Authenticity Is Dead: Gen Z and Influencers Are Redefining Realness Through Vulnerability

Tammy Gerrety is the senior social and content director at Herd MSL. She has over eight years' experience across Australia and the USA, with a focus on social media content and influencers. Her experience includes working with consumer and B2B brands.

With a focus on impact, Tammy has driven innovative always-on social media programs, always-on creator partnerships, and high-performing campaigns that connect brands with audiences and deliver audience engagement along with genuine results.

Remember when ‘no filter’ was the guiding light of an influencers’ authenticity? In 2025, Gen Z aren’t buying it. They’re craving something much deeper, drawn to raw, unpolished and emotionally honest influencers who share more than a curated feed.

Authenticity has become a bit of a buzz word in the influencer marketing world, but what does it actually mean? It once meant grainy selfies, unedited captions, and behind the scenes glimpses, but has now been filtered through strategy decks and brand tone of voice guidelines until it's no longer real. Has authenticity become a performance?

It’s time to shift from curated ‘realness’ to true vulnerability. Creators are empowered to tell honest stories, and brands are brave enough to support them.

Gen Zs are hyper-aware of advertising. Research by Yahoo found they lose active attention for ads in just 1.3 seconds, the shortest of any generation. Influencers are now compelled to put disclaimers in their content, saying things like, “This is not even paid for.”

Enter vulnerability. Rising as the trust marker for this audience, influencers who are openly sharing their struggles, insecurities, and true moments of chaos are attracting deeper engagement and loyalty. Trends on TikTok like ‘unfiltered GRWM' (get ready with me), ‘hear me out’,” and ‘we listen, and we don’t judge’ prove that unpolished storytelling is celebrated online.

For brands, this shift means rethinking control. True vulnerability cannot be manufactured in a brief. It happens when creators are enabled to lead with their own voices and stories – even when they’re messy and seemingly imperfect.

It means swapping glossy product shots and demonstrations for real-time reactions, and shifting away from the ‘product in the first 3 seconds of a video’ narrative we’re used to. It means investing in long-term partnerships (emphasis on the word ‘partner’) that build trust. It also means more meaningful engagement, greater cultural relevance, and content that lets our audience feel.

A great example of this is Cancer Council and the Australian Government’s 'End the Trend' campaign, aimed at reducing skin cancer rates in Australia. For the past two years, a big portion of the campaign has been centred around challenging the ways that Australians think about suntanning: their pre-existing beliefs, the way they were raised, the media they consume, and the brands that perpetuate sun tans as the beauty standard.

Influencers were encouraged to express those reflections in their own way, creating content that felt deeply personal and resonated with their audiences. They were given creative freedom, with no requirement to mention brand names, and the results spoke for themselves. Organic content consistently outperformed more scripted or brand-led content, highlighting the power of vulnerability and storytelling in driving real impact.

Vulnerability was once seen as a weakness, but it's now one of the most powerful forms of influence we have. More honest and more human. For brands, it's no longer about controlling the messaging with steep guardrails, but choosing the right messengers and trusting them to tell a story that truly matters.