Topic: Molly-Mae, Privilege & 'Hard Work'

[spen71]

Never heard of her

[hide5seek]

to be honest I think she has a point.

I mean, Rees-Mogg, Cameron, Bojo the clown all came from council estates, worked hard and look where they ended up in life?

[lobsterboy]

To be fair, you originally said that people wouldn't have reacted negatively to a male influencer making those remarks (wrongly, imo, albeit you were quoting someone else) and have now shifted to saying trolling of women tends to be more toxic (which is a more reasonable argument).

Male influencers are just as bad, especially the roided fitness wankers.
There just aren't as many of them.

Very few start out from nothing. Money is usually required for the kit and for the lifestyle they hawk. Its hardly Jessies diets is it.

Ja Rule should have left the lot of them on that island.

[Alan_X]

I agree. We should be pivoting our education to give these kids skills that may be useful and also transferable to other things as a 'back up'. The world is digital now - learning how to code, how to take photos, how to run a business, how to graphic design etc are way more important than algebra.

Learning how to code is as useful as knowing how to service a car engine. It's interesting but largely irrelevant for 99.9% of people in their daily lives. Thankfully, the Steve Jobs philosophy of computing and technology has become dominant - it's all about intuitive user interfaces and ease of use rather than MS-DOS command line entry.

As for graphic design, it's a real skill that takes talent and years of training and experience to master. If by graphic design, you mean doing an A4 poster for a car boot sale with Comic Sans and a bit of Clip Art then fine. If you want good quality graphics then please employ a professional. 

As someone else said, if you can't do algebra then you'll struggle to run a business. Here's one basic equation that's at the core of my business: (S/CH) x (1+OH) x (1+PM) = HR. Salary divided by chargable hours multiplied by overheads and target profit margin gives me an hourly charge out rate for each member of staff. By changing the variables I can see how tight a profit margin I can aim for, or what salary I can offer for a particular role.

If you can't calculate basics like break-even points and profit margins you can't run a business.

[WhoHe]

Can't say I know who she is.

Having money behind you is a very big advantage in succeeding but it also allows you to fail, try again, fail .... I have seen this - mainly in the arts, actors, musicians etc.

I worked out in posh Cheshire for years and the thing there is the you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours mentality is alive and kicking. Money brings influence, "Not what you know but who you know" is a massive part of the advantage money brings, tennis clubs, golf clubs. are where the deals are done, introductions made etc.

Social mobility is not something posh Cheshire folk worry about as they expect to succeed and with their connections they do.

[Robinred]

This sums it up.

Love that - and so much truth in it.

The infuriating thing is that the attitudes embodied in the final frame don’t resonate as they should with voters. You see it in generation to generation - it’s why Downton Abbey, royal gossip, Dubai lifestyles et al ‘sell’. It’s why the ‘American Dream’ became a nightmare.

A number of posts mention education (some from current or former educators) and hint at fundamental changes to curriculum. I was reminded of a head I once worked for; he was a true high flyer - deputy head at 27, head of a 900 intake comprehensive at 31, Director of Education in his early 40s. He used to say that the problem with schools is that they find out what you can’t do, and give you more of it...

[lobsterboy]

Learning how to code is as useful as knowing how to service a car engine. It's interesting but largely irrelevant for 99.9% of people in their daily lives. Thankfully, the Steve Jobs philosophy of computing and technology has become dominant - it's all about intuitive user interfaces and ease of use rather than MS-DOS command line entry.

As for graphic design, it's a real skill that takes talent and years of training and experience to master. If by graphic design, you mean doing an A4 poster for a car boot sale with Comic Sans and a bit of Clip Art then fine. If you want good quality graphics then please employ a professional. 

As someone else said, if you can't do algebra then you'll struggle to run a business. Here's one basic equation that's at the core of my business: (S/CH) x (1+OH) x (1+PM) = HR. Salary divided by chargable hours multiplied by overheads and target profit margin gives me an hourly charge out rate for each member of staff. By changing the variables I can see how tight a profit margin I can aim for, or what salary I can offer for a particular role.

If you can't calculate basics like br points and profit margins you can't run a business.

