Abstract
The modern society has adapted to social media in such a way that it wouldn’t be able to function as efficiently without it. Instagram is social media platform where participants express themselves with photos and is now one of the worlds’ most popular social networks. This networking phenomenon has led the way for a class of users known as influencers, participants who have a strong following that they’ve influenced with their personal brand (Kilgour, Sasser, and Larke, 2015). However the race for internet fame has led influencers to use identity deception and impression management to exaggerate glamorised personas (Establés, Guerrero-Pico, and Contreras-Espinosa, 2019), which have increased the benchmark for societal expectations surrounding lifestyle and personal image (Booth and Matic, 2011).
Key Words
Community, Deception, Expectations, Identity, Image, Influencers, Instagram, Personal, Portrayal, Representation, Standards, Societal Expectations, Unrealistic
Introduction
The emergence of easily accessible web 2.0 platforms has promoted consumers within modern society to become adaptive to online identities and personas. Forming a virtual community where users are able to engage with participatory style culture. Online social networking platforms such as Instagram are the primary focus for individuals that desire to launch their own creative content. Emerging from these platforms are influencers, participants that have sparked an online following for their portrayed online identity. The immense social presence possessed by influencers has led to the creation of unrealistic societal expectations around personal image and lifestyle, where deceptively their online identities are fabricated to compete with other influencers. The fabricated portrayals make way for the societal issue where social media users are conditioned that these unrealistic depictions of influencers are the standard for everyday life, by Instagram as a platform. These expectations place immense pressure on individuals to manufacture a virtual identity that conforms to the standards of the Instagram community.
Societal expectations
The presence of social media has certainly heightened the reality expectations of online users. Online platforms have been developed at such a rapid rate in popularity, that it has become a network community to portray a glamorised lifestyle of each individual’s “best moments” (boyd, 2007, p. 6). These standards have been developed through the content produced on platforms such as Instagram, that continually set a precedent on how users should idealistically look, dress, talk and feel, and their lifestyle. These expectations are created through societal normalities, that can be defined as what individuals and society itself internalises as acceptable, which generates a consistent barbaric message to individuals (Trifiro, 2018, p. 6). An individual’s appearance and lifestyle has been a societal focus for decades. Society as a whole has normalised these set standards of appearance ranging from hair, body shape, facial structure and make-up for both men and women. These have been idealistically set through film, marketing, magazines and television, as consistency of a certain appearance has been created.
Appearance and lifestyle as a societal objective have always been a primary focus for individuals (boyd, 2007, p. 4), through personal influences and standards, society has developed an “ideal” goal lifestyle. This is where individuals strive to have a luxury lifestyle with designer materialistic goods. Whilst this is not the “ideal dream” for some people, the majority of individuals feel pressured into following the societal expectations of wealth and status amongst society(). A primary example of the immense pressures Instagram has placed on individual users is aspiring influencer Lissette Calveiro, who was recognised and confessed being in $10,000 worth of debt because of her Instagram page (Socialgamma, 2018). Calveiro personally confessed how she was shopping “…for clothes to take the perfect gram”(Socialgamma, 2018), this influencer is evidently one of many Instagram users that strives for evident unobtainable goals.
The underlying issue with influencers, particularly within Instagram, is how they have developed such a strong network community that entices individuals to observe their lifestyles and additionally their appearance. Consistently posting images of traveling, designer luxury goods and outfits sends a message to individuals that to be “popular” one must look and live a certain way (Mascheroni, Vincent and Jimenez, 2015, p. 5). Whilst acknowledging Instagram is an image based platform, these messages identified through the images essentially generate a misconception that an individual should be dis-satisfied with their life if it does not appear similar to their peers or influencers. This emotional and comparative mind-set is severely detrimental for self-esteem. In 2017 a study conducted by Vries et al. found “positive content that was posted by strangers was negatively correlated with viewers’ emotions.”(Trifiro, 2018, p. 3). This study further highlights how the consistent presence of Instagram influencers, further set these societal expectations and create negative comparisons amongst individuals. This encourages the individual to feel rather discontent within their own lifestyle as individuals are deemed to feel inadequate in contrast to the lifestyles of their peers and, particularly influencers.
