Another problematic aspect of virtual influencers is their flawless beauty , supermodels of the past have all came under fire for their lithe figures and photo edited shots but virtual influencers create a beauty standard that is literally impossible to attain . Over the years social media has been blamed for the large rise in mental health issues among young users who struggle to separate reality from heavily made-up , plastic surgery-altered and digitally-edited photos of human influencers so how can an unattainable virtual appearance help to alleviate this worrying issue ?
While these points indeed raise questions virtual influencers do come with some benefits , specifically for the brands they represent , they require no work contracts , unions , pr costs , are controversy free ( you ’ ll never see a virtual influencer falling out of a nightclub !) and offer endless possibilities for modifications and with the rise in popularity for NFT ’ s the virtual world is in indeed an untapped goldmine .
THe WORLd ’ S TOp 5 VIRTuAL INFLueNCeRS TO FOLLOW
1- LiL MiqueLa - 1.6 million followers
Half Brazilian , half Spanish , Lil Miquela was one of , if not THe first virtual influencer to be created . The 19 year old is the brainchild of LA based start up Brud who specialise in artificial intelligence and robotics . She has also collaborated with Samsung as part of their 2019 # teamgalaxy campaign , teamed up with real-life super model Bella Hadid for a Calvin Klein advert and has even been listed within The Times ’ ‘ Most Influential people on the Internet ’ in 2018 .
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