Maths, pah! Doesnt get you hair extensions, lip filler pout and fake tits and the ability to instagram captions with christmas cracker level of  self help wisdom quotes. Will algebra ever get you invited to a kyle walker sex party or a place on chlamydia island? These are the skills society really needs!
All thats left is a Beckham kid's cookery show and utopia is complete.....

[TepidT2O]

As a point of information, kids are taught how to code at school  (at a rudimentary level) and gcse computing has pretty much replaced gcse ict (which was fucking useless). If you’ve done gcse computing you’d have a good enough basic ability in something like python to then go on and learn yourself (which is how you learn to code properly)

(Although they’ve trained no computing teachers, so this isn’t gong that well!).

[Clayton Bigsby]

Since when does having two police officer parents equate to growing up wealthy?

Molly Mae, especially in this post BLM era is supposed to apologise for being white and rich and she didn't, hence the backlash. What she said was vacuous but the fallout has been ridiculous.

It's not much different to Steve Harvey saying rich people don't sleep 8 hours because there is money to be made. Pretty sure there are several that sleep like a baby for 8 hours

[Elzar]

She is just a bit ignorant and probably doesn’t see it or doesn’t realise what she is saying.

I’d much rather than hate got put onto politicians that think the same way.

[alonsoisared]

It's funny how important tone is. "You can achieve anything if you work hard enough" is basically what every parent and school teacher tell you. Out of the mouth of a...whatever Molly Mae is, it's a hell of a lot more grating.

There's an obvious lack of self awareness there but I do think there's a bit of an overreaction too. Luck comes into it big time but there are also plenty of people out there who need a bit of a kick up the backside. There's no shortage of underachievers out there, not because they're any less privileged than she is but because they lack the motivation or work ethic and that's a fair thing to point out. Perhaps that's where she's coming from.

[Jshooters]

It's funny how important tone is. "You can achieve anything if you work hard enough" is basically what every parent and school teacher tell you. Out of the mouth of a...whatever Molly Mae is, it's a hell of a lot more grating.

There's an obvious lack of self awareness there but I do think there's a bit of an overreaction too. Luck comes into it big time but there are also plenty of people out there who need a bit of a kick up the backside. There's no shortage of underachievers out there, not because they're any less privileged than she is but because they lack the motivation or work ethic and that's a fair thing to point out. Perhaps that's where she's coming from.

Perhaps that’s where she’s coming from. But also perhaps there’s an implication in what she said that people who aren’t rich and successful aren’t that way because they don’t work hard.  Which is clearly offensive and incorrect because plenty of people work themselves to the bone and are still ‘poor’. This is what some people are getting pissed off about, understandably.  We don’t know which meaning she intended and perhaps she needed to communicate better in that respect.

[west_london_red]

It’s also worth mentioning that not every influencers career is based on their looks, Ryan Kaji is probably the most successful influencer and social media personality on the planet and he’s 10 year old kid.

[TepidT2O]

I think what she’s guilty of is not understanding the survivor bias

She worked long and hard, so doesn’t understand that so did lots of other people who didn’t have the breaks (either through luck or what ever else).

When millionaires say “I did it, so can you” they forget that you probably won’t by the law of chances. Most people work hard, most don’t get the breaks. That’s life

[darragh85]

i dont know much about this lady or what her talent is, if any.it would appear that her appearance is what got her where she is today as much as anything and im not suggesting that she didnt work hard when an opportunity presented itself to her but would it have if she was just an average looking person? i doubt it.

reminds of some of morgan freeman comments regarding people in the ghetto and how they should just get on a bus and do something and break out of it and refers to himself as an example of whats possible. Again, did Morgan Freeman make it through his hard work which again, im not doubting for one minute that he did, or was it because he was blessed with a talent that few are blessed with?

[idontknow]

Social media and reality show 'star' Molly-Mae Hague has caused ructions by saying, in an interview, that people can achieve whatever they want in life just by wanting it enough and working hard to get it, and rubbishing the notion that things like having a natural advantage in life (in her case coming from a well-off family, having good looks, being white) is not a factor.

It's a shocking lack of self awareness.

There was a R5L 'debate' on this earlier and one woman was vociferous in her defence of Molly-Mae's comments, saying that she herself started from nothing and made a successful business through hard work (the inference being that 'anyone can do it if they work hard'), and saying that Molly Mae has worked from being a teenager.

