challenge’s sake. 

It resulted in tiktok banning the videos following the certain trend in their videos. 

How to become a good influencer without going wild? 

While it is crucial to follow hashtags, trends and challenges like influencers gone wild and influencers in the wild it is important to consider the psychological health and considerations of the public too. 

You can follow the following steps for becoming a good influencer:

• Finding your niche 

It’s really important to find your niche whether you want to make content in fashion, gaming, tech or others. Choose what suits you the best. 

• Choose the best time 

It is pertinent to choose the best time to post on social media. Choosing the best time to post on instagram and tiktok can help your account flourish. 

• Choose the right platform 

The right platform is also important for becoming an influencer. You should choose the right platform such as tiktok, instagram, YouTube or twitter to start creating and influencing. 

• Buying active engagement

Many influencers buy instagram followers, tiktok followers, youtube subscriptions and other active engagements to increase their credibility. 

The future of influencers and influencer marketing

Despite the challenges, the influencer industry is expected to grow. The influencer market is expected to reach $25 billion in 2025. 

The market is expected to change in following ways:

Greater accountability

You can create and viral certain challenges but the platforms are going for more and more stricter policies and community engagement guidelines. 

So, it’s important to consider the guidelines  

The challenges of AI 

The world of AI is constantly evolving and AI tools are becoming more prevalent. This can be a challenge for both brands and influencers. 

Rise of micro and nano influencers

The rise of micro and nano influencers with less followings are being preferred more by brands in comparison to macro influencers. 

The reason is that micro influencers are more daring, open to challenges and community-driven. 

Conclusion

Although terms like influencers gone wild may have other connotations too, the discussion is centered all around influencers and their impacts on social media. From creating high-end trends on social media to understanding the motivations behind such trends we need to understand how impactful these trends can be for the influencers and their audiences. 

Frequently asked questions(FAQs)

What does ‘influencers gone wild’ mean?

Influencers gone wild means, when influencers create exaggerated, controversial and unconventional content on social media platforms like tiktok, instagram and youtube to grab attention of their viewers. 

Why do influencers  engage in extreme or ‘wild’ content?

Influencers engage in extreme or wild content for fear of missing out (fomo), having urges for attention-seeking behaviors and peer pressures and influence of becoming part of trends. 

Are there any risks associated with influencers going wild?

Yes, there are risks associated with influencers going wild because in the craze of going wild influencers can do stunts like eating viciously, holding breath and walking without clothes on the roads. 

These stunts can make you go viral but also can harm reputation in the long run. 

Can influencers be successful without resorting to wild content?

Yes, definitely! Influencers can become successful without growing wild or crazy. You must have a good niche, a consistent posting schedule such as posting the right content at the right time and sometimes buying active engagement.