Online Identity and Self Presentation
An online identity can be defined as an individual’s digitalised persona that is established through various social web 2.0 platforms (Donath, 1996). Platforms such as Instagram, have become a serious game changer in creating online appearances and personas, as users are eligible to create content at their own discretion. An individual can theoretically build and transform their own identity into anything they desire within the allowance of the platform and content creation. Self-presentation plays a fundamental role for influencers to attract a niche community, as their online identity shapes how they are perceived to their audience. In addition, this becomes a tool for influencers to communicate their identity through images (Mascheroni, Vincent and Jimenez, 2015, p. 3). The way a person presents themselves on social networking sites creates their online identity, whether it is an accurate representation or not.
Despite this, individuals online are heavily judged on Instagram based on their personal appearance, which puts further emphasis to obtain unrealistic societal expectations. Visual representations have developed a certain “peer culture” (Mascheroni, Vincent and Jimenez, 2015, p. 4), where users are encouraged to present themselves in a deceptive yet attractive manner. Influencers in particular, are encouraged to present lifestyle content that entices their target audience.
Individuals struggle with distinguishing the real deception, manipulation and nonreality of Instagram, as it is constructed to convey the “best moments” of one’s lifestyle. Erving Goffman identified how influencers create the ideal manipulation of their self-presentation as he states “…deliberately stated messages indicating how the one wishes to be perceived…” (Donath, 1996). The issue with these online identities is the self-presentation of an individual is solely based on how a person controls and communicates their content online to their audience (Mascheroni, Vincent and Jimenez, 2015, p. 4). Instagram is predominately an image based platform judged on visual representation which makes content creation and deception easier for influencers to manipulate. These unrealistic standards highlight the competitive and detrimental environment online users participate with on a regular basis. This further sets unrealistic standards as individuals believe conveying their “best” online self-presentation is essential to attract a wide audience and following (Mascheroni, Vincent and Jimenez, 2015, p. 5).
Influencers
Instagram has become a digitalised environment where social networking is essential for individual users to build their own brand. An influencer is someone who has established a strong online identity that attracts a niche community within the established platform (Kilgour, Sasser, and Larke, 2015, p. 327). This has been developed through their unique creative content that distinguishes themselves from their online competitors, which further can be identified as online leadership or a role model to consumers. As Instagram has become a significantly popular social media network, an influencer therefore has the ability to assert power when it comes to manipulate other individuals’ lifestyle and purchase decisions (Kilgour, Sasser, and Larke, 2015, p. 328). In contribution to this, Instagram has become a solid platform for consumers to rely on advice from other accounts, particularly influencers(Casaló, 2018, p. 1).
With this in mind, evidently Instagram has become an essential marketing tool that also benefits in communication with other individuals. However, influencers prominence within Instagram has become detrimental, as their own behaviour encourages their fans to pursue a similar lifestyle. Casaló (2018, p. 1) stated “… (influencers) opinion leadership influences consumer behavioural intentions…”
As of last year there are currently 800 million Instagram users (Casaló, 2018, p. 2), which puts into perspective the essential target reach influencers have globally over society.
As influencers are perceived as an online leader, individuals feel the pressure to conform to the standards developed through the content of the influencer they idolised. The fashion industry within Instagram is a primary example of how societal expectations are effected, as the array of aesthetically pleasing images entice the consumer to partake and follow the idolised trend (Casaló, 2018, p. 2). To support this, globally on average each user will spend 53 minutes a day on Instagram (Molla and Wagner, 2018), which over one year equates to 322 hours. 322 hours a year devoted on a singular social media platform, further applies pressure on individuals to mirror the societal expectations conveyed on Instagram.
