De-influencing Explained: Here’s How To Work Out If You NEED To Buy Something This Black Friday

15 Nov 2023, by Lydia Kah-Pavlou, min. read

Here’s how to work out if you really NEED your entire wishlist.

Black Friday is almost here, and you’re probably already seeing loads of great deals and discounts available. While Black Friday is a great time to score some discounts, it’s also easy to be sucked into buying stuff you don’t really need and otherwise wouldn’t look twice at if it wasn’t on sale.

Add Klarna, PayPal, and other buy now pay later websites into the mix and it’s all too easy to end up overspending on stuff you probably won’t get much use out of.

Luckily, the viral deinfluencing trend can definitely teach us a thing or two about making responsible purchases, so we’re going to break it down for you to make sure you’re spending your money in the best way possible.

What is deinfluencing?

Deinfluencing is the opposite of influencing, whereas influencers and celebrities often try and persuade us we need to buy something, deinfluencing can persuade us that we don’t.

First things first, influencers will do ads in which they’ve been paid to promote a product or have an affiliate link where they’ll get paid every time someone purchases something from their link. If they haven’t been paid to promote something, they’ll have been sent something for free in exchange for posting it on TikTok or Instagram and this can mean promoting products they don’t actually like or use.

It’s important to remember to look at influencers through a more critical angle sometimes because when they tell us to go out and buy something, it often benefits them and doesn’t mean it’s a genuinely good product. While there are rules about advertising guidelines, influencers can often be sneaky and not disclose gifted products or ads to make them seem more genuine and deceive their followers into buying things.

So, if you’ve seen several influencers really pushing for a product and speaking about how great it is, you’ll want to do some additional research first before taking their word for it. Look at product reviews online or see if you can find non-influencers reviewing the products on TikTok––their word is much more likely to be genuine.

However, deinfluencing is also about really evaluating if you need to buy something before you make the purchase. Think about if you really need the product, how much you’d use it, if it’s something that you’re going to use for years to come, and if you could find a dupe or alternative for cheaper.

@christina.mychas
Things i stopped buying when I decided to change my life – I used to be a shopaholic impulse buyer to my core. When I stopped buying these things, changed my money habits, and increased my income – I changed my financial future and my life. Who knew? #deinfluencing #shopaholic #impulsebuyer #buyersremorsemuch
♬ original sound – Christina

What are some examples of deinfluencing?

So let’s say you’ve seen loads of TikToks on your fyp advertising a specific colour or pair of Uggs, but you already have a different pair. Even though there’s a good deal on the new Uggs and you could get 10% off, it’s still going to cost you £120 and you already have a pair of Uggs you wear. Deinfluencing would be resisting the urge to buy a second pair and simply scrolling past the TikToks you keep seeing because you already have a pair that has plenty of life left in them and you could spend that £120 on something else.

Another example would be if an influencer was talking about an expensive skincare brand and how much you need to try it out. Even though you already have a lot of skincare products that you use and you’re nowhere near finishing them, you’re really tempted to try it out because there’s a code you can use from your favourite influencer to get money off. Deinfluencing would be remembering that every time someone uses that code, that influencer will get a % of sales and they’re only pushing this skincare product to get money in exchange, they probably don’t even use it.

So, how do I shop responsibly this Black Friday?

There’s no reason why you shouldn’t enjoy shopping and treating yourself this Black Friday, especially if you’ve been eyeing up something for a while and have been waiting for a sale. However, before you buy just think about if you really want it or if you’re just seeing a lot of advertising for it.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are a great time to buy tech products, so if you’ve been eyeing up a new laptop for uni or some noise-cancelling headphones, then go for it as these are things that will last for years and will be super useful.

Likewise, if you really want a new pair of trainers or some new clothes there’s nothing stopping you, but really think about how you’d style these pieces and whether you already have something similar in your wardrobe already.

Before you buy something, ask yourself the following questions:

Is this a need or a want?
How long will it keep me happy?
What do I gain from buying this?
Will I actually use this item?
Can I afford this?

If you’ve answered yes to all of these questions then you’re good to go—it’s probably a wise investment. If you’ve answered no to more than one, it’s probably best to reevaluate and consider buying something else this Black Friday instead! Just remember deinfluencing is all about responsible spending, and just because it’s Black Friday it doesn’t mean you have to buy things you can’t afford.

Don’t forget if you are planning on doing some Black Friday shopping and you’ve answered yes to all of those questions to use your Student Beans account to save some extra cash and score some discounts.