1.11: Our Transformed Selves

Diana Daly

Key points

• The microcelebrity phenomenon shapes online identities by strategically managing profiles, turning ordinary individuals into potential influencers.
• Reflecting on the transformative journey of social media, particularly Instagram, over the past decade, and its influence on how people engage and present themselves in the digital realm.
• Exploring the role of social media in college life, especially within Greek organizations, and observing how individuals tailor their profiles to conform or stand out in distinct cultures.
• Embracing the concept of desired media, where individuals purposefully share content to evoke positive emotions and connections, rather than solely seeking attention or fame.
• Navigating the dynamic landscape of social media culture, which includes the rise and fall of platforms and the evolving motivations of users, underlining the importance of fostering positive online cultures.
• Acknowledging the reciprocal relationship between humans and social media, emphasizing the necessity for purposeful engagement, genuine care, and the cultivation of a positive online culture when navigating the digital landscape.

In this chapter

• Section 1: Managing our publics
  • Student insights: The standards of Instagram over time (video by Nellie Youssef, Spring 2021)
• Section 2: Paradoxes in microcelebrity
  • Student Insights: How to be different on social media (writing by iVoices Media Lab Student, Fall 2020)
• Section 3: Visibility labor
  • Student Insights: Posting for Yourself (writing by iVoices Media Lab Student, Fall 2020)
• Section 4: Digital ethnography, thanks to the students in this book
• Section 5: Conclusion
• Looking Back — Social Media and Ourselves podcast
• Core Concepts
• Core Questions
• How fitness influencers game the algorithms to pump up their engagement

Section 1: Managing our publics

In the world of mutual influence in which technologies and humans exist, are our selves changing? It would certainly appear so in an online search. Identity construction online is sophisticated and constant; not just a full-time job but an activity occupying all hours of our lives.

The need to manage our identities is a new phenomenon – right? Well, mostly. One culture that has been dealing with context collapse as an essential part of their work and lives is celebrity culture. And an increasingly popular strategy for pleasing multiple audiences in various contexts is to post like a celebrity. Enter the influencers: Those figures, now ubiquitous in online spaces, whose popularity is leveraged to sway the opinions, preferences, and purchasing decisions of their audience.

Influencers can be celebrities, but they can also be regular people. Microcelebrity, a term introduced by Theresa Senft in her book on “Camgirls” published in 2008, is a way of presenting yourself like a celebrity: setting up your profile and “brand” online, gaining followers, and revealing things about yourself in strategic and controlled ways. The goal of microcelebrity is to make your brand – the marketing of yourself – valuable. The entire system around microcelebrity is called “the attention economy” because, with so much information out there vying for people’s attention, anything people choose to look at is perceived as more valuable, including ourselves. Microcelebrity leads social media users, regardless of their level of fame, to apply marketing perspectives to their own identities.

Microcelebrity is big business. It can make ordinary people famous, as when Youtubers can become household names with lucrative marketing contracts. But more often, microcelebrity helps ordinary users participate in social media culture while managing their contexts with polish. We understand increasingly that our social media presences are like art exhibits of ourselves, and we spend extra time curating them.

Student insights: The standards of Instagram over time (video by Nellie Youssef, Spring 2021)

An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://opentextbooks.library.arizona.edu/humansrsocialmedia/?p=110#h5p-88

An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://opentextbooks.library.arizona.edu/humansrsocialmedia/?p=110#h5p-340

Here are a few of the characteristics of microcelebrity:

Niche Content: Microcelebrities often focus on niche topics or interests, catering to specific communities. This targeted approach helps them stand out and attract like-minded followers.

Authenticity: Unlike traditional celebrities who may maintain a curated public persona, microcelebrities often emphasize authenticity and relatability. Followers appreciate the unfiltered and genuine nature of microcelebrity content.

Engagement: Microcelebrities actively engage with their followers, fostering a sense of community and connection. This two-way communication distinguishes microcelebrity from traditional, one-sided celebrity-fan relationships.

