Influencers and celebrity culture: blog tasks

 1) Media Magazine reading:

1) How has YouTube "democratised media creativity"?

With the ability for regular users to submit their own video, known as "produsers" (producer-users) and "prosumers" (producer-consumers), the YouTube platform has decentralised media creativity. Audiences filter or evaluate content after it has been released.

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

Even decades before the internet, increased communications made the world into a small, interconnected village. Even if Emma Chamberlain and other well-known YouTube stars are not all Americans, they do make up the majority.Influencers on YouTube promote American references, language, and attitudes. This type of globalisation indicates the "West vs. the Rest" cultural hegemony of Western attitudes. 

3) How do influencers reinforce capitalist ideologies?

YouTube celebrities frequently receive sponsorship from business entities and end up endorsing goods. Their posts serve as an example of the commercialization or commodification of entertainment, which, while in some ways more sincere and overt than past instances of covert product placement, still steers viewers towards conformist viewpoints and behaviours by enticing them to purchase goods and strive for material advancement. 

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

YouTuber videos frequently challenge the rules and norms of conventional cinematography. They employ methods that highlight the artificiality of their filmmaking, such as the handheld camera, cartoon-like captions and sounds, crash zooms into extreme close-ups, jump cuts, and other clear editing techniques. The vlog is a very introspective media format. In order to break the fourth wall and show the "nuts and bolts" of video production and editing, this postmodern self-consciousness.

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

The language used in viral video clips is typically informal and irreverent. This calls into question whether or not younger viewers can access it. It might be challenging to limit older children's access to such websites since they may be more susceptible and less able to separate themselves emotionally and critically from what they are watching.

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

According to David Hesmondhalgh, Curran, and Seaton, corporate power and the need for profit are what drive the cultural industries. Huge corporations like Google and Facebook gain market dominance and leave little room for democracy, individualism, or independence when they acquire platforms and apps that were formerly their rivals. 

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

Online media, according to David Gauntlett, encourages regular users to experiment with several personas, presenting identity as numerous and changeable. With so many various YouTubers to pick from, viewers may witness a wide range of perspectives and ways of being. Younger viewers are drawn to many YouTubers because they recognise themselves in their role models.

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 celebrity influencers are both positive and negative. They are positive because they motivate and influence young people for the better however they are also negative cause a lot of influencers just do it for the money and so everything they could be saying may also be fake and unrealistic. They also cause bad mental health for young people as some people want to be like them but their lives aren't necessarily realistic.  

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

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

Not all celebrities are in charge of their own social media platforms. As an illustration, consider how Harry writes his tweets on Twitter. While some of them are clearly his, others are more likely to have been handled by a social media manager. Social media managers frequently have the duty of taking on the voice of their famous clients and collaborating with them to ensure that their social media presence is "on brand." It's impossible to know if a celebrity has a personal Instagram or Twitter account. 

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

Voice makes businesses stand out from the competition; the same is true of a celebrity's tone and presence on social media. Teigen's spontaneous and frequently amusing tweets frequently give the impression that they were not penned by a celebrity at all. Her empathetic approach to social media has increased her appeal and relatability among her tens of millions of fans. 

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

A celebrity's social media manager's job is to decide what those objectives are and how to achieve them while interacting with their thousands or millions of followers.

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

news, buzz, and behind-the-scenes content; slice-of-life content; and celebrity photos 

uplifting and motivational material.  

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

Celebrities may drive engagement and interact with fans by posing questions, which go beyond likes and retweets. In order to decide who to like and shout out, celebrities and their managers can keep an eye on mentions and direct messages.

While a "Like" or retweet from a celebrity only takes a moment, it could very well mean the world to a fan. 

3) Guardian article: Social media harming young people:

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

They discovered that 62% of teenagers aged 15 to 16 believed social media had raised standards for their physical attractiveness. The organisation claimed that the use of Photoshopped images and the sharing of only the most attractive photos had changed young people's perceptions of what a normal body looked like. 

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

 11 to 12-year-olds were already concerned about social media, with 43% of those asked saying that people they saw online influenced them.

According to Dubicka, social media sites like Instagram and Snapchat "can be damaging and even destructive" to girls' mental health. Young people are under pressure to participate constantly and keep up with their peers in order to avoid being left out and socially outcast. 

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 social media could be dangerous for young people as sometimes they never know who they are really talking to as everyone is behind a screen. Scams could also happen which isn't the best thing or experience. I feel like if age restrictions are enforced young people may still find a way by possibly putting in a fake D.O.B.