Identity Deception and Impression Management
Social media has created a virtual world that generates flexibility with ones identity within the online community (van der Nagel and Frith, 2015), which through anonymity can be shaped into any form within the platforms. This anonymity allows users to fabricate their online identity based on an individual’s perceived ideal reality (van der Nagel and Frith, 2015). Online communities are formed through virtual identities, as user engagement and participation with digital content encourages online communication (Donath, 1996). This networking environment is significantly mediated through influencers as their virtual reality differentiates from their physical lifestyle. It is essential for an influencer to construct an identity or virtual persona that can be developed into a strong online presence, one that engages with and appeals to their audience (van der Nagel and Frith, 2015). This leads influencers to perform what is known as identity deception, where an individual will act as someone they’re not. Instagram and other social media networking sites enable identity deception by allowing individuals full access to control their impression management. A purposeful process where the individual regulates the information released about themselves to portray a character with the intention of influencing the perception of others. Influencers harness the power of impression management to deceive their online community (Establés, Guerrero-Pico, and Contreras-Espinosa, 2019, p. 215), as controlling the viewable information of their identity allows an online persona to form. The intended persona must be viewed as elevated amongst other accounts to maintain a influencer status and draw a following, which leads the influencer to set enormously high lifestyle standards. While the ability to control their perception allows influencers to manipulate and reconstruct their online persona based on current trends, it also places them under immense pressure to maintain portraying their flawless lifestyle.
Web 2.0 Platforms
Web 2.0 platforms have established an advanced technological community that has become an addictive presence within society. Web 2.0 can be identified as the enabling of user engagement and participation within the platform itself (Chien-wen, Chin-Jin, and Pham Thi, 2017, p. 209). This differs from the original Web 1.0, where users were only able to read and not engage with the content produced(Chien-wen, Chin-Jin, and Pham Thi, 2017, p. 203).
Social media platforms such as Instagram, have developed immense power within society due to its encouragement of individual participation. Not only does this platform greatly encourage users to engage within the platform, but creates a social networking culture. This social networking culture is developed through the creative content the platform allows.
Social Media as a tool
Society has become significantly reliant on the information received via social media platforms (Turkle, 1997, p. 72). The Internet has adapted and facilitated information to be received at a rapid pace, as users have unlimited access to the online resources digital technology provides. Social media’s prominence within modern day society has forced users to adapt their own lifestyles around the digital platforms or risk being socially and informatively excluded (Mascheroni, Vincent, and Jimenez, 2015, p. 3). The immense popularity of social media platforms such as Instagram has enabled influencers to become an essential marketing tool for brands to advertise their products to the public in an informal yet engaging manner. Brands are drawn to using influencers for advertising due to the audience that influencers have attracted through their personal relatability and authenticity, which has aided in establishing their own niche youth demographic (Booth and Matic, 2011, p. 186).
Fans are more likely to engage with products advertised by an influencer online, as influencers through their creative content and word-of mouth are deemed trustworthy due to their plausible attraction to the online community (Li, Lai, and Chen, 2011, p. 5143). As these individuals greatly idolise and will try mirror their favourite influencers portrayed online persona, they will be encouraged to purchase the advertised product. This is in attempt to be identified more like their idol and meet the unrealistic societal expectations set around lifestyle (Booth and Matic, 2011, p. 185). Whilst this is significantly beneficial for marketing brands to attract new potential customers in an authentic manner, it highlights the detrimental toll placed on social media participants by having to keep up with their key influencers’ trends (Li, Lai, and Chen, 2011, p. 5145). In a recent study by the Australian Digital Marketing Institute it is identified that “70% of teenagers trust influencers over celebrities”, whilst “86% of women use social media for purchasing advice” (Knightly, 2019). The study’s result articulates how society has become reliant and significantly receptive to online reviews and feedback. Over time this digital advertising business model has grown with the rise of social media, to where online users are now consistently bombarded with messages from influencers encouraging users to purchase their cosmetic and clothing choices. Highlighting that as influencers have a stronghold within online communities and social networks, they double as an exceptional marketing and promotional tool (Agostino and Yulia, 2017, p. 779).
Conclusion
Influencers have become immensely successful in promoting a virtual reality of societal expectations due to the rapid rise in popularity of social media platforms. However these platforms have created a foundation in which users have become more critical of their online persona and are focused on creating an unrealistic glamorous lifestyle (Donath, 1996). This is due to the endless promotions, marketing and branding of influencers conveying to the audience that idolises their choices, online persona and lifestyle. Instagram in particular has greatly shaped the unrealistically high societal expectations that users are exposed to. Placing significant pressure on society to conform to current trends set by the influencers on its platform, as the environment encourages the comparisons of users within the community(van der Nagel and Frith, 2015). Therefore, it can be concluded that Instagram provides an outlet for influencers to portray online personas that influence unrealistic personal and lifestyle expectations amongst society.