DIY Approach: Microcelebrities frequently employ a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to content creation. This self-produced content often resonates with audiences looking for a more personal and grassroots connection.

A “backstage” selfie with First Lady Michelle Obama and Ryan Seacrest demonstrates the demotic turn in celebrity​ (Image: First Lady Michelle Obama poses for a selfie with Ryan Seacrest, The White House, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...e_Jan_2014.jpg, Public Domain)

Section 2: Paradoxes in microcelebrity

Media theorist Alice Marwick has written about a paradox in microcelebrity: As ordinary people are acting more famous, famous people are acting more ordinary. Kim Kardashian presents a selfie of herself and Kanye West in a bathroom; Michelle Obama and Ryan Seacrest mug goofily for a selfie. Graeme Turner called this leveling of the everyday toward celebrity culture and vice versa "the demotic turn" in celebrity culture. “Celebrity culture is increasingly populated by unexceptional people who have become famous and by stars who have been made ordinary,” according to author Joshua Gamson.

Social media has accelerated the demotic turn in celebrity. Many people quote Andy Warhol’s comment in the past that each person, no matter how ordinary, would have 15 minutes of fame. Today, technologically connected societies offer a lifetime of potential discovery by audiences. High-profile celebrities perform the masses for the masses. And you all are superstars, to at least a small public.

Microcelebrity can be understood as a form of online fame that transcends traditional celebrity boundaries. Unlike mainstream celebrities who achieve fame through mass media and entertainment industries, microcelebrities gain recognition within specific online communities or platforms. These individuals amass followers, often numbering in the thousands or tens of thousands, by creating content that resonates with niche audiences.

Early social media influencers paved the way for microcelebrities by connecting with audiences through personal narratives, relatable content, and niche expertise. Platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube have become breeding grounds for microcelebrity, allowing individuals to build personal brands and cultivate communities around shared interests.

Student Insights: How to be different on social media (writing by iVoices Media Lab Student, Fall 2020)

An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://opentextbooks.library.arizona.edu/humansrsocialmedia/?p=110#h5p-341

Section 3: Visibility labor

Media scholar Crystal Abidin has conducted numerous studies of microcelebrities and influencers; one example is in her article “Visibility Labour: Engaging with Influencers’ Fashion Brands and #OOTD Advertorial Campaigns on Instagram,” which explores the concept of visibility labor within the context of influencers’ engagement with fashion brands and Outfit of the Day (#OOTD) advertorial campaigns on Instagram. The term “visibility labor” refers to the effort influencers invest in curating and maintaining their online presence to attract and retain followers. The study examines how influencers contribute to the promotion of fashion brands and campaigns, shedding light on the dynamic relationship between influencers, brands, and the platform. The focus is on the role of Instagram as a space where influencers perform and negotiate visibility labor to establish themselves as influential figures in the realm of fashion.

The labor of microcelebrities and influencers, though often portrayed as glamorous, comes with hidden challenges. The constant pressure to create content leads to potential burnout, and the invasion of privacy blurs the line between public and private life. Online harassment is a significant issue, impacting mental health, and dependency on algorithms can result in unpredictable income. Short-lived fame, the pressure to monetize, and a culture of comparison contribute to anxiety and self-doubt. Overall, the negative impacts extend beyond the surface of the seemingly glamorous influencer lifestyle.

Microcelebrity, at its best, showcases the power of individuals to create meaningful connections and influence positive change through authentic content. Many microcelebrities leverage their influence to raise awareness about social issues and promote charitable causes. For instance, beauty and lifestyle microcelebrities have been known to use their platforms to advocate for inclusivity and body positivity, contributing to broader societal conversations. This aligns with the idea that microcelebrity culture has the potential to be a force for positive social change, as explored in the work of Senft and Baym (2015).

Additionally, microcelebrities often serve as relatable role models, breaking away from the unattainable perfection associated with traditional celebrities. Abidin’s study above highlights that audiences appreciate the authenticity and approachability of microcelebrities, finding inspiration in their stories and experiences. This aspect of microcelebrity culture fosters a more intimate and genuine connection between content creators and their followers, emphasizing the democratization of fame and influence in the digital age.

