How bloggers shape our purchases and why we trust their recommendations | Ukrainian News

We often think we're in control of our purchases, but after seeing a favorite blogger's stories a few times, an item appears in our cart that we easily did without just yesterday. This chain – "saw → wanted → bought" – is so familiar that we barely notice how it starts.How to recognize manipulation in bloggers' recommendations, Don't give in to impulse purchases., LIGA.netI asked a blogger, influencer, and YouTube channel author Okay, Eva. Yeva Korshyk.We also spoke with psychologist Maryna Didenko, who explained why influencer recommendations often work better than traditional advertising – and how The illusion of closeness. and emotional contagion They reduce critical thinking when making purchasing decisions.Trust is more valuable than money: Eva Korshyk on the psychology of consumption and the influence of influencersEva Korshik works with these mechanisms from the inside every day – both as a consumer and as a person whose recommendation influences the decisions of thousands of people. According to her, the moment when a recommendation ceases to be just a personal experience and begins to really influence the decision to buy is almost always related to trust."It all depends on how carefully the influencer approaches advertising: how often they do it and what exactly they agree to recommend," she explains.Today, people are constantly being sold something – marketplaces, stores, targeted advertising from literally all sides. Therefore, when an influencer genuinely selects brands and recommends what they themselves use, wear, or consume, the audience really feels it. That's why, Eva is convinced, the most effective advertising is indirect: the kind that doesn't look like a sale, but like sincere advice.Along with trust, responsibility automatically appears: an influencer always risks their own reputation, because not every product can be 100% verified."I never manipulate my subscribers' trust. I don't come out with a 'ready-made result' and I don't take on advertising for something I can't vouch for or that hasn't been verified," shares Eva Korshyk, drawing on her own experience.She has clear "red lines". Eva never advertises casinos or cigarettes. The same goes for courses without applied value, "spiritual practices", meditations on money, or growth points. "I don't believe in it myself," Korshyk explains. The blogger always refuses astrology and Tarot, because she is sure that such recommendations can harm people.Is it possible to distinguish a genuine recommendation from a well-disguised manipulation?The "advertisement" or "partnership" label in itself does not make an integration bad. On the contrary, it is often through bloggers that people learn about useful services, English courses, applied learning programs, subscription sharing services, or receive discounts on clothes, cosmetics, or household items. The problem arises when aggressive pressure is used: "buy now", "only today", "you'll get a bunch of bonuses"."This is just a cheap game of emotions," Eva is convinced. "And here it's important to catch yourself in the feeling: you are not a person who can be manipulated. If you really need it, you'll buy it. If not, you'll just walk past."Before making a purchase "on a blogger's recommendation," she advises pausing and honestly asking yourself a few simple questions: why do I need this, how often will I use it, and could this item be useful in the future? Or, simply admit: yes, this is an emotional purchase – and I'm making it consciously."I believe that now is a time when even emotional purchases can make us a little happier. It could be some kind of gadget or, for example, beautiful lingerie from a marketplace. And why limit yourself if the item truly brings pleasure and isn't just consumption for consumption's sake," says the influencer.Eva admits that she has caught herself using this mechanism more than once. After seeing an advertisement for a peel-off mask with a spectacular visual result, she asked herself several times if she really needed it. "At some point, it became my last internal request to myself, and I said: okay, I'll buy it," Eva recalls, admitting that the decisive factor was not practical sense, but emotional effect.The real alarm bells ring when a person notices that they buy almost everything advertised by influencers. This often indicates a deficit of other sources of emotion – hobbies, sports, live communication, a sense of a fulfilling life. And then the online shopping cart becomes the easiest way to quickly "feel" something.In such cases, says Eva, it is worth looking not for a new purchase, but for new meanings outside of social networks.Why we buy what bloggers recommend: explained by psychologist Maryna DidenkoMaryna Didenko explains that an influencer's recommendation is not just a personal experience at a moment when a sense of closeness is formed between them and the audience."And when a recommendation comes from this person, it is perceived as advice from a friend or a loved one. And then, of course, it is listened to more – without doubts and critical analysis, with the feeling that this person will definitely advise something useful," the psychologist explains.A separate role, as the expert notes, is played by emotional contagion effect. For example, when joy, excitement, and "before and after" transformations are demonstrated, mirror neurons are activated. The audience unconsciously experiences this with the influencer and begins to want the same thing – not only the product but also the state, emotions, and status that it signals."It looks like a part of a life story: a person uses the product themselves, likes it, and then wants to try the same thing. At this point, the psychological defense that usually works during direct advertising is turned off," says Didenko.Speaking of responsibility, the psychologist emphasizes that it is shared but not symmetrical. The influencer is responsible within the limits of their own values and level of awareness of their influence. At the same time, social networks always show only a constructed reality: "We see only that part of a person's life that is profitable or safe to show. This creates the illusion of complete knowledge about the influencer."Maryna Didenko also refers to research in the field of social psychology and media influence, which shows:The stronger the emotional connection between the audience and a public figure, the less critically people evaluate their advice and decisions.That is why the influence of bloggers is not neutral, even if they do not consider themselves responsible for the choices of their subscribers. At the same time, the ultimate responsibility for consumer decisions rests with the individual and their ability to distinguish between a media image and a real personality, and between an emotional impulse and a real need."In other words, the influencer is responsible for the ethics and transparency of their influence, and the audience is responsible for the ability to think critically and not delegate their decisions to a media authority," concludes Maryna Didenko.The influence of influencers on our purchases is not magic or a conspiracy, but a combination of trust, emotions, and reduced critical thinking. By understanding how these mechanisms work, we can choose not to reject recommendations entirely, but to treat them more carefully. Because true control begins with a simple question to ourselves: do I want this, or was I pushed into it?Read alsoSaint Valentine or Saint Marketing: How Brands Play With Our Emotions and Budget

How bloggers' advice makes us buy: Eva Korshik – where trust ends and influence begins

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