When you think of an Instagram influencer, you can think of some images: maybe pretty 20-year-old models with perfect hair that show pictures of clothes and candid-looking products they are sponsoring on a beach or in a minimalist style cafe.
"Influencer" became a real job title thanks, first, to celebrities like Kardashians and Hadids, and then to YouTubers and bloggers who accumulated online followers on various online platforms.
While many of these young models earn a penny for posting a perfect photo of their coffee or purse online, the conversation has begun to change.
Many celebrities and influencers are neglecting the look too perfect and cured, and are opting for a less filtered and more honest aspect in their daily lives.
At 58, Dian shares her oldest influential celebrity title with people like Beth Djalali, a 61-year-old fashion blogger with 77,000 followers on Instagram; Shauna, 59, whose 83,000 Instagram followers come for her fashion, fitness and lifestyle content; and Teri Turner, food blogger and author of cookbooks with more than 270,000 followers on Instagram. They are just a few people who change the way older people are perceived online to improve and inject a daily dose of positivity into our social networks.
That is the world in which many significant influencers live. Yes, it's true: there are many more than 50 influencers with thousands, even millions, of online followers. From money-saving tips to fashion travel inspiration, there are 50 years or more influential that cover the type of content you like to watch online.
Considerable spoke with Dian Griesel, also known as @Silverdisobedience on Instagram, to discover what it's like to put a face to the oldest online users.
Dian is an author and blogger and owns a public relations firm. She never intended to be a model; She had acted in her twenties but was involved in the world of Instagram fame when she went to a commercial casting with her skating son and began doing regular commercial work.
A makeup artist on the set had heard that the established modeling agency, Wilhelmina, was looking for a "Silver" model, introduced Dian and, voila, his career as a model took off.
Dian never set out to be an influential person, as many younger models did. "I fell in love with this," she said. "I've always liked to write; it started as my meditation. And Instagram is a visual platform, and I love to share images along with my stories and see the kind of communities they create.
Sure, Dian acknowledged, his generation was not born on Instagram, but keeping up with new technologies has been part of his life for years.
"I remember that a colleague approached me and told me about this new website called AOL," he said, laughing. "He said: 'I can send you a message online, and you can write to me again immediately!' It is not about being born in technology but deciding to embrace it.
Dian is optimistic about the role social networks play in his life and the life of his followers. His influencer status has brought all kinds of people into his life, and not just those of his age.
"I have a follower who is a 15-year-old boy, and another who I know is 103 years old," he said. "It's about getting involved with the community, and I do, I talk to my followers, and it makes me very happy."
Many young people have cited social networks as harmful to their self-esteem and mental health: they spend too much time comparing their appearance and lifestyles with those of others, no matter how edited or entirely cured they can be.
Dian said he tries to be as honest and open as possible, a trend that many influential older people use and that also affects younger users of social networks. As Dian sees it, it makes no sense to compare yourself with other people, online or otherwise.
When asked if Dian feels an age bias in his industry, she said he hadn't met that too often. "Everything I have done has led me to what I have put online," she said.
While Dian said in an Instagram post that she "does not believe that she knows what it means to be wise," both what she does to her and other more essential influences is the perspective they can offer through a medium that seems to be dominated by users half their age.
This article first appeared on Considerable.