Volume 3, Issue 4 - Special Issue: Social Media Influencers, Emotions and Global Communication; Guest Editor: Adrian Scribano, National Scientific and Technological Research Council, Argentina

Purpose This study inspects that our eating choice depends on our economic condition, availability of the raw materials and the food we wish to consume etc. Then, it examines how that choice is manipulated by influencers on social media and food-related contents on social media influence our thought process regarding food intake. Methodology The primary method I followed is ethnography intrinsic to a specific and single case of interest (‘Foodka Series’ in YouTube) furthering ‘thick description’ with etic & emic perspectives. Findings Viewers and consumers are vulnerable to emotional risk; food influencers are altering our emotional states through their social media engagements; particular YouTube documentation helps in the process of cultural diffusion and the preservation of culture. Practical implications Researchers can have the idea of interpreting social actions with ‘thick description’, the inclusivity of various research designs and how different qualitative methods are needed to critically analyse a single case of study. Adaptation and use of activity analysis, document analysis, the tradition of figurational sociology and different tools leading to a methodological pluralism may be the guideline for upcoming researches on this area. Social implications This research first questions – are we recalibrating our choices regarding eating? And, then, starts explaining that our choices are not ours only! Those are always constructed, manipulated and reconstructed by the society. Consumers’ emotional states and bodily responses can be altered by the delineation of food-related activation of social media. Originality/Value This is the first ethnographic study in West Bengal that establishes how the influencer manipulates our emotion and influences our eating choices. Readers must be aware of the fact that how in Web 2.0 our emotions are vulnerable to ‘risk’. Leaving the ‘we’ within us we are heading to embrace the ‘self’ indulging in influencer’s blatant self-commodification, self-branding, self-promotion, self-editing.

Purpose This article aims to problematize influencers’ emotional ecologies regarding their digital work as content generators and the emotional ecologies recorded in the food practices they share on their profiles. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured digital interviews and a digital ethnography process in the feeds of the influencers who responded to the interview. Findings We find some similarities in the emotional ecologies we analyze. The influencers’ posts reference emotional ecologies such as love for sharing content, eating with others, and cooking, and tiredness referred to planning the meal, cooking, and liking/enjoying concerning eating with others and sharing content. While in the interviews, it has been possible to elucidate the emergence of the logic of pleasure and happiness about showing/reflecting, sharing content, and inspiring and transmitting something to the other, and satisfaction combined with indifference or tiredness, in some cases, concerning the work itself as influencers. Practical implications Analyzing digital consumption and the influencer phenomenon today provides us with tools to think about the current and future society. In the context of technological advances and digitalization processes, it is necessary to open the dialogue to discuss digital labor changes, new workspaces, workers’ relationships with companies/brands/corporations, and the involvement of bodies and emotions there. Social implications It problematizes the effects of digital consumption, food digital practices, and influencers’s work in everyday social practices. Originality/value This article addresses the criteria that organize the structuration regime of sensibilities on Instagram regarding food practices and the generation of content based on the figures of Argentinian food influencers.

Study purpose Social media influencers in China have significantly influenced public political and social attitudes and behaviors. Based on the origin of fame theory, this study explores which type of influencers – originals, celebrities, or journalists – are most effective in driving changes in their followers’ attitudes and behaviors. Methodology An online experiment used a 3 (type of influencer: original, celebrity, journalist) × 2 (message context: policy-based, social modeling) design. A total of 627 responses were collected to assess how participants evaluate social media influencers and to examine their attitudes and behaviors toward the issues supported by these influencers. Main findings The findings reveal that the effects of social media influencers depend on both their identity and the type of message they promote. Journalist influencers have the greatest effects on participants’ attitudes toward policy-based messages compared to original and celebrity influencers. By contrast, original influencers are more effective at shaping attitudes when sharing social modeling messages. Additionally, the study shows that journalist influencers are perceived to have greater expertise than other influencers, regardless of the message context. Social implications This study shows that identity and message context jointly determine the influence of social media influencers on promoting nonprofit campaigns. Practical implications Communicators can apply the findings of this study to select appropriate social media influencers by considering both the origin of influencers’ fame and the context of the message they are promoting. Originality/value This study emphasizes the power of social media influencers to promote nonprofit campaigns and identifies the conditions that can enhance their effectiveness.

Purpose Building on Social Comparison Theory and Parasocial Relationship Theory, this study is designed to investigate how followers’ wishful identification with YouTube influencers is associated with their psychological well-being and how parasocial relationships with influencers moderate this association. Design/methodology/approach Influencer-fan data ( N  = 504) is collected through a Qualtrics survey in collaboration with a real-life influencer on YouTube. Hayes Process Modeling was used to conduct mediation and moderation analyses. Findings Results indicate that enjoyment of influencers’ videos positively leads to followers’ wishful identification, which negatively impacts their well-being. The parasocial relationship with the influencer was found to be a significant moderator on the negative relationship between wishful identification and follower well-being in the models with vlog-oriented videos and skincare videos as independent variables. Practical implications This study provides guidance for influencers regarding the behaviors to lower the negative psychological impact of their videos on viewers. While influencer content creation is a thriving business, the association between influencer-following and viewer’ mental health issues should not be overlooked. Social implications From the viewers’ perspectives, awareness of social media comparison with influencers and the filtered effects of social media communication are also discussed. Originality/value As influencers continue to gain prominence on social media, their influence on followers extends beyond providing information, entertainment, companionship, and product endorsements. This study examines the negative effects of influencer content on viewers’ psychological well-being, particularly through mechanisms of social comparison and parasocial relationships.

