- John Sylvia of Nantucket placed a "No Influencers" sign at Four Winds Craft Guild to deter disruptive visitors
- The sign was intended as a joke about influencer culture, not a serious ban, Sylvia said
- The post sparked debate, with some supporting the stance and others seeing it as unfair targeting
The rise of social media influencers has changed the way people travel. Popular tourist attractions often become flashpoints for public frustration as influencers create a nuisance. The latest example comes from Nantucket, where shop owner John Sylvia hung a sign reading "No Influencers" at Four Winds Craft Guild. Sylvia said he had grown frustrated with visitors using the store as a photo backdrop without buying anything or engaging with him.
“I feel sometimes my store is used as someone's background, a stage,” Sylvia, whose family has also owned Sylvia Antiques for almost a century, told the New York Times.
Sylvia said the sign was meant as a light-hearted comment rather than a serious ban, calling it more of a joke about a wider social trend. His partner, Jessica Jenkins, who manages the store's social media, posted a photo of the sign on Instagram, where it triggered a heated debate. Some users backed the store for pushing back against disruptive visitors, while others accused it of unfairly targeting a broad group.
Jenkins said she frequently encounters visitors filming lifestyle content on the island's streets, while another local shop owner, Stephanie Sproule, said she has noticed more tourists visiting purely to be photographed.
The controversy escalated after content creator Paige Paul, who has more than a million followers and recently opened her own store on Nantucket, argued online that excluding influencers was similar to excluding women, citing the island's history of women shaping its craft economy. Instagram later removed the original post, but the debate over influencer culture on the island has continued.
“If you call yourself a feminist but proudly put up a ‘No Influencers' sign, it's worth asking who you are attempting to delegitimise, and why," said Paul.
Check The Viral Post Here:
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As the post with the 'No influencer' sign went viral, the majority of social media users sided with the store, highlighting that the influencer menace had gone too far.
"I have collected Nantucket Baskets for years. Due to your sign, my next purchase will be from YOU," said one uer while another added: "Can you please sell this sign I want one."
A third commented: "I live in London, I know of your store and the beautiful baskets having visited Nantucket, but I have no idea who Paige Paul is and I think from the stir this has caused, I'll keep it that way!"
A fourth said: "The irony is this isn't really about influencers. It's about a community trying to preserve the character of a place that's changed dramatically in the era of social media. The fact that someone immediately assumed it was about them says more than the sign ever could."
Despite the backlash, the incident boosted Four Winds Craft Guild's online following by about 8,000, according to Jenkins. Days later, Paul posted a photo from her own Nantucket shop with a sign of its own: "Everyone Welcome."