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Hi TYates,
This is an interesting topic, and it was a pleasure reading your paper. The several issues you mentioned in the paper such as influencers and the appearance that people try to put forward on Instagram sometimes being a ‘fake’ self is very true. In my paper, I explore how celebrities and influencers sometimes bring body comparisons when posting ‘photoshop’ pictures and how they can be harmful to children/teenagers.
Do you think that these people actually know that their livelihood can affect people?
Take a look at my paper if you are interested:
https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2019Curtin/2019/05/06/social-networking-sites-are-causing-the-downfall-of-adolescents-and-children/
Hi Stacey.
Thank you so much. It is truly such a shame the world we live in is so invested within the online community based on their appearance and lifestyle. I find photoshopping is such a massive hinder within the online community, as you’re right, online users are still comparing themselves to the images they are shown. We are all told not to believe what we see online yet we all still compare ourselves to the images on Instagram.
I do believe this can greatly effect people, as I guess it comes down to individual’s comparison and interpretation of a celebrity/ influencers profile. It is great to see though influencers now creating expectations and reality of their photos conveying that not everything in their own lifestyle is perfect. What is your perspective on this ?
Hi TYates, your paper gives a really clear over-view of the way that Instagram influencers perpetuate the notions of perfect bodies, skin, and lifestyle.
This presentation of perfection is nothing new, people have for years been falling victim to the Hollywood and tabloid magazines presentations of rich and famous people and their “perfect” lives, and in doing so are making people the world over feel as though they are not good enough with the bodies they are born in.
It’s almost surprising to me that with these wonderful new social networking technologies that there haven’t been more movements that disrupt this trend, such as the plus-size model campaigns that feature in magazines these days. Are there any new technology specific trends that you can think of that work to dismantle the current ideologies of unattainable bodies and lifestyles?
I also look at identity deception in my paper in the identity stream.. Head over and check it out.
https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2019Curtin/2019/04/30/linkedin-for-recruitment-no-thanks/
Hey Cesarina,
Thank you for your feedback ! Greatly appreciated!
I definitely agree with you on that. I feel like social media outlets such as Instagram have really further just heightened the pressure of ones appearance and lifestyle. Which, as you have mentioned it is crazy how societal expectations and pressures are still there and occurring.
I believe current trends particularly on physique are taken quite seriously by online users, as people with such a large following have become an “ideal” for many. I feel like plus-size models / influencers replicate a more realistic representation of the general population, as this makes them relatable and highlights to online users that they don’t need to look like the stereotypical model. I feel like this is taking a step in the right direction, however, even so the bigger issue is people online are still comparing themselves to influencers online identities and lifestyles. What is your thoughts on online comparisons and representations?
Hey TYates,
I really enjoyed reading your paper, it’s a lot similar to mine in the way how Instagram users create this identity through their social media account that could be deceived in the offline world. I could not agree more with you saying that the networking site has created this “ideal” lifestyle most individuals feel the need to live up too, I feel that Instagram has kind of taken over the world in that way, do you agree?
Like you said someone was shopping for clothes for a picture to post on her gram, that to me is so extreme. I mentioned in my paper how the first thing majority of people do these days once they wake up is scroll through their Instagram feeds, why do you think we feel the need to constantly check up on what influencers are doing? I think it’s a bit strange when you say it out loud that we actually spend hours on this app following people we don’t even know… comparing our own life to theirs and wishing we lived this dream life of travel and free merchandise.
Here is a link to my paper if you want to check it out!
https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2019Curtin/2019/05/06/how-identity-can-be-deceived-in-the-virtual-community/
Hey TDelucia,
I definitely agree with you. I feel like it has become something people obsess over and are completely fixated on. It is actually astounding how Instagram has become something so essential in everyday life.
You’re right as well, come to think of it, it is really strange how we follow people we don’t even know yet it is so normal? Crazy to think that in the real world we wouldn’t follow around strangers and compare our lives / actions to them, yet we seem to do this online. I believe it has to do with how Instagram is so consistent within our lives that it has become something we reach out on for validation ? What are your thoughts on likes, comments and followers?
Hey TYates
I really enjoyed reading this paper about identity on Instagram as it contained many of the key ideas I wrote about for mine.
