Influencers and celebrity culture

1) Media Magazine reading

Media Magazine 72 has a feature linking YouTube influencers to A Level media theories. Go to our Media Magazine archive, click on MM72 and scroll to page 60 to read the article ‘The theory of everything - using YouTubers to understand media theory’. Answer the following questions:

1) How has YouTube "democratised media creativity"?

ordinary users uploading their own content: they are ‘produsers’ (producer-users) and ‘prosumers’

(producer-consumers). Content is published first and then filtered or judged later by audiences. So, success is measured by the number of views and the reaction of the ‘fans’ rather than the judgement and financial power of an industry editor/producer.

2) How does YouTube and social media culture act as a form of cultural imperialism or 'Americanisation'? 

A large majority of influencers are American which could be because English is very widely spoken however they can push their way of life and ideologies onto other audiences and spread their US cultural references and western attitudes.

3) How do influencers reinforce capitalist ideologies? 

Their posts represent the commercialisation of entertainment by using product placement or informing an audience to buy a product without the audience even realising.

4) How can YouTube and social media celebrity content be read as postmodern, an example of hyperreality? 

They try to construct an authentic version of themselves to their audiences 

5) What are the arguments for and against regulating online content such as YouTube?

FOR

• protects the public and especially vulnerable people like young children 
• stops people from copying the negative behaviours they online especially children - Bandura 
• some young people start to become radicalised through sites like YouTube 

AGAINST

• It could be removing the free speech that social media provides
• who decides what is regulated and what is not 

6) How can Hesmondhalgh and Curran & Seaton's ideas be linked to online media debates? 

celebrity vloggers act as a promotional vehicle for advertisers and commercial sponsors. This supports the ideas of both David Hesmondhalgh and Curran and Seaton that the cultural

industries are driven by corporate power and the pursuit of profit.

7) How can Gauntlett's ideas around identity and audience be applied to YouTube and influencer content?

online media encourages ordinary users to experiment with other personas, projecting identity as multiple and fluid.

8) What is YOUR opinion on celebrity influencers? Are they a positive, democratic addition to the contemporary media landscape or a highly constructed product promoting hegemonic capitalist ideologies?   

I think that they maybe start out as positive and people that the audience can relate to and look to for entertainment but I think that when any influencer or celebrity reaches a certain level of fame their image starts to become highly constructed and they try make themselves seem as authentic as possible without actually being authentic.

2) How to build a social media brand: case study

Read this excellent case study on how to build a celebrity social media brand and answer the following questions: 

1) What are the different ways celebrities manage their social media accounts? Give examples. 

Often celebrity social media accounts are not actually run by the celebrity but their social team or managers but not fully, some tweets are still the celebrity themself.

Social media managers work alongside their celebrity client to help project their voice.

2) Why is 'voice' important in celebrity social media content and what examples are provided? 

They show who the celebrity actually is and what they stand for not just their fun content for example Mark Ruffalo's Instagram account showing his activism.

3) What different goals may celebrities have for their social media accounts? 

• News and updates
• Hype posts
• Behind the scenes content
• "slice of life" content - shows what the celebrity is 'really' like
• celebrity snapshots
• inspirational content

4) What types of content can be found from celebrity social media posts? 

Some celebrities want to show only their celebrity sides of life whereas others might want their social media to reflect their own personal views and show their beliefs through activism or posting about current politics.

5) How does social media allow influencers to interact with fans? Give examples.  

Social media gives celebrities direct access to their audience.

• they can respond to DMs
• they can give shout outs
• like or retweet fans

3) Guardian article: Social media harming young people

Finally, read this Guardian article reporting that social media and celebrity culture is harming young people. Answer the following questions:

1) What did the YMCA's report suggest about social media content and celebrity culture?  

62% of 15 to 16-year-olds felt that social media had ramped up expectations over their personal appearance 

2) What examples are provided of how this can have a damaging effect on young people? 

Mental health problems have soared among girls over the past decade, coinciding with the period in which young people’s use of social media has exploded.

3) What is YOUR opinion on this topic? Do you feel social media is dangerous to young people? Should age restrictions be enforced? Explain your answer. 

I think that it is dangerous to young people as they are more easily influenced by what they see and they are more likely to copy that in their day to day life. Young people have the most access to social media and spend the most amount of time on social media compared to adults so they are more susceptible to any messages or ideologies they see even if they are negative.

A/A* extension tasks

Read this excellent, academic article on the history of celebrity culture recommended by exam board AQA. Has digital culture changed the nature of celebrity or have things always been like this? 

There are similarities between the nature of celebrities from now and before the digital age because they were both seen as opinion leaders by their fans and people would look up to them and copy what they thought or did. It is much easier now to combat this as people can share their own opinions more easily so there are multiple opinion leaders so a wider variety of people to listen to which is why I think there is a lot more different in views amongst a certain group of people. For example before everybody in an area or part of a group would have had the same opinion leaders but now there are a variety. Celebrities both before and now are heavily looked up to and help shape opinions.

Read this Forbes article on how covid and TikTok have changed the influencer market in the last couple of years. What does this tell us about society and media culture - are we becoming more creative and independent or is this just another way to sell more products to more people?

There was more use of the internet and social medias like TikTok during lockdown and because everybody was stuck indoors people could not make overly produced fake content anymore so there was a rise in simple authentic content that had no budget. There is an increased demand of micro influencers who talk about niche topics as it creates a very personal relationship between them and their audience so they can be more influential over them.