Are YOU suffering from the influencer inflection? Furious debate breaks out over ‘irritating’ voice used by online stars

• Many people on the web noticed that a lot of influencers speak in a similar tone
• Some started posting parody clips poking fun at how the social media stars talk
• While tons found it hysterical, some online personalities were left unhappy

A heated debate has broken out on the web over the ‘influencer inflection’ – with some people posting videos mocking the ‘irritating’ voice used by online stars and others encouraging them to ‘stop making fun of women’s speech.’

Over the last few months, many people online have noticed that a lot of social media stars tend to speak in a similar tone, and they began furiously discussing the topic online.

But when one women started to post parody clips poking fun at how they talk, it divided the web, leaving some people in hysterics and others, especially influencers, outraged by the jokes. 

It all started when a doctor named Natalya Toryanski uploaded a series of TikToks in late October that saw her taunting the way that social media stars speak and act.

A debate has ensued over the ‘influencer inflection’ – with some people mocking the ‘irritating’ voice used by online stars and others telling them to ‘stop making fun of women’s speech’

It all started when a doctor named Natalya Toryanski uploaded a series of TikToks in late October that saw her taunting the way that social media stars speak and act

In her vidoeos, she talked in an over-the-top, valley-girl like tone and made sure to drag out certain syllables and took exaggerated pauses between each word

While Natalya (left) insisted her videos weren’t directed towards ‘anyone in particular,’ many people started tagging online sensation Emma MacDonald (right) in the comment section

I’m acting so weird idkkkk

‘The cadence of every bland influencer recommending a product,’ she wrote in one of her videos, which got more than half a million views.

‘Hi you guys, I just wanted to show you this body glow that I’ve been obsessed with lately,’ Natalya said in an over-the-top, valley-girl like tone.

She made sure to drag out certain syllables and took exaggerated pauses between each word.

‘Oh my god I’m so glowy. I’m obsessed with it. It’s so good you guys. You guys need to get it, seriously,’ she continued, before making a series of kissy faces and winks towards the camera.

In another TikTok, she made fun of social media stars who post ‘outfit of the day videos.’

‘Hi you guys, I just wanted to show you what I’m wearing today before I leave the house and run so many errands, oh my god,’ Natalya, dressed in black leggings and a brown tank top said.

She then told the audience that the entire look was from Kim Kardashian’s brand SKIMS, while again speaking in the overstated voice.

While Natalya insisted that her videos weren’t directed towards ‘anyone in particular,’ many people started tagging online sensation Emma MacDonald in the comment section.

One person even uploaded a TikTok comparing Natalya’s posts to some that Emma shared in the past, while pointing out the similarities. Natalya is seen left and Emma is seen right

TikTok users then began flooding Emma’s videos with messages about Natalya’s impersonation

During an episode of her Love Ya, Bye podcast – which she runs with her sister, Maggie MacDonald – Emma, 22,  spoke out about the criticism she received following Natalya’s parody

I ate that tank top

One person even uploaded a TikTok of her own comparing Natalya’s posts to some that Emma has shared in the past, while pointing out a slew of similarities.

TikTok users then began flooding Emma’s videos with messages about Natalya’s impersonation.

The influencer admitted that she got so upset by the backlash that she had to take a break from social media

‘[NATALYA] WAS SO ACCURATE,’ one person wrote underneath one of Emma’s Outfit Of The Day videos.

‘I thought she was exaggerating but I can’t unhear it now,’ someone else said.

‘POV you’re here from the other girls video and it’s so real,’ added another user. 

‘I love that we’re all collectively. here. and. appreciate. the. accuracy,’ read a fourth comment.

During an episode of her Love Ya, Bye podcast – which she runs with her sister, Maggie MacDonald – days later, Emma, 22, from Boston Massachusetts, spoke out about the criticism she received following Natalya’s parody.

The influencer, who has more than 846,000 followers on TikTok and 372,000 on Instagram, admitted that she got so upset by the backlash that she had to take a break from social media.

‘I was having a stressful week with social media this past week, I wasn’t feeling drawn to posting because people were being so mean to me on TikTok,’ she said.

‘It was so overwhelming Every TikTok I posted [recently] has over a million views and so many comments, so many people are coming to my page because I’m the only one getting openly tagged in [Natalya’s] videos.

‘It was kind of a lot so I took a break from posting for a little bit. When you get so many comments, obviously I’m not blind to it, I see it all, and it was a lot for me. 

But in the end, Emma – who is engaged to Boston Celtics player Payton Pritchard – said she was feeling really ‘inspired again’ after stepping away

Following Natalya’s viral videos and Emma’s reaction, an argument about the way influencers speak ensued. One TikToker, named Audra, said, ‘Can we not make fun of women’s speech?’

