“I need you to not wait three weeks for that loser to text you back when he's not going to,” said Christina Najjar, best-known to her social media followers and podcast listeners as Tinx, in an interview over Zoom.
This is classic Tinx. She'll cut to the chase and believes honesty is the best policy.
“I am a Virgo, so therefore I think I know best for everyone," she said with a smile. “I’m always trying to give people tips. That's always been a role that's natural for me.”
Tinx is putting her skills to good use with her first book called “The Shift: Change Your Perspective, Not Yourself” (Simon & Schuster), which she describes as “Tinx 101. A baseline, a starter pack for me and my theories and way of thinking."
She says it's filled with personal anecdotes and life lessons she learned, particularly in her twenties. Topics include self-love, empowerment, mental health, sex and dating.
Tinx first started posting videos on TikTok during the pandemic and grew a following for her humor, opinions and hot takes, often speaking into a mini-microphone. She also was prone to posting lists of monthly favorites from makeup to TV shows to a salad she ordered at a local restaurant. She also has a leisurewear line called Rich Mom Gear and is a lifestyle influencer.
Tinx spoke with the AP about why she likes to share, who she gets advice from and why the term influencer or content creative get a bad rap.
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AP: Do you follow your own advice?
TINX: My whole shtick is like, ‘Let me learn from my mistakes.’ That’s totally what the book is about. I have put so many of my escapades good, bad, ugly, funny and beyond in the book, and I just hope that people can learn from my mistakes. So I do take my own advice, but it’s more advice that I kind of figured out after having made the mistake.
AP: Who gives you advice?
TINX: I love to read and I really get a lot of advice from books. I love memoirs. I love Diane von Furstenberg's memoir. I love Demi Moore’s memoir. I just finished “State of Affairs” by Esther Perel. That’s kind of where I got a lot of it. I love asking for advice, too. I have a couple friends that I really trust. I don't ask everyone. I have a couple people I really trust. And you know what? I actually ask my followers for advice as well. They’re a very smart group of people.
AP: You have such a large following online and you're so honest and forthright with your followers. What about when you meet a guy now and go on a date. How do you introduce the fact that you're so public with your life?
TINX: Dating has definitely taken a hit because of this job but anybody who I am with should and will love how much I love my job. I have a hard time sharing when I’m dating because I’m like, ‘I’m going on a date and all I want to do is tell my followers.’ But then you start to think about your love life in terms of podcast episodes and chapters in your book — that's a difficult thing to contend with. I wait until things are more serious to tell my followers.
AP: Over time as you get more followers and even business opportunities, have you become more thoughtful and strategic about what to share?
TINX: It’s impossible not to look at things through different lenses as your platform grows. That’s a Catch-22 because then you think to yourself, ‘Well, the reason that I have this platform is because of how I was at the beginning, off the cuff, not thinking or caring who I offended because I never thought that anyone would would follow me.’ Now, if I say, ‘Oh, I hate this...' I’ve learned everyone is always watching no matter what and it does have consequences.
AP: Do you ever have days where you're not on social media?
TINX: No. I don’t. I know that it’s rotting my brain, but I love it. I love my job, I love my connection with my community. It's very hard to switch off.
AP: Why do you think the terms ‘influencer’ or ‘content creator’ can get a bad rap?
TINX: It’s about how you own the word. I’ve seen people cringe and say, ‘Oh, I don’t like when people call me an influencer.’ I am an influencer. I’m a pretty good influencer. I think I was born to do this in a lot of ways and I’m proud of my job and I’m proud of the life that I built and my community. I think it’s about how you own the word and how you carry yourself. Influencing is a job that has made a lot of people a lot of money and changed a lot of lives. It's kind of the new American dream because it’s one of the only ways that — next to winning the lottery — you can change your life status seemingly overnight.
AP: You don't just give advice, you share your opinions on the best places to go in various cities and what to order at restaurants. You seem to be a natural influencer in this way.
Tinx: I think it’s just like an extension of being a little bit of a know-it-all. But I need people to go to the right restaurant. It kills me when people go to a city and they miss the main restaurant. I need to tell them what to order and exactly what time to go. That’s just my personality. I love doing that. At its core, I honestly think it comes down to me being afraid of death and me wanting everyone to maximize their time and their energy and their money on earth.
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Follow Alicia Rancilio at http://www.twitter.com/aliciar
Alicia Rancilio, The Associated Press
