How Influencer Culture shapes our teens’ behaviour.- I don’t know if you’re familiar with this term: Influencer Culture.
It is defined as the “sociological phenomenon of individual internet users creating an online community over which they wield commercial and non-commercial power”.
There are two different types of “influencers”: scientists, reporters, attorneys, and other professionals with expert-level expertise, referred to as the old examples and, the contemporary ones denominated social media influencers.
The credibility of the influencer, especially their experience and integrity, is one of the most distinguishing traits that attract the audience. The purpose of influencers is to persuade audiences of their own ideas, products, or services. To do that, they make use of the six principles of persuasion: consensus, consistency, scarcity, reciprocity, authority, and liking.
You surely have heard about Generation Z whose members were born between the 1990s and the 2000s and who are distinguished for their extensive usage of the Internet at a young age (95% of teenagers aged between 13 and 17 own a Smartphone). In this day and age of globalization and technological advancement, social media plays a vital part in forming the identity of teenagers. Adolescence is a transitional stage in individuals’ lives that represents the interval between childhood and adulthood. During this phase teenagers’ brains undergo multiple transformations that make them more sensitive to the opinions of others and also incapable of making vital decisions. As a result, young people and teens have been identified as the most vulnerable class of consumers.
Thinking about the type of person you want to be is related to identity formation. The youngsters are heavily reliant on social media, and as such, the personalities of social media influencers have a significant impact on the construction of identity—when there is a previous model to replicate, identification is made easier. Targeted marketing on social media influences adolescent identity formation by persuading them to adopt new habits of appearance and consumption.
Another point to be taken into account is the effect of social media on self-esteem, being the social comparison an important aspect of developing a teen’s own identity. It is well known that all social media networks allow individuals to compare themselves. Young followers place a greater emphasis on self-evaluation by making social comparisons with others on a variety of aspects such as attractiveness, popularity, social classes or positions, money accumulation, and so on. This tendency to compare ourselves to others on social media can make us feel insufficient which can be detrimental to our mental health and welfare leading to increasing levels of anxiety.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though, because researchers believe that influencers may help promote good ideas and increase diversity. We also witness influencers having incredibly positive impacts, supporting causes like veganism and body positivity, as well as messages opposing toxic masculinity and the #MeToo movement, which has drastically altered public perceptions of sexual assault.
From the marketing professionals’ point of view, influencers are opinion leaders due to their essential role in persuading and influencing their followers. An influencer acts as a go-between for customers and businesses. Consumers, particularly young people and teens, regard influencers as a source of transparency, authenticity, and personal information, which aids in the expansion of offered businesses via the enormous social media network.
All that being said, it is up to you how you instill your teenage son or daughter to make responsible use of social media. The greatest approach for technology to become a formidable instrument for them and, as a result, for the entire society is to provide them with digital education from home and from companies, too; they must also safeguard them.
So ask yourself: How influencer culture shapes our teens’ behavior?
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