Student Insights: Posting for Yourself (writing by iVoices Media Lab Student, Fall 2020)

An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://opentextbooks.library.arizona.edu/humansrsocialmedia/?p=110#h5p-346

Section 4: Digital ethnography, thanks to the students in this book

In my chapters in this book, I have included students’ compositions about their lives through photos, writing, audio, and video. This work is part of the larger iVoices Media lab project, which included hundreds of student’s media stories and artifacts about technologies in their lives. I designed iVoices to be a digital (or virtual) ethnography, teaching us about the digital world through stories about people.

So what is digital ethnography more conventionally? It’s a qualitative research method that involves the study of online communities, cultures, and behaviors through immersive and participatory observation. It adapts traditional ethnographic methods to the digital realm, aiming to understand how people interact, communicate, and form communities in online spaces. This Digital Ethnography Reading List is an excellent guide to understanding how culture understood through online presence.

There are many ways to conduct digital ethnography, but I often draw on these methods:

Participant Observation:

• • Example: An anthropologist might join an online gaming community, actively participating in the game, observing interactions, and documenting the culture, social norms, and communication styles within that digital space.

In-Depth Interviews:

• • Example: A researcher might conduct virtual interviews with members of an online forum dedicated to a specific interest, exploring their motivations, experiences, and the role of the digital community in their lives.

Content Analysis:

• • Example: Studying the content shared on a social media platform or blog to analyze the language, themes, and trends within a particular online community, providing insights into the community’s values and interests. iVoices students created digital artifacts: memes, hashtags, or user-generated content, which we collected and analyzed to understand how cultural expressions manifest within a digital community and how they contribute to identity formation.

Qualitative research methods like digital ethnography are conducted through the researcher as the “human instrument”. So how do we make sure that instrument is working correctly? Ethics, or considerations of how to minimize harm right thing, are a crucial consideration in studying the lives of people. Researchers consider ethical concerns such as privacy and consent when studying people. To be ethical in the study of culture, researchers must be reflexive, reflecting on their own experiences and biases, and the practice of reflexivity works to ensure that we as researchers are finding is not misunderstood through our own biases.

Every iVoices participant gave permission for their work to be openly licensed, and our team combed through their content to make sure their privacy was protected beyond whatever identifying information they chose to present. If you have found the student work in my chapters of this book valuable and you are a student, I hope you will take your experiences with social media seriously as knowledge, and consider how you can change with world with that knowledge in your pocket.

If you are an instructor using this book in your course, I hope you invite your students to teach you what they know.

Section 5: Conclusion

Social media changes so rapidly, a book is difficult to maintain. How can we contain social life online enough to capture it in one volume? One solution is shared governance of a textbook, with many authors rather than one. To conclude this edition of this book, I invite you to consider becoming an author of a chapter in the next version. Learn more in the front matter, Inviting Coauthors in Shared Governance of this OER Textbook.

Looking Back — Social Media and Ourselves podcast

One or more interactive elements has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view them online here: https://opentextbooks.library.arizona.edu/humansrsocialmedia/?p=110#oembed-1

Looking Back

Release date: March 1st 2022

In this episode, Professor Diana Daly, Gabe Stultz, and Jacquie Kuru take a look back on the podcast, sharing their favorite episodes, moments, and challenges so far. Stay tuned for an additional episode this month – recorded at SXSW!

LISTEN • LISTEN WITH TRANSCRIPT

Respond to this podcast episode…How did the podcast episode “Looking Back” use interviews, student voices, or sounds to demonstrate a current or past social trend phenomenon? If you were making a sequel to this episode, what voices or sounds would you include to help listeners understand more about this trend, and why?

