[diceduckmonk]

> online popularity contests

It’s more than that. People think there is a financial payoff if they win the influencer game.

And when they do make income, their taxable income is likely not going to these countries which they are profiting off of. I guess it’s a sort of negative externality.

[ghaff]

I generally agree with the comment upthread that it's as much about accessibility as the influencer angle. Although I might not get the best rate (and it is around the holidays) I could basically book a week in Tokyo without any assistance a few days from now if I wanted to.

That said, there is an influencer angle and probably some reasonable number of younger people who see a few people becoming YouTube or TikTok stars and thinking there's a chance they could become one of them.