I reject this whole notion of 'work hard and you will succeed'. I know lots of people who have worked - and still work - their knackers off yet still struggle to financially achieve. I know people who've started businesses and worked 20 hour days to make it work but it's failed. I know people who have coasted and had a lot of financial success.

The common theme? Pure luck. Some people are born with intelligence or a keen savviness or a easy-talking manner. Others take advantage of the looks they were born with. Others are born into wealth and build networks in private schools that they exploit through their careers.

In the case of Molly-Mae Hague, she is inarguably pretty. Coming from a pretty wealthy 'middle class background', she spent her teens entering - and winning - teen beauty contests and progressed to modelling and then a bit of social media 'influencing'. It's from this - and due to her looks - that she appeared on Love Island. She homed in on Tyson Fury's brother Tommy on the show, and her 'social media following' increased massively. She's then leveraged this fame to start her own self-tanning brand and secured a plum job at online fashion company PrettyLittleThing.

She's been lucky - she was born into a family with a bit of money and, more importantly, with good looks.

To then claim in an interview that she's where she is due only to her wanting something enough and working hard for it, is pure arrogance.

But there's a wider discussion here. In the R5L debate, a frustrating number of people were droning on about 'hard work' and the need for us all to work hard. It's a very Tory approach to take.

Am I being unreasonable here? Does the recipe for success only involve the ingredient of 'hard work' and desire to succeed?

Had to go right back, have no clue who she is, or what's this about, but "inarguably pretty" does allow me for the first time in my life to sweep out my sleeve my winning quote,

"blessed with the adventitious irrelevance of photogeneity."

(The rather great Anthony Burgess - no, he was not a spy).

Although, and this I probably should not add, it occurs to me that since "inarguably pretty", then were she atop me the afore-quoted quote would undoubtedly tousle in my brain with a more approving perception.

[west_london_red]

i dont know much about this lady or what her talent is, if any.it would appear that her appearance is what got her where she is today as much as anything and im not suggesting that she didnt work hard when an opportunity presented itself to her but would it have if she was just an average looking person? i doubt it.

reminds of some of morgan freeman comments regarding people in the ghetto and how they should just get on a bus and do something and break out of it and refers to himself as an example of whats possible. Again, did Morgan Freeman make it through his hard work which again, im not doubting for one minute that he did, or was it because he was blessed with a talent that few are blessed with?

Your right about this girl and her living off her looks, but at the same time would people who have achieved great things with their mind and intellect been able to do so if they weren’t born with that mind and intellect? Feels like there’s a bit of double standard there sometimes.

[Jshooters]

Your right about this girl and her living off her looks, but at the same time would people who have achieved great things with their mind and intellect been able to do so if they weren’t born with that mind and intellect? Feels like there’s a bit of double standard there sometimes.

Yes but if someone who achieved great things with their intellect implied that anyone could do the same if they just worked hard it would be met with the same response. Simplifying success as being the result of hard work without acknowledging any built in advantages (be it looks, intellect, talent, privilege) does a disservice to the countless people who work hard but don’t achieve ‘great things’

[Son of Spion]

She is just a bit ignorant and probably doesn’t see it or doesn’t realise what she is saying...

I've written a few replies out on this topic then deleted before posting.

The above post, and the graphics posted in reply #76 by Brissyred pretty much sum it up in polite terms though.

[thaddeus]

I've written a few replies out on this topic then deleted before posting.

The above post, and the graphics posted in reply #76 by Brissyred pretty much sum it up in polite terms though.

Agreed about Brissyred's post.  Very succint without even touching on the other inherent discrimination that underpins or undermines much success once people enter the workforce (in no particular order; gender, race, class, disability, sexuality etc.).

There will be some people that have achieved astonishing things without any support and without any qualifications but they're few and far between.  It's why people like Alan Sugar shouting that qualifications aren't important is always grating - qualifications aren't the be all and end all but the correlation between qualifications and income is very strong and children should be aware of that as 12(/14) years of government provided education is one of the privileges enjoyed and sometimes wasted by every young person in the UK.  Sorry, going off at a tangent...