Core Concepts and Questions

Core Concepts

"the demotic turn" in celebrity culture

Graeme Turner’s term for the leveling of the everyday toward celebrity culture and vice versa (Understanding Celebrity, 2004)

digital (or virtual) ethnography

a qualitative research method that involves the study of online communities, cultures, and behaviors through immersive and participatory observation

ethics

considerations of how to minimize harm and do the right thing

influencers

online celebrities and microcelebrities whose popularity is leveraged to sway the opinions, preferences, and purchasing decisions of their audience

microcelebrity

a way of presenting yourself like a celebrity: setting up your profile and “brand” online, gaining followers, and revealing things about yourself in strategic and controlled ways

reflexivity

reflecting on one’s own experiences and biases

visibility labor

the effort influencers invest in curating and maintaining their online presence to attract and retain followers

Core Questions

A. Questions for qualitative thought:

1. Consider the branding practices on social media of yourself or a non-celebrity acquaintance you know. Compare these practices to an actual brand. Are the practices similar? How does it feel to brand oneself – what is emphasized, and what is left out?
2. In the context of microcelebrity, how has the phenomenon influenced your own identity construction on social media platforms, and to what extent do you find yourself applying marketing perspectives to curate your online brand?
3. Reflecting on the "the demotic turn" in celebrity culture, how do you perceive the blurring of lines between the everyday and celebrity culture on social media platforms? Can you share personal examples or observations where ordinary individuals have achieved microcelebrity status, and do you believe this has impacted the way society views fame?
4. How have you observed individuals tailoring their online profiles to conform to or stand out within specific cultural contexts? In your own experience or observations, does social media play a significant role in shaping the identity and perception of individuals associated with Greek Life or other college communities?

B. Review: Which is the best answer?

An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://opentextbooks.library.arizona.edu/humansrsocialmedia/?p=110#h5p-52

C. Game on!

An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://opentextbooks.library.arizona.edu/humansrsocialmedia/?p=110#h5p-315

An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://opentextbooks.library.arizona.edu/humansrsocialmedia/?p=110#h5p-210

Related Content

Read It: How fitness influencers game the algorithms to pump up their engagement

The best influencers regularly highlight their competence.
Kilito Chan/Moment via Getty Images

Ashley Roccapriore, University of Tennessee and Tim Pollock, University of Tennessee

Social media and misrepresentation can go hand in hand – and that’s especially the case in the loosely regulated fitness and nutrition industry.

We both have experience with personal training, but from different perspectives.

To improve his fitness regimen, Tim has sought out experienced trainers, while Ashley ran an online fitness and nutrition company before getting her doctorate.

She went through all the hoops to obtain credentials – training as a bodybuilder, obtaining certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association and studying nutrition through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. She also used Instagram to grow her business.

And yet both of us realized that individuals with no credentials or expertise were building their own brands on social media – sometimes making more money than those who were credentialed.

It made us wonder: How is this possible?

To explore this, we followed 488 fitness and nutrition influencers on Instagram for six months, analyzing over 50,000 posts, 8 million follower comments and 620,000 influencer replies to figure out how they used words and images to attract and interact with followers.

In our recent article for the Academy of Management Journal, we explain how just establishing a social media presence doesn’t mean a would-be influencer can easily reach clients, as the social media platform’s algorithm determines who sees what posts, and when. And even if influencers do attract large followings, social media users shouldn’t necessarily buy what the influencers are selling.

The rise of the influencer

Social media use has more than tripled in the past decade, and many young people now aspire to become successful influencers. A Morning Consult poll from 2019 found that 54% of Americans ages 13 to 38 said they would become an influencer if given the chance.

But what exactly does it mean to be an influencer?

Influencers are people who use social media to sell products or services – either their own or those of another company or brand. Successful influencers gain better placement in their followers’ social media feeds, obtain brand endorsements, facilitate networking opportunities and cultivate other revenue streams.

They do this by getting social media users to engage with their accounts – to follow their profiles, like their posts and write comments.

Although the algorithms social media platforms use to decide what users see are shrouded in mystery, it’s generally understood that algorithms will boost accounts that have a lot of followers and regularly interact with these followers.

