Entertainment
Molly-Mae Hague’s burglary illustrates the grimy underbelly of influencer culture
We see every facet of her life – is this the cost? (Picture: Molly-Mae Hague youtube)
The recent reported burglary of Molly-Mae Hague, perhaps the only super influencer who doesn’t make me want to throw my phone against a brick wall, is, frankly, a terrifying illustration of the current state of play.
Having your house ransacked is terrifying in itself. But also, how are we not seeing more headlines of this nature?
Instagram has fostered an environment where the humblebrag turned into a lucrative career, and these days ‘influencer’ is not only far from a dirty word but a way to make megabucks.
Looking really, really, ridiculously rich online is a genre. But is this life worth it when thugs are clearly watching every, expensive, move plastered onto their feed?
With her millions of followers, Molly-Mae has made a name for herself as one of the most bankable influencers and businesswomen out there. She’s just one of the countless stars who bank bucks from selling a certain, dare I say, aspirational, life online by sharing a glimpse into her own.
We feed a cycle of consumerism by throwing wads of cash at influencers like Molly – who, credit to her, forged what appears to be a sincere career online long before her time in the Love Island villa, and has evolved from YouTuber to creative director of Pretty Little Thing – to whack their name on a whole load of products and advertise a glistening way of living that is so far out of reach for the majority of us (partly because these coveted items sell out in minutes after they’re seen on someone with a following).
We see Molly’s wardrobe stocked full of Hermes and Louis Vuitton goodies. We salivate over our phones as she shows off her hard-earned Cartier bangles and ‘hauls’. Others flash their diamonds and trainer collections sporting sold-out items. And while 99% of us shed a little tear and scroll on, clearly there are others wondering how they can cash in.
Molly-Mae shared a picture of herself opening the box of her Cartier bracelet recently (Picture: Instagram/mollymae)
However, as the lives of these influencers are documented to their millions of followers with such great specifics, usually because they’re being paid to do so, this era of sharing has clearly brought about a nefarious underbelly of losers looking to take advantage of those they know are rolling in it.
The sad kicker is, the ability to chart these rich kids of Instagram’s every move has never been easier.
How many of the influencers you follow advertise when and where they’re on holiday (probably because they’ve inked a deal with some lush resort, which means they have to chart every inch of their getaway as it happens)? I’m sure you can name many who have documented the intricacies of house renovations in sponsored posts, or flaunted some limited edition item they were #gifted.
So many of us, not just influencers, are so lax with online privacy, perhaps misguided by the idea that if everyone is sharing what they’re having for breakfast, what they’re wearing, and where they’re buying their sodding pumpkin for Halloween (if I see another flippin’ local pumpkin patch…) we’re simply going to blend into the crowd and no one will focus on us.
What we fail to remember, though, is that it doesn’t take much for someone to figure out every intricate detail of your life if they want to.
Once for a feature I smugly dared a private investigator to find out whatever he could about my life, undeservedly cocky because I felt I kept my life under enough wraps to remain anonymous. I never posted specifically where I lived, I tried to be vague on holiday details so it wasn’t totally clear if I was home or away, and I never shared discernible images of my car.
Pah! I was a plum fool.
Turns out ripping your bank statements into teeny pieces of paper so no one can steal your identity from your bin is bogusly pointless if you share so much as (what you believe to be) innocent snippets of your life. In 48 hours said investigator found out not only my precise address, but also the make of my car and the number plate and a whole swathe of other personal information, all from a few posts on social media I’d thought were nothing short of ‘meh’.
It doesn’t take much. And I’m not famous.
In the wake of her burglary, though, some have suggested Molly is to blame for ‘showing off’ her wealth. They can sod off. She shouldn’t have to ‘learn her lesson’ because some people don’t understand the concept of, like, not stealing someone else’s things.
Influencers should be able to post whatever they want on social media, especially when it’s their job, and not be preyed upon. Sadly, while there is an appetite for this sort of social media sharing and I have no idea how we stop others from falling victim (and Molly is hardly the first – remember Kim Kardashian in Paris?), this is a level of victim-blaming I have no time for (and, similarly, after Kim’s burglary people shovelled the blame onto her for ‘flaunting’ her wealth).
More: Molly Mae Hague
Does the system need to change so influencers don’t feel the need to document every detail of their life to remain relevant?
Will we start to see less of their ‘real’ lives as they fear being the next target?
While I don’t want the likes of Molly-Mae to feel like they can’t share their lives us, because, while I can’t afford such a life, it’s bloody fun to watch it from afar, seeing as this is how influencers build their careers (and how on earth are they going to afford a Salt Bae gold-leaf tomahawk steak if they don’t keep their Instagram fresh?) her robbery has highlighted the dangerous and grimy side of a career so many aspire to forge on some level.
I suppose this is why we can’t have nice things.
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