I didn't realise Molly-Mae was only 22 until someone linked her Wiki earlier in this topic (I didn't even know she existed until a week ago).  At that age it's not surprising her views are somewhat self centred and lacking empathy.  The whole thing is a product of how shows like Love Island can propel somebody's profile stratospheric almost overnight when they're not necessarily ready for it.

[Jwils21]

I personally find influencer culture mostly toxic and I think the reaction to Molly Mae’s interview is partly due to people’s general opinions towards these influencers. Firstly, Molly Mae is definitely a beneficiary of “Pretty Privilege”. She has been successful in exploiting an (ironically) ugly culture within social media where beauty succeeds over all, particularly with platforms such as Instagram which exist solely for image sharing. She was already reasonably “successful” on Instagram with a few thousand followers before going onto Love Island - a move which she has openly admitted was not to “find love” but to boost her profile and get her name out there. At the time she was on Love Island, I actually worked with an acquaintance of Molly’s who said from the outset that the way she was behaving on TV was totally different to her actual character, Tommy Fury wasn’t her type etc etc.

Since leaving Love Island she has been allowed to expand her profile by having brand deals thrown at her by fast fashion companies. Her following has increased and her lifestyle has almost become a benchmark for most, I know plenty who regularly post comparisons between Molly and themselves on social media, often begrudging how they don’t have the same looks/style/lifestyle or that their own partner doesn’t put in as much effort as Tommy does.

That’s where it gets really toxic. People start to compare themselves and their lives to a highlight reel of another person, who on the face of things wants for absolutely nothing. She will have days where she wakes up with a cracking headache, days where she feels down, she’ll experience sad days - but on Instagram, she’ll post a smiling selfie where her style conforms to social ideals. When it’s her Birthday, Tommy will often be sent packages of Balloons/decorations etc by sponsors and she will film them preaching about how fantastic her partner is - ordinary people will look at this with jealousy and even subconsciously compare that to their own partners efforts.

You then have people who work their actual arses off to provide for their families, who now see their own success as relative to that of an influencers highlight reel. People who work 40-50 hour weeks in low paid jobs just to put food on plates and a roof over heads for their family are heroes and achieving fantastically - but subconsciously they’re comparing themselves to someone who will wake up, get an Uber eats delivery, lounge around watching Netflix and take a few photos and get paid four times what a normal person would earn in a week for it.

It’s partly down to envy I’m sure, as who wouldn’t want a life of luxury for minimum effort? But it’s a hard game to break in to and thats where most of the frustration is born from, Molly and the other influencers of her style reap the rewards of pretty privilege whilst others can’t catch a break. Comments like this therefore cut deeper as subjectively the “grind” Molly claims to have put in is not as physically or mentally demanding as the graft put in by most just to put food on a table.

[Elzar]

I've written a few replies out on this topic then deleted before posting.

The above post, and the graphics posted in reply #76 by Brissyred pretty much sum it up in polite terms though.

Honestly mate, I used to hate these reality TV celebs, youtube stars etc. But most of them are just young still maturing and learning about the adult world, all while having vast amounts of money to handle. They aren't going to be oracles, and come out with inspiring quotes that a 30 year old man can take note of. She is literally just rehashing something she probably heard lots from teachers, and it's something you hear all the time from Footballers or successful celebrities in general, just in her fairly simple ways.

If we start delving into what these reality tv and youtube/social media people say, we are going to have a very full board full of disgruntled RAWKites (Trust me, it's an absolute minefield out there). Not worth thinking twice about, aim the anger at those that matter in life.

Instagram/Influencers as a whole is another matter, and something that could be discussed, but a generic comment such as "work hard to achieve your goals #shootforthemoon #buymyproducts" is nothing really.

[RainbowFlick]

I think the reaction to this is largely down to Molly-Mae being one of the biggest British influencers there is and not necessarily because she's a woman. There's not many male influencers in the UK that have her kind of reach and she stretches across demographics, I think somewhat because she didn't seem immediately unlikeable to start with.

I do think more broadly female influencers get more flack than male ones, but in this case I think there's just a bigger spotlight on Molly-Mae.

Been a lot of 'defensive' posts of her on this basis and making tenuous links to Caroline Flack etc.

