I takt med Instagrams ökade popularitet har även det nya yrket influencer vuxit fram. En influencer delar personlig information i syfte att skapa en online-identitet som fungerar som ett varumärke. Deras bilder är ofta idealiserade, en sorts innehåll som har visat sig korrelera med att fler sociala jämförelser görs. Tidigare studier har även visat att innehåll som anspelar på skönhetsideal kan leda till sämre kroppsuppfattning, vilket i den här studien undersöks i en svensk urvalsgrupp. Sammanlagt 176 kvinnor deltog i studiens enkät beståendeav Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults, Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Scale, frågor om antalet influencers de följer samt intresset för deras innehåll för att undersöka eventuella kopplingar sinsemellan. Genom en multipel regressionsanalys framkom det att tendens till social jämförelse kan predicera sämre kroppsuppfattning, men antal influencers eller specifikt innehåll inte kunde kopplas till sämre kroppsuppfattning.

El consumo de películas del género de superhéroes en el cine ha ido en aumento con el pasar de los años expandiéndose a nivel mundial, y en parte, esto se debe a que los consumidores tienen al alcance de su mano varios dispositivos y plataformas por las cuales pueden investigar la película que desean ver antes de efectuar la compra. Para ello, Youtube se ha vuelto un canal indispensable y el principal cuando se trata de tener una fuente de información y opinión sobre las películas debido a que en esta plataforma se encuentran todos los trailers y principalmente debido a los ya conocidos “youtubers” o influencers digitales”, personas conocidas en un determinado ámbito o rubro que generan contenido ofreciendo información, opiniones, etc a sus seguidores y marcan una tendencia y estilo de vida que son imitados por las personas que se sienten identificados con estos líderes de opinión. Los youtubers logran influir en el consumo (o el no consumo) de las películas del género de superhéroes por medio de sus opiniones y gustos al respecto. Esto se demostrará o se refutará por medio de una investigación en base a la observación, entrevistas y focus group a las personas que conforman el centro de estudio, para de esta forma tener un análisis y una muestra real del tipo de influencia que los youtubers ejercen en sus seguidores para el proceso de consumo de este tipo de películas y que tan significativo es su aporte para su comunidad virtual de seguidores. / The consumption of films of the genre of superheroes in the cinema has been increasing with the passing of the years expanding worldwide, and in part, this is because consumers have at their fingertips several devices and platforms by which You can research the movie you want to watch before making the purchase. For this, YouTube has become an indispensable channel and the main one when it comes to having a source of information and opinion about the films because all the trailers are on this platform and mainly due to the already known “youtubers” or influencers digital ”, people known in a certain area or category that generate content offering information, opinions, etc. to their followers and mark a trend and lifestyle that are imitated by people who feel identified with these opinion leaders. Youtubers manage to influence the consumption (or non- consumption) of the films of the superhero genre through their opinions and tastes about it. This will be demonstrated or refuted by means of an investigation based on the observation, interviews and focus group to the people who make up the study center, in order to have an analysis and a real sample of the type of influence that youtubers exert in his followers for the process of consuming such films and how significant is his contribution to his virtual community of followers. / Trabajo de investigación

This study aims to expand on the knowledge of how conspiracy theorists spread their theories and message online by looking closer at one Swedish influencer on Instagram: Natalie Jonsson (@nataliejonssons). Through her Instagram feed including videos, pictures and saved livestreams the study analyzed how Instagram was used, which themes that were present and how the influencer presented herself. The study relies on Goffman's theory of self representation, as well as media affordances, personal branding, conspirituality and Baker's previous research on the persecuted hero narrative. The comparative method was used for coding and finding themes in the material. The study's inductive approach revealed that the influencer, who originally was chosen for being a part of the anti-vaccination movement, was in fact also a conspiracy theorist. The findings were as follows: Instagram was used strategically in the spread of themes in different parts of the profile, where the livestreams presented the most extreme opinions, while an anti-vaccine discourse was more openly displayed. Eleven themes were found, most of them rooted in a mistrust for the system, leaders, medicine and media. The remaining themes all included conspiracy theories and/or false information, with the exception for the theme private life and politics. Natalie Jonsson positions herself as a censored fighter for the people, truth and freedom. The results aid in expanding on the understanding of misinformation and conspiracy theories and their spread online, and thus undermining truth, democracy and health around the globe.

Since YouTube's launch in 2005, it has grown into one of the most visited social media platforms in the world. It launched with the slogan "Broadcast Yourself"with the promise that the content sharing site would allow anyone to post, share, and interact with videos from anyone around the world for free. Many people took advantage of that promise and became Internet celebrities, or "influencers,"in a short amount of time, amassing millions of subscribers and billions of views. The success of these YouTube stars has led them to land roles on TV and in films, launch music careers, write books, and many other avenues. However, these stars have also had their fair share of public controversies that have caused advertisers to pull their content from YouTube's platform. This has forced YouTube to change their algorithm and other procedures so that YouTube stars' videos are no longer boosted to the front page, which in turn hurts their budding careers. This puts YouTube at a crossroads between billions of dollars in advertising revenue and the homegrown celebrities that helped make YouTube what it is today. The research in this study examined what YouTube influencers value and would change about YouTube's affordances to help make the website a better opportunity for anyone and everyone to grow their Internet careers. Using qualitative methods to gain insights from several YouTube influencers, this study explored what YouTube and other future social media accounts can do to help those that know and utilize their platforms best. The findings of this study show that while social media oftentimes acts as a conduit for online content sharing, YouTube doubles as an investor who will back videos with advertising revenue, front-page access, and algorithmic preference to boost a video's success and reach. This venture capital-style system comes with challenges as influencers can both benefit greatly from these affordances, but also be hurt when these affordances block their videos from finding audiences. Because of this, money-making on YouTube can be highly rewarding, but also discouraging and risky. Influencers are often stuck finding other ways to make money such as external sponsorship, platform diversification, and independent merchandising. This puts YouTube and influencers in a constant state of renegotiation where YouTube toes the line of pleasing advertisers and influencers while influencers struggle to work around YouTube affordances, policies, and terms. These findings show that YouTube is a rich, immersive medium with significant potential for influencers. The findings also show that affordances, while often viewed as beneficial to all parties, may at times be beneficial and detrimental depending on the individual. Future research can build off the foundation this study lays to learn if this model exists on other platforms and media.

”Digitala ungdomar” är en studie av interrelationen mellan ungdomar, utbildning och internet. Genom kvalitativa intervjuer och etnografiska observationer på nätet, så kallad nätnografi undersöks värdestrukturer och kamratkulturer på internet. De digitala ungdomarna ses genom sina intersektioner som såväl gymnasie- som estetiska ungdomar, och således diskuteras deras förhållningssätt till såväl den meritokratiska ordningen som den konstnärliga logiken. Med hjälp av Bourdieus kapitalbegrepp och Corsaros tankelinje om tolkande reproduktion så ställer sig detta arbete frågan: vad spelar utbildningen för roll? Resultatet visar att digitala ungdomar står någonstans mittemellan, som en hybrid vilka förhåller sig till utbildning som en sorts reservplan, men samtidigt anammar det konstnärliga fältets värderingar, om än i förhandling med det digitalas roll för såväl samhällsvetenskaplig utbildning som konstnärligt skapande. Deras innehållsskapande på nätet ger även mening genom de digitala ungdomarna som kunskapsförmedlare av erfarenheter, de utgör representanter som genom