Purpose The proliferation of queer influencers is framed in various phenomena that connect celebrity culture, digital psychopolitics and historical LGBTIQ+ movements, resulting in what we can call a post-reality. This study analyzes the tensions of bodies/emotions that arise from the visibility of queer influencers in Mexico in terms of representation and subjectivation of the sex/gender system, comparing visual narratives and political positionings or the lack of these in a necropolitical context for the LGBTIQ+ community. Design/methodology/approach A descriptive approach was carried out to have a overview of the diversity of profiles, and subsequently the mediabiography methodology was applied to a case study, with the selection of texts and digital images on an analytical model of three axes: corporality, emotionality and visuality. Findings The presence of Mexican queer influencers reconfigures dominant gender narratives and opens possible scenarios to recognize non-hegemonic corporalities and corporal practices. The content they generate articulates counter-narratives, counter-visualities and counter-emotionalities, such as pride in the face of shame, and anger in the face of the neoliberal depoliticization of pride. Practical implications Queer Studies guide the enactment of public policies that recognize the rights of sex/gender diversity. Mediabiography opens creative avenues for the study of contemporary visual narratives on social media. Social implications Counter-narratives, counter-visualities and counter-emotionalities legitimize the dignified existence of corporalities systematically and historically marginalized by the dominant gender model, and de-hierarchize life. Originality/value This is the first study that uses mediabiography for the analysis of visual narratives on social media. It contributes to new discussions for Communication Studies, Queer Studies and the Sociology of Bodies and Emotions.

Purpose Prior research examines how social media use in general affects experiences of loneliness, but few studies have investigated the specific effects of interaction with social media influencers on loneliness and well-being. The study investigates how followers’ interaction with social media influencers affects loneliness through mediation mechanisms underlying this process. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was adopted using Qualtrics, and participants were U.S. residents recruited through Dynata, a professional sampling corporation. Findings Results suggested that interaction with influencers was positively associated with loneliness through parasocial relationships and perceived social support. In addition, a sense of belonging and perceived social support significantly mediate the relationship between interaction with influencers and loneliness. Practical implications Our study suggests that while interactions with SMIs may foster parasocial relationships, a sense of belonging, and social support, they can paradoxically also increase feelings of loneliness. This indicates that SMIs can act as a double-edged sword, namely providing social bonds but simultaneously amplifying loneliness. Thus, it is critical for followers to be aware of their emotional attachment to SMIs and the potential adverse effects on their well-being. Social implications Our study has important implications for how we conceptualize the role of social media influencers in the modern information environment. The study provides empirical support and is a starting point for future research on SMIs’ impacts on emotional, social, and psychological well-being. Findings from the study contribute to the scholarly works investigating the adverse effects of following and interacting with SMIs. Originality/value Our finding differs from previous research suggesting active social media use helps reduce loneliness through enhanced social support. Such contradictions may be attributed to the nature of interacting with SMIs, which affects loneliness through serial mediators. The study contributes to the scholarly works investigating the adverse effects of following and interacting with SMIs.

Purpose Creative content influencers are increasingly seizing the opportunity not only to express themselves, but also to monetize their videos and become entrepreneurs. The present study tests an integrative framework to determine whether the “creative influencers environment” impacts the degree of motivation for posting videos online, alongside the gratifications derived from such activity. Design/methodology/approach Utilizing a national online survey of video “creators” ( n  = 327), we test a hierarchical model assessing the impact of social categories, personality factors (e.g., narcissism), and mediated communication constructs (e.g., uses and gratifications [U&G]). Findings Multiple regression analyses explain roughly half or more of the variance in our models for predicting (1) motivations for and (2) gratifications received from posting videos on social media. Practical implications Study findings reveal a different mix of predictors for each video content category that creative influencers post on social media. This includes a strong pattern of influences on posting motivations from the larger environment in which people live, social categories, and personality factors, but not from the use of legacy media nor the use of newer technologies. Social implications Results also underscore “different influences for different types of content,” which can be explained by a “content trumps form” theme that has emerged in recent research. Overall, mixed support was found for the proposed model, although we did establish this collection of constructs as important in predicting the strength of gratifications received and motivations sought by posting videos on social media. Originality/value The present analysis of larger environment factors, social categories, personality indicators, and use of media (legacy and newer) helps profile a social media “creator culture” for the production of online videos. Study findings offer a clear signpost that an additional component could be added here—that of “content types” for online videos—as a moderator for the variegated predictive power of the model components.