[AndyMuller]

She isn't even that tidy either.

[Nobby Reserve]

I personally find influencer culture mostly toxic and I think the reaction to Molly Mae’s interview is partly due to people’s general opinions towards these influencers. Firstly, Molly Mae is definitely a beneficiary of “Pretty Privilege”. She has been successful in exploiting an (ironically) ugly culture within social media where beauty succeeds over all, particularly with platforms such as Instagram which exist solely for image sharing. She was already reasonably “successful” on Instagram with a few thousand followers before going onto Love Island - a move which she has openly admitted was not to “find love” but to boost her profile and get her name out there. At the time she was on Love Island, I actually worked with an acquaintance of Molly’s who said from the outset that the way she was behaving on TV was totally different to her actual character, Tommy Fury wasn’t her type etc etc.

Since leaving Love Island she has been allowed to expand her profile by having brand deals thrown at her by fast fashion companies. Her following has increased and her lifestyle has almost become a benchmark for most, I know plenty who regularly post comparisons between Molly and themselves on social media, often begrudging how they don’t have the same looks/style/lifestyle or that their own partner doesn’t put in as much effort as Tommy does.

That’s where it gets really toxic. People start to compare themselves and their lives to a highlight reel of another person, who on the face of things wants for absolutely nothing. She will have days where she wakes up with a cracking headache, days where she feels down, she’ll experience sad days - but on Instagram, she’ll post a smiling selfie where her style conforms to social ideals. When it’s her Birthday, Tommy will often be sent packages of Balloons/decorations etc by sponsors and she will film them preaching about how fantastic her partner is - ordinary people will look at this with jealousy and even subconsciously compare that to their own partners efforts.

You then have people who work their actual arses off to provide for their families, who now see their own success as relative to that of an influencers highlight reel. People who work 40-50 hour weeks in low paid jobs just to put food on plates and a roof over heads for their family are heroes and achieving fantastically - but subconsciously they’re comparing themselves to someone who will wake up, get an Uber eats delivery, lounge around watching Netflix and take a few photos and get paid four times what a normal person would earn in a week for it.

It’s partly down to envy I’m sure, as who wouldn’t want a life of luxury for minimum effort? But it’s a hard game to break in to and thats where most of the frustration is born from, Molly and the other influencers of her style reap the rewards of pretty privilege whilst others can’t catch a break. Comments like this therefore cut deeper as subjectively the “grind” Molly claims to have put in is not as physically or mentally demanding as the graft put in by most just to put food on a table.

Top post 

[jambutty]

Basing your career on the whims of a subset can be quite short lived.

Last year, a successful influencer of 2 years was interviewed.

The stress level of having to provide manic content day after day, shilling shite products for pennies, free samples, perks and next to nowt in cash.

Liability for faulty product damages, tax on gifts needs to be paid, reported, blah, blah.

Minifame.

Better than infamy, good learning tool about life, business and marketing, but still a brainfuck.

[50 Pence]

Nigel Frottage has come out in support of Molly-Mae so she's definitely in the wrong lol

[Only Me]

She's making a case for winning the award for arrogant self obsessed clueless prick of the week.

Which, considering Djokovic's performance, is some going.

[So… Howard Philips]

Nigel Frottage has come out in support of Molly-Mae so she's definitely in the wrong lol

Another publicity seeking twat. Actually he is no different from any other influencer except he bears more than a passing resemblance to a frog.

[Robinred]

Another publicity seeking twat. Actually he is no different from any other influencer except he bears more than a passing resemblance to a frog.

Of all the Brexit baddies out there, he’s head and shoulders the one I could go to jail for harming, given the chance. He brings out dark and murderous thoughts in my old cranium.

[CraigDS]

More outrage than what the leader of the country does.

She's said a fucking stupid thing, totally, we all did at 22 but just weren't in the lime light at the time. Is she prob a bit stupid, yeah sure, is she a twat, maybe, is the massive outcry deserved given some of the shite that goes on... nah.

[Elmo!]

More outrage than what the leader of the country does.

Is that true though? I literally haven't heard or seen a single thing about this apart from this thread. I wouldn't even know about it without RAWK.