Natasya then posted a video addressing some of the people who were slamming her for her videos, which she captioned, ‘Hot take: Women can poke fun at other women’

‘I had a weird week. But instead of dwelling on it I decided to not go on social media and spent a lot more quality, real-life time off my phone.

‘I was in New York and didn’t focus on content there, I focused on just chilling and enjoying it. Being on vacation without work was nice, it felt good to take a break for a bit.’

In it, she said: ‘To say that a woman is completely exempt from criticism, to say that a women could not be subject to criticism by another woman simply because we are of the same gender is insane and I don’t agree with that at all’

Her sister, Maggie, 27, then added, ‘People were really s**ting on you. First it started off with videos about how influencers talk as a whole, but then all the comments were [directed to] you.’

But in the end, Emma – who is engaged to Boston Celtics player Payton Pritchard – said she was feeling really ‘inspired again’ after stepping away.

‘I do think you need to take a step back in order to gain that momentum again,’ Maggie told her. 

‘It comes in waves. Maybe all that stuff was meant to happen so you could take a step back and rethink your life and your presence on social media.’

Following Natalya’s viral videos and Emma’s reaction to them, a massive argument took over the web regarding the way that influencers speak.

‘Maybe in the year of the Barbie movie can we just not make fun of women’s speech?’ one TikTok user, named Audra, scathed in a video shared amid the drama.

‘I know a lot of y’all think it’s not that deep but it is that deep. Synonymizing women’s speech with annoying, frivolous, and stupid speech is tired.’

She added, ‘Now that women, who were largely blocked out of the dignified labor market, have managed to create an industry for themselves where they can make a descent living, we’re gonna pathologize their speech? Come on y’all.’

Other online stars, including Heather Hurst (seen) have also weighed in, with some even admitting that they noticed they speak with the ‘influencer inflection’

The vlogger spoke out about it during one of her recent OOTD TikToks. She stopped after she caught herself using the tone of voice, and admitted, ‘I’m doing the influencer inflection’

Natasya then posted a video addressing some of the people who were slamming her for her videos, which she captioned, ‘Hot take: Women can poke fun at other women.’

In it, she said: ‘This is gonna make some of y’all mad but… To say that a woman is completely exempt from criticism, to say that a women could not be subject to criticism by another woman simply because we are of the same gender is insane and I don’t agree with that at all. 

‘Whenever a woman pokes fun at something another woman does, people are like, ‘This is internalized misogyny, the system is out to get us, why are women being pit against each other’ all this s**t. But no. 

‘I just pay attention to what people do regardless of gender and make fun of it how I see fit.’

Other online stars have also weighed in, with some even admitting that they noticed they speak with the ‘influencer inflection’ after Natalya’s videos brought it to light.

Heather Hurst, a New York-based vlogger, spoke out about it during one of her recent OOTD TikToks.

In the middle of the video, she stopped after she caught herself using the tone of voice. 

Another TikToker, named Jess Alexander, also posted a video on the subject. She said, ‘The worst part is, sometimes I do it, and it drives me bananas’ 

Jess added: ‘We do this thing, we mimic what we see. I hear stories about little American children who watch Peppa Pig and then they have American accents’

‘I’m doing the influencer inflection,’ she told her followers. ‘I really need somebody to [study] linguistics in the online world and how [being an influencer] affects people’s speech patterns.

‘Even though I spend most of my time in real life with people and don’t talk like that, I find myself speaking like that when I’m in an online environment. It’s really strange.’

Another TikToker, named Jess Alexander, also posted a video on the subject.

‘The worst part is, sometimes I do it, and it drives me bananas,’ she said. ‘I’m even paranoid right now that I’m doing it.

‘We do this thing, we mimic what we see. I hear stories about little American children who watch Peppa Pig and then they have American accents.

‘Are all of us gonna stop talking like TikTok influencers now? I don’t want to do that. I can’t even talk anymore, the pauses that I take in sentences… I need to get off of this app and watch more TV and talk to more strangers so I can get away from this and stop talking like this.’

A speech pathologist named Erin Hall actually spoke to Vice about the phenomenon long before Natalya’s videos.

Back in 2021, she explained, ‘[Influencers are] over-enunciating compared to casual speech, which is something newscasters or radio personalities do.

‘They’re also trying to keep it more casual, even if what they’re saying is standard, adding a different kind of intonation makes it more engaging to listen to.’

A linguistics professor, named Naomi Baron, added, ‘Changing of pacing – that gets your attention.’ 

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