A part that interested me in particular was your fourth paragraph revolving around influencers, as this isn’t something I covered as strongly throughout my paper. I noticed you spoke of the comparisons that users draw with these influencers, and one thing I was left wondering was: why does this occur? I understand your point that the content they post is admirable and can be seen as a lifestyle to achieve, but I also a think a greater emphasis on these influencers ‘likes’ and ‘follows’ may of strengthened your argument further. A good quote for this would be the ‘peer comparison and excessive attachment to the number of likes and followers’ that Chua and Chang (2015) mentioned. This way you could prove Instagram users don’t just compare the type of content they post to these influencers, but also the number of follows and likes they get. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.
Another point of interest was where you stated that ‘Instagram is predominantly an image based platform judged on visual representation which makes content creation and deception easier for influencers to manipulate’. With the essay revolving around identity, a very useful quote I found that could have been used alongside the one previously mentioned, was that ‘expressions of identity in digital spaces are often presented in visual form’ (O’Donnell, 2018). I was noting this to pose the question of whether you think a quote like this, which directly relates identity and photos together, would have been useful within your Instagram paper, or if you think you covered this elsewhere?
The final points of interest were two ideas you paraphrased being ‘an influencer is someone who has established a strong online identity that attracts a niche community within the established platform’ and ‘fans are more likely to engage with products advertised by an influencer online, as influencers through their creative content and word-of-mouth are deemed trustworthy’. I personally thought these were really great quotes as you were able to inform the reader exactly what an influencer is and also their effectiveness when advertising products, so well done on that!
Links to the quotes I used can be found below.
Chua, T., & Chang, L. (2016). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.09.011
O’Donnell, N.H. (2018). http://doi.org/10.1080/15551393.2018.1490186
My paper covers a variety of the same topics, so if you are interested, the link can be found below.
https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2019Curtin/2019/05/04/the-functions-of-instagram-and-the-pressure-placed-on-users-to-produce-unrealistically-favourable-identities/
Hey MSljivic,
Your feed back is very much appreciated. Thank you!
I do understand, Instagram is a platform with a lot of emphasis on likes, comments and followers. I guess I was more focussed on the followers influencers had built up rather than the likes and comments aspect. However, I do agree with what you’re saying, as the more likes and comments a user has is almost deemed more credible to online users. Have you found the likes, follower count and comments have influenced your perception online?
I also find that yes whilst likes, followers and comments play a significant role in influencing online viewers, I believe regardless there is still a strong stigma for users to create content that perceived in a certain manner, that meets expectations and standards generated through online users. What are your thoughts on the pressures of self-presentation constructed online?
That quote by O’Donnell, definitely could have been very useful, so I appreciate the insight into that! I also felt that I had put a lot of emphasis on how Instagram is a visual platform, but that quote summarises it very nicely.
Thanks and looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
Hey TYates
Thanks for getting back to me.
I certainly have found that the number of likes, comments and follows that Instagram users have has impacted my perception of the platform. For example I am quick to identify whether I would consider someone just a regular person or a ‘celebrity’ due to the numbers of likes and follows on their profile. I think the word ‘credible’ you used is also a really good way of putting it too, because maybe we are becoming quick to disregard someone if they don’t have a certain number of followers online.
In terms of what you said about posting content that is perceived in a certain manner, I also think this is true because without having fame from another profession in life, the only way to gain followers and likes on Instagram is to post content that people enjoy and actually want to come back too.
Hi TYates,
This paper is very well written and articulated, and was a pleasure to read! I had not even considered the financial consequences that result from being an Instagram influencer, as you demonstrated through your example of Lissette Calverio. If a scholar were to undertake this research, I would be particularly interested in learning the impact being an Instagram influencer has on the influencer themself. It must be an enourmous pressure having to carefully develop and maintain their status, and trying to hide their real circumstances from fans or followers. In this sense, it must be quite isolating. Would you be interested in this? Did you come across any other impacts aside from financial in your research?
Your paper also encouraged me to reflect on my own Instagram consumption habits, admittedly I think I may spend a bit more than 53 minutes on the social network site daily! It has also served as a reminder to not take the images uploaded by influencers as gospel.