[Nobby Reserve]

More outrage than what the leader of the country does.

She's said a fucking stupid thing, totally, we all did at 22 but just weren't in the lime light at the time. Is she prob a bit stupid, yeah sure, is she a twat, maybe, is the massive outcry deserved given some of the shite that goes on... nah.

Obviously, threads take on a life of their own, but my intention was to create a discussion on the wider topic of people 'achieving success' then dismissing the advantages they have had that assisted them, crediting only their own hard work - and then blaming people who are struggling for their lack of success and telling them they should work harder.

She's not the first to say or imply this, and won't be the last. Not just referring to people with public profiles, but in everyday life and work.

 I think most in the thread have taken this route in the debate, not making it simply about this girl.

[Jwils21]

More outrage than what the leader of the country does.

She's said a fucking stupid thing, totally, we all did at 22 but just weren't in the lime light at the time. Is she prob a bit stupid, yeah sure, is she a twat, maybe, is the massive outcry deserved given some of the shite that goes on... nah.

It’s just provided a platform for most to project their frustrations around the whole culture of influencers and social media as a whole, I suspect. That being said if the country projected even half of the outrage directed to Molly Mae at the government for having parties when we couldn’t even see our families then we might see some actual change.

[Elzar]

Obviously, threads take on a life of their own, but my intention was to create a discussion on the wider topic of people 'achieving success' then dismissing the advantages they have had that assisted them, crediting only their own hard work - and then blaming people who are struggling for their lack of success and telling them they should work harder.

She's not the first to say or imply this, and won't be the last. Not just referring to people with public profiles, but in everyday life and work.

 I think most in the thread have taken this route in the debate, not making it simply about this girl.

A worthy discussion on it's own. May I suggest we take "Molly Mae" out the thread title and just use her comments as a recent example, rather than drawing the attention to her individually for comments that many in the public eye make, might help move this thread away from her as an individual.

[bornandbRED]

Since when does having two police officer parents equate to growing up wealthy?

Molly Mae, especially in this post BLM era is supposed to apologise for being white and rich and she didn't, hence the backlash. What she said was vacuous but the fallout has been ridiculous.

It's not much different to Steve Harvey saying rich people don't sleep 8 hours because there is money to be made. Pretty sure there are several that sleep like a baby for 8 hours

What’s BLM or being white got to do with anything? Odd take.

She’s 22 and earning millions from getting shagged on TV. Someone needs to sit her down and explain ‘hard work’ is not why she’s in the very privileged position she’s in.

[Lusty]

Obviously, threads take on a life of their own, but my intention was to create a discussion on the wider topic of people 'achieving success' then dismissing the advantages they have had that assisted them, crediting only their own hard work - and then blaming people who are struggling for their lack of success and telling them they should work harder.

She's not the first to say or imply this, and won't be the last. Not just referring to people with public profiles, but in everyday life and work.

 I think most in the thread have taken this route in the debate, not making it simply about this girl.

I will just add a couple of things hopefully in the spirit of the OP.  First, whatever you think of Martin Lewis, I think this blog is a good explainer on what you need to 'succeed' in life:

https://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2017/08/martin-lewis-four-things-need-successful/

Particularly the first few paragraphs about the 4 things you need, and the last few about the difference beween making a bad decision vs having a bad outcome.  Only thing I disagree with is I consider talent to be basically a subset of luck.

The other thing is defining what you consider to be success, and apologies for using a wanky business term here but the best way I've seen of explaining that is the Japanese word Ikigai:

https://savvytokyo.com/ikigai-japanese-concept-finding-purpose-life/

I think very few people actually achieve the full thing.

[lobsterboy]

I personally find influencer culture mostly toxic and I think the reaction to Molly Mae’s interview is partly due to people’s general opinions towards these influencers. Firstly, Molly Mae is definitely a beneficiary of “Pretty Privilege”. She has been successful in exploiting an (ironically) ugly culture within social media where beauty succeeds over all, particularly with platforms such as Instagram which exist solely for image sharing. She was already reasonably “successful” on Instagram with a few thousand followers before going onto Love Island - a move which she has openly admitted was not to “find love” but to boost her profile and get her name out there. At the time she was on Love Island, I actually worked with an acquaintance of Molly’s who said from the outset that the way she was behaving on TV was totally different to her actual character, Tommy Fury wasn’t her type etc etc.