Gaming the algorithm

Successful influencers will leverage these different degrees of user engagement to build and grow their businesses. But they need to be strategic about which images and words they use, since each can influence different parts of the algorithm.

Images generally attract someone’s attention before text, and they’re also processed more quickly than text. So influencers must choose their images wisely.

We found that images that reinforce the influencers’ competence – in the case of fitness influencers, photos and videos highlighting their physiques and ability to perform exercises, or “before and after” photos of themselves and their clients – had the largest effect on their number of followers.

Our data showed that for every image post signaling their competence, fitness influencers boosted their followers by almost 3%. That’s significant when you consider that each additional follower can result in more revenue from sponsors and sales. According to the music licensing site Lickd, Instagram users with 5,000 followers can earn about US$350 per sponsored post, and influencers with 100,000 followers can earn double that.

The trick, of course, is attracting sponsors.

But amassing lots of followers isn’t the only path to ensuring success on social media. Influencers also need their followers to interact with their posts. This is typically much more time-intensive for users than clicking “follow” and mindlessly scrolling. But this sort of engagement can easily sway the algorithm.

Most social media users want to feel they’re building a community, not just spewing their thoughts into a digital void. So successful influencers can cultivate connection by regularly replying to their followers’ comments.

This can be something as simple as “Hey @instagram_girl292, I love that you tried our new product. We are so excited to hear what you think about the next one!”

We found that influencers who project warmth and reply to comments garner 21% more positive replies from current and new followers.

Whether you’re selling workout plans or beauty products, it’s important to regularly interact with your followers.
Alistair Berg/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Buyer beware

It’s important to remember that influencers can project competence without actually having it – and that regular engagement with followers says little about the quality of the product they’re selling.

In the sample we used for our study, fewer than 20% of the influencers reported having any credentials.

The fitness industry is especially prone to manipulation. While brick-and-mortar gyms traditionally require their personal trainers to have advanced credentials, such as certifications in fitness or nutrition, there is no industry governing body ensuring that people who call themselves trainers have the necessary background and experience. Therefore, anyone can become a trainer and sell their products and services online and through social media.

In fact, many fitness influencers doctor their images, giving themselves unrealistic and unattainable bodies.

Worse, they may not ever follow through on their promises.

For example, social media influencer Brittany Dawn was sued by thousands of her followers in February 2022 after they claimed she sold them fitness and meal plans she never delivered. Pitching herself as someone who could help people rebuild their relationship with food, Dawn had attracted followers and customers who had struggled with eating disorders. Responding to the criticism, Dawn, whose trial is set to begin on March 6, 2023, said, “I jumped into an industry that had no instruction manual.”

Providing custom meal plans is outside most personal trainers’ scope of expertise, unless they also happen to be nutritionists. But given the lack of industry oversight, few customers knew this. Instead, Dawn, like many other social media influencers, lured followers by posting attention-grabbing photos and interacting with customers in ways that made them feel like they had a personal relationship with her.

That means that it’s up to everyone to do their homework on what they’re buying – and not be blinded by shapely legs, an alluring smile and six-pack abs.

Ashley Roccapriore, PhD Candidate in Business, University of Tennessee and Tim Pollock, Haslam Chair in Business and Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship, University of Tennessee

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

About the author

Diana Daly

U of Arizona

https://ischool.arizona.edu/people/diana-daly

Dr. Diana Daly of the University of Arizona is the Director of iVoices, a media lab helping students produce media from their narratives on technologies. Prof Daly teaches about qualitative research, social media, and information quality at the University of Arizona.

Media Attributions

• s21_062_p2gpp © Nellie Youssef is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license
• First_Lady_Michelle_Obama_and_Ryan_Seacrest_selfie_Jan_2014 © The White House is licensed under a Public Domain license
• SC_image-5fceba50d37a5 © Anonymous adapted by Emily Gammons is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license
• GI1_image_5fced83481088 © Anonymous adapted by Emily Gammons is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license