However, do you think that influencers could potentially act as a positive idol or role model in some scenarios, perhaps creating constructive societal expectations? For example, do you think that fitness influencers might encourage viewers to improve themselves physically and follow a healthier lifestyle? Furthermore, while you stated that the majority of Instagram influencers share their purchases of luxury products with their followers, I have noticed a rise in those who share their experience purchasing second hand clothing, or clothing that they have purchased from ethical companies. Would this set a new, somewhat positive expectation among viewers to support ethical industries? Ultimately, do you believe that influencers can use their power to “manipulate other individuals’ lifestyle and purchase decisions” for good, too?
Looking forward to your reply,
Thanks,
Devyn
Check out my paper within the stream Communities and Web 2.0 here:
https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2019Curtin/2019/05/05/active-now-how-web-2-0-allows-for-the-formation-of-online-communities-capable-of-initiating-change-through-activism/
Hey Devyn,
Thank you for your comment! I find the world of influencers particularly quite fascinating as their popularity has immensely grown since the launch of Instagram. I definitely agree, researching the financial aspects of Instagram influencers was shocking, it certainly made myself realise how easy it is for people to create a lifestyle that isn’t realistic or obtainable. I found that majority of influencers are paid through sponsorships or to promote products, as Instagram has become a solid marketing base for businesses online. This perspective also highlighted how there are evidently immense pressures for influencers to have high standards, as identified by Lissette Calverio’s experience.
I also agree how influencers can without a doubt provide as a positive role model. I have personally noticed many fitness accounts such as @healthychick101, promoting body positivity and self love as she encourages her audience to accept their unique selves. I find influencers like this very beneficial, as it takes the ‘seriousness’ out of social media and makes it out as what it should be (not just a highlight reel of the best moments). I believe Instagram should focus more on realistic approaches, and influencers that convey this are bring us all back to the reality of the platform. What are your thoughts ? do you believe Instagram has become a place for users to glamourise their lifestyle ?
I find reviews conducted by influencers convey a more genuine approach to their viewers, as this I believe generates their credibility with their viewers. This trust that viewers have developed with influencers, I believe enables influencers to utilise their power in a positive manner, which does set positive expectations. Instagram is a very powerful tool, and as influencers have immense power on this platform I believe they should be focussing on more beneficial and ethical industries. What are your thoughts?
I look forward to hearing your perspective,
Thanks,
Taneesha
Hi Taneesha,
Thank you for your reply,
I 100% agree with you that Instagram should focus more on realistic approaches and promote influencers who portray reality. I think mostly however, Instagram users have begun to glamourise their life. Unless we’re talking about private Instagram accounts created by the everyday user whereby they often post photos of themselves upset with captions describing the troubles they are currently facing in their life. Though I acknowledge that influencers are rarely doing this, it is more so on the micro-scale at the moment. Also, it is important to note here that these accounts are ‘private’ and thus we recognise this kind of portrayal is not to be seen by everyone and anyone, only a select few.
Yes, I also agree with you that influencers should be harnessing their power to use it for good; encouraging individuals to support local, ethical industries that would benefit society as a whole in the long run.
Thanks for your reply,
Devyn 🙂
Hi TYates, I really enjoyed reading your conference paper. First of all, you have done a good analysis on your topic. I really appreciate your paper as it’s a topic that everybody whose reading it could relate. As media students and active users of social media, influencers and different posts on social media platforms are part of our lives. I think that if social media continues on growing and emerging, unrealistic societal expectations will always exist. What do you think? In my conference paper, I also adress some expectations that you had and the detrimental connection it has with the true self identity. You could check it out https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2019Curtin/2019/05/06/social-media-has-a-detrimental-connection-between-people-and-their-authentic-offline-self/
Hi MSeechurn,
Thank you for your comment I appreciate it. I couldn’t agree more, particularly the presence of social media has become a very manipulative tool that is so consistent and dominant within our lives. Whilst social media has a stronghold on our society I definitely believe societal expectations will always exist, and as technology continues to advance it will probably get worse. Do you find social media has had an impact on yourself to conform / meet the “ideal” expectations ?
