Becca Monaghan
Apr 26, 2023
content.jwplatform.com
Social media is convinced the Kardashian-Jenner empire is losing its relevance – and now that the family reportedly haven't made the Met Gala cut, it's only fuelled peoples' observations.
TikTok is currently inundated with claims, with one user pointing out that the so-called downfall was impacted by several factors.
Commentators claim the family's influence was already spiralling – but believe the alleged feud between Kylie Jenner and Selena Gomez was the icing on the cake. Despite the pair clearing up rumours and explicitly stating there's no animosity, fans still aren't buying it, with Kylie losing almost a million Instagram followers in the process.
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Social media expert and marketing guru Jamie Love at Monumental also believes the family are "struggling to stay relevant".
"They simply are outdated," he told Indy100. "They rose to fame and influence at a time where we wanted 'aspirational' content, overly edited pics were so in style coupled with the desire to look perfect."
Flash-forward to 2023, and now, with the rise of TikTok "authenticity trumps perfection, people want the real thing," he said, using the likes of Lewis Capaldi, Lizzo, and Adele, who he calls "relatable and down to earth – unlike the KarJenner clan."
Getty Images
In a recent study, Gen Z was asked to name their favourite influencer – and not one of the family members made the top five.
There's no denying the Kardashians nailed the Instagram era with their perfectly positioned photos and aesthetically pleasing feeds – but the new wave of authentic content represents an entire cultural and generational shift.
The For Life podcast discussed this transition, suggesting that the family's having a "harder time keeping up" with the new TikTok generation. "It's hard to relate because I feel like the new TikTok generation is so young and they're not."
She continued: "They're also so – I don't want to say 'fake' – but everything's very like put together and planned and just like meticulous – whereas the new wave of content in media is the real, raw things."
Arguably, Kim – or her PR team – is already onto it, with a recent candid post showing her trip to the dentist. While this wouldn't be an out-of-the-ordinary post for most, fans of the star were left in awe by her new approach.
Others believe the family are "losing their hype" as a result of taking PR stunts way too far. TikToker Gizem (@itsmorethanjustgossip) claims the moves have become so outlandish that they've become completely detached from reality.
"Kylie can do the most simple, seemingly casual TikTok about doing her makeup and people will say it's a calculated, inauthentic PR move," Gizem said, before launching into the fact Kylie announced her son's name on Instagram almost a year after he was born.
Gizem says she believes the Kardashians will not be "cancelled" as such, but "they might lose their hype and I think it has already started" – especially given the current climate.
Jamie added: "people are struggling with the cost of living crisis, war, Covid and more and they post about their luxurious living with a focus on materialism."
@itsmorethangossipp Do you think the kardashians could ever fully lose their hype? #kardashians #thekardashians #kimkardashian #kyliejenner #hype
Despite this, there's no denying that the KarJenners are great businesswomen with a staggering 26 businesses across the family – past and present.
In recent years, they've homed several successful ventures including Kim's Skims, Kourtney's wellness brand Poosh, Kylie's beauty empire, Khloe's Good American denim company and Kendall's 818 tequila.
Poosh, in particular, is currently hitting the mark and thriving, according to Jamie, who said: "Wellbeing content is super popular at the moment, especially when it has a Cali-living vibe."
Judging by how the KarJenners' have bounced back in the past, we're sure they won't be going anywhere anytime soon. However, they may very well return with a major not-so-subtle rebrand.
"I think what they need is actually something they would never do, they need to ghost us," Jamie said. "Any good celebrity knows that being in the public eye too much and too prominently will cause us to get bored."
"Pulling away from the spotlight would allow them to stop struggling to be relevant, take time to reflect, strategise and relaunch with a brand that is more interesting to today's audience, and hopefully with the size of platforms they have actually make it valuable or impactful."
Indy100 reached out to the Kardashian family's rep for comment.
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