– Get your head out of your own fox – VG

– If there is someone who feels bad after visiting your channels on social networks, is not it an idea to reconsider the content you choose to publish? Kristin Gjelsvik tells VG about Sofie Karlstad’s marketing on social media.

Gjelsvik is one of the representatives in Fim (the Professional Influencer Marketing Committee). Last week, the professional committee appointed influencer Sofie Karlstad for a light ad campaign for beta-carotene. The ruling has generated a lot of debate and the topic is well known: body pressure in the influencer industry.

On Instagram, Karlstad poses in a bikini on a beach, with a box of supplements. This was the second time that Karlstad was assassinated in Fim. VG discussed the case on Monday.

In hindsight, Karlstad has taken a hard line against Fim and VG. Karlstad believes that VG is equally guilty when it comes to creating body pressure and refers to articles on diet and weight. At the same time, he thinks that Fim basically just catches girls with one body type.

– I’ve never seen the sense that we “shame” people who achieve the ideal, or perhaps have a body that you wish you had, said Karlstad in one of the videos he posted on Instagram Monday night.

– But no, I just think that what Fim is doing is too stupid.

Kristin Gjelsvik has something to say about it:

– Full disclaimer!

– There are probably more who support the statement, who think that Fim is annoying, but for me it means abdicating responsibility and giving a vertical middle finger to all those who have wanted a more pleasant, safer Instagram community, with less body pressure . , she says.

– Sometimes it is about taking the head of your own fox and recognizing that you have a great influence and a great responsibility. If this is a responsibility that you don’t want to have, perhaps you should reconsider your work as an influencer.

She points out that Fim handles the complaints that come in and that there are complaints about Karlstad, which means she has been convicted twice.

Karlstad believes that it is not a disclaimer not to share Fim’s opinion on how to combat body pressure.

– Nor is it a disclaimer to criticize something with which you do not agree. I understand that you want to tip him so he doesn’t understand what I’m doing, but I did apologize for my previous conviction. I received the sentence in April, and these beta carotene ads were also running at the same time. Therefore, I have not had the opportunity to change the marketing, he tells VG.

– It’s all about context

Karlstad believes that he should have the same freedom to post photos of his body as everyone else. Gjelsvik thinks it’s all about context.

– Well then, diversity is a great thing, the body is great and we are all good enough as we are. Everyone should be able to post photos of the body, regardless of the body. But it’s about context, business collaboration, sexualization, and no less sexualization in a business setting. This case is also about making money off the insecurity of others. It is a shame to see that Sofie cannot accept criticism.

Karlstad says he understands what Gjelsvik means.

– But I think Kristin must also understand that not everyone shares her views. From now on, I’ll be more cautious and asked my followers in an independent poll about my advertising and body pressure. Because that’s what they are about. Not me, not Fim, but if fans feel more body pressure in my commercials, he says.

But Gjelsvik thinks it’s clear that marketing like this creates, to some extent, body pressure.

– But is it so dangerous then?

– Heh-heh, when you take it apart like that; It is free land and you can do exactly what you want. Is it so dangerous? Gjelsvik wonders.

– Yes, it can actually have fatal consequences. It appears in every survey that is done, how many people struggle with body dissatisfaction and poor self-image, and who struggle mentally with this.

What do the experts say?

Solfrid Bratland-Sanda is professor of sports science at the University of Southeast Norway. He says studies have been done that show that being exposed to the kinds of images, such as the ones Karlstad was shot, increases dissatisfaction with one’s own body among many who see the images.

– Fortunately, this increase is usually temporary, while body dissatisfaction remains in those who are particularly vulnerable and susceptible. Here, young girls are overrepresented. So there is evidence to say that such images combined with the marketing of this type of product can help promote body pressure, explains Bratland-Sanda.

She agrees with Gjelsvik that since Karlstad has been sent twice, she must answer for herself.

– Karlstad’s arguments indicate that he does not understand his actions in a broader perspective. This points to an issue with parts of the influencer industry where, for example, young reality participants make themselves known overnight and suddenly gain a lot of power and many followers without necessarily understanding what responsibility entails. .

Ingela Lundin Kvalem, professor of health psychology at the University of Oslo, says that those who are already vulnerable are most affected by content like this.

– We know that adolescents who are not sure about their appearance tend to be attracted to websites where appearance is in focus, and it is they who tolerate it the least, so it becomes a negative spiral, he says and adds:

– Girls who don’t care so much, don’t follow from before. If everyone had reacted the same, everyone would have been dissatisfied with their appearance. But it doesn’t happen. It’s about how much you’ve made the ideal body in the media your own ideal.

Kvalem finds it difficult to decide whether posts like Karlstads contribute to body pressure.

– She is not the only one with the ideal body. There are thousands of examples in the media of the “perfect” body, so it probably won’t make it better or worse. But it’s part of the general attraction to the “standard” in our society for girls.

– He must be allowed to criticize

Karlstad says there are several reasons why he doesn’t take Fim seriously:

– I take the law very seriously, but Fim has nothing legal. They follow their own terms and policy of excess, she says.

But he adds that, of course, Fim can be taken seriously if they make an assessment of equality of all types of organizations and all types of media.

At the same time, he points out that he will never take advantage of anyone’s low self-esteem.

– It is never something I have thought about when I posted on my channels or received comments from my followers.

Back to Gjelsvik:

– What do you think of her saying that she doesn’t take Fim seriously, that she becomes too stupid? So it might not work optimally if one of those that the professional committee is there to regulate doesn’t take it seriously.

– I think it’s not about Karlstad, but about everyone else! On those who are negatively affected by such collaborations. About those who feel bad about being exposed to this type of advertising. And if you think that Fim is an idiot, then you are really mad at the desire of young people for a better everyday life on social media.

– The influencers industry is big business. You must allow yourself to criticize it!