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Layers of Identity: How to Be “Real” When Everyone Is Watching

  • Crystal Abidin (author)
Chapter of: Social Media & the Self: An Open Reader

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Metadata
TitleLayers of Identity: How to Be “Real” When Everyone Is Watching
ContributorCrystal Abidin (author)
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.32376/3f8575cb.a3133b0f
Landing pagehttps://www.mediastudies.press/pub/abidin-layers/
Publishermediastudies.press
Published on2021-07-15
Short abstractWITH THE RISE of online influencers and their conscientiously maintained feeds full of images of luxury, the accessibility once promised by their predecessors, microcelebrities, has been eroded.
Long abstractWITH THE RISE of online influencers and their conscientiously maintained feeds full of images of luxury, the accessibility once promised by their predecessors, microcelebrities, has been eroded. For their followers, microcelebrities were a more visible version of the ordinary person, albeit being closer to fulfilling collective aspirations of wealth and health. They were taken as role models, offering life-hacks and pro tips for attaining life goals, with their personal lifestyles serving as proof. This mainly played out through their endorsing particular products and services and sometimes amplifying some trends over others through their opinion editorials. But unlike the lives of celebrities in the mainstream entertainment industry who also dabble in endorsements, the lives of microcelebrities felt easier to emulate and to possibly attain. They had a knack for discussing prosperity and pimples, charms and chores in the same breath. Influencer culture began in the late 1990s and mid-2000s; in Southeast Asia it was on blog platforms such as OpenDiary, LiveJournal, Xanga, and Blogspot. In China it was on discussion boards. In the U.S., it was through home webcamming. Before the internet, marketing through the endorsements of “ordinary people” was a matter of scouts recruiting popular high school and university students to model specific wares on campus and promoting student parties and clubs.
Contributors

Crystal Abidin

(author)