Over the years, social media networks have become attention economies. Shortened attention spans and viewers endlessly scrolling, has resulted in creators oversharing the most vulnerable parts of their life to attain engagement. The rise of the creator economy has allowed the personal to become performative. Pregnancy reveals, marriage proposals, graduation videos, nothing is private anymore. For many creators, the more personal the moment, the more lucrative the post, and Mikayla Nogueira is a perfect example of this.
Known for her makeup reviews and strong Boston accent, Nogueira is a social media influencer who is known for making her personal life public.
Throughout her relationship with Cody Hawken she shared every aspect of their relationship, from their first date in 2020 to their lavish wedding ceremony in 2023.
On the 12th of February 2026, Noguiera posted a video caption “We love you” as she announced the couple’s split after two years of marriage. She tells viewers that they “are gonna want to sit down for this video” and to “take a minute” and “take it in”. She received a lot of backlash for being out of touch and superficial as her following TikTok was a “GRWM for Valentines” of her seeming like her usual, energetic self. It is hard for viewers to recognise what behaviour is authentic and what is not when an influencer shows vulnerability and emotional gravity, and then it’s gone the next scroll.
On the 23rd of February, she attempted to respond to the negative backlash she had been receiving by showing “proof” that she had been grieving this divorce. In the video she says, “People say I’m not mourning my divorce…Me everyday when the cameras are not rolling”. She then goes on to show nine separate clips of her crying over her divorce.
Honestly, it isn’t Mikayla Noguerias fault. She is just one out of 27 million people in the US that call themselves content creators. From her few years of experience, it’s clear that she knows social media platforms reward visibility, and if you’re not building an audience, you will lose your platform.
You may wonder if it is all worth it for influencers. Is it worth becoming a viral meme while sharing your real life pain just to increase engagement? Maybe the influencers are laughing at us viewers, because while we discuss this, they are just making more revenue from the conversation.