Hi TYates,
This is a well-articulated paper on an ever-growing issue. Popular Instagram accounts can use their following to portray, influence and/or manipulate their usually youthful and potentially impressionable audience into thinking there is some sort of utopic. This obviously opens up a whole range of issues of which, you have discussed in detail. That Lisette Calveiro example shows how detrimental this pursuit for this facade can be.
With more younger users turning to these popular web stars for marketing advice, this can lead to ill-informed consumption and purchase practices. Although this branches out of the scope of the topic, this is another way they can be manipulated by their so called role model. One notable example of this is the infamous fake-cancer blogger Belle Gibson.
Hi Stephen,
Thank you for your feedback! 🙂
I definitely agree with you. I definitely believe that social media platforms, particularly Instagram, have certainly manifested a sinister element into it. As everything is online and users can’t see the reality of influencers posts or actual lifestyle. Instagram has proven that creating unrealistic standards through images, is definitely causing more issues, as this is also difficult to monitor the authenticity on Instagram without actually knowing the person. This is definitely through the manipulation and deception images create- which is such a shame. The application has potential for so many benefits, however, most people’s intentions on it are not beneficial to the rest of society.
No worries! I also agree Instagram has its array of benefits especially for small businesses, photographers, entrepreneurs etc. However, the app’s affordances like filters can easily open up opportunities for deception. Since popular Instagram users have large followings established from their posts, the ability to empower, influence but also deceive increases. I think remembering that Instagram only represents a very mere snapshot of someone’s daily life is vital to ensuring people don’t get too flustered by other Instagram posts.
Hi TYates!
I really enjoyed your paper, especially as your topic is rather similar to mine. Although I focus more so on the effects of influencers using editing apps to participate in identity deception, I completely agree with your point that selective posts, photographs and clothing etc. also contribute to this deception and are done so in order to contribute to societal pressures and norms.
I would love to know your opinion on the developing role influencers are having on society, do you think they are becoming respected business people for their marketing abilities? Or are influencers merely social media users that are just more concentrated with their image than most?
Looking forward to your response!
Sophie 🙂
Hey Sophie!
Thank you so much for your feedback, I really appreciate it!
As social media has become more popular, particularly Instagram, I think it is safe to say there has definitely become an adapted marketing approach within the platform itself and from influencers. Whilst it is evident influencers are maintaining their representation through images, I believe most influencers are using the platform to branch out and market other brands. This marketing aspect without a doubt benefits the brands for the publicity approach, however, also conveys the power influencers have over brands -which could be detrimental. What are your thoughts on the power influencers have over their followers and brands?
Look forward to hearing back from you!
Taneesha 🙂
Hi TYates!
Your paper was very interesting because I strongly agree on your perspective on this issue. The race of the internet fame has led influencers to use identity deception and impression management to exaggerate glamourised personas. With everything being said on your paper, I can’t agree more than this issue is becoming more concerning as we speak. Social media platform like Instagram is so powerful and is controlling the majority of us online as like you mentioned it focuses on creating an unrealistic glamorous lifestyle. Very well done with your paper, it was very engaging and kept me reading til the end!
I have written about a similar issue of identity in communities and networks, here’s where you can find it:
https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2019Curtin/2019/05/07/identity-in-communities-and-online-networks/
Hi NRajaAzmi,
Thank you so much for your feedback!!
It is quite astounding how social media has become such a prominent aspect within all of our lives, as it is what most of us spend a lot of time on. Therefore, it is also very easy for someone to create a deceptive and unrealistic lifestyle, as all the content on Instagram is image based. I definitely agree, this is a very concerning issue and I believe it is part of the reason why the modern youth generation of today is suffering the severe consequences of mental health issues. I strongly believe Instagram and influencers contribute to making individuals feel the pressure to conform. What are your thoughts on Instagram and it’s influence over mental health?
I look forward to hearing your response!
Taneesha 🙂
Hi TYates,
I have your paper very interesting in which you have highlighted key points in today’s generation. Nowadays the youngsters even majority of the social media users are flaunting everything they own on social media which can be detrimental on those people who cannot afford such stuffs. Not only lifestyle but even their personal image are fake. Do you think these people flaunt their personal belongings because of peer pressure in order to be famous and they are living a fake double life as this essay revolves about identity.
I would like to know your thoughts.
Thanks
OGopaul