Since leaving Love Island she has been allowed to expand her profile by having brand deals thrown at her by fast fashion companies. Her following has increased and her lifestyle has almost become a benchmark for most, I know plenty who regularly post comparisons between Molly and themselves on social media, often begrudging how they don’t have the same looks/style/lifestyle or that their own partner doesn’t put in as much effort as Tommy does.

That’s where it gets really toxic. People start to compare themselves and their lives to a highlight reel of another person, who on the face of things wants for absolutely nothing. She will have days where she wakes up with a cracking headache, days where she feels down, she’ll experience sad days - but on Instagram, she’ll post a smiling selfie where her style conforms to social ideals. When it’s her Birthday, Tommy will often be sent packages of Balloons/decorations etc by sponsors and she will film them preaching about how fantastic her partner is - ordinary people will look at this with jealousy and even subconsciously compare that to their own partners efforts.

You then have people who work their actual arses off to provide for their families, who now see their own success as relative to that of an influencers highlight reel. People who work 40-50 hour weeks in low paid jobs just to put food on plates and a roof over heads for their family are heroes and achieving fantastically - but subconsciously they’re comparing themselves to someone who will wake up, get an Uber eats delivery, lounge around watching Netflix and take a few photos and get paid four times what a normal person would earn in a week for it.

It’s partly down to envy I’m sure, as who wouldn’t want a life of luxury for minimum effort? But it’s a hard game to break in to and thats where most of the frustration is born from, Molly and the other influencers of her style reap the rewards of pretty privilege whilst others can’t catch a break. Comments like this therefore cut deeper as subjectively the “grind” Molly claims to have put in is not as physically or mentally demanding as the graft put in by most just to put food on a table.

 

Sums up why I can't stand influencer culture.

[blert596]

I've nothing against the girl actually making a living out of what she's doing. Whether I agree or not if what she does is a worthwhile contribution to society is neither here nor there, I'd rather see someone be solvent and comfortable than the alternative.

What does grate me though is the pontificating, and the complete lack of self awareness and understanding of others plights.

[ianburns252]

I will just add a couple of things hopefully in the spirit of the OP.  First, whatever you think of Martin Lewis, I think this blog is a good explainer on what you need to 'succeed' in life:

https://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2017/08/martin-lewis-four-things-need-successful/

Particularly the first few paragraphs about the 4 things you need, and the last few about the difference beween making a bad decision vs having a bad outcome.  Only thing I disagree with is I consider talent to be basically a subset of luck.

The other thing is defining what you consider to be success, and apologies for using a wanky business term here but the best way I've seen of explaining that is the Japanese word Ikigai:

https://savvytokyo.com/ikigai-japanese-concept-finding-purpose-life/

I think very few people actually achieve the full thing.

In what way is "talent" a subset of luck?

The hours needed to be put in to simply be slightly better than shit at something are such that I don't see how luck can factor in to being talented.

You can argue that one might be lucky to have had supportive parents who would buy them an instrument, drive them to practice, even simply encourage them to try at whatever they are now considered passionate about but in no way does that eliminate the hard work that has to go in to actually developing the skill to the point at which they become "talented".

With this person - no doubt she is somewhat vapid and her comments are lacking nuance but as people have mentioned before she still has to do work of a kind (and for those going on about looks - she clearly doesn't just sit on the sofa eating KFC all day. The physical training and dieting she will put in to maintain a look is of a level re: commitment that most are simply not prepared to do).

She has certain advantages, absolutely no doubt, but you cannot simply put it all down to luck.

Once you eliminate those with inherited wealth/power I would say that those deemed successful have worked damn hard and the "luck" that they experience is only available to them because they have put themselves in a position to be able to take advantage of it due to working hard and developing themselves in an area of expertise.

I think it says something about many of the comments going in hard on these comments that they solely equate success with money and dismiss it all as being down to fortune.

In a way, people's advantages are to be celebrated - why should someone get slated for having supportive parents? If someone has a natural skillset it should be seen as a positive that this was recognised early and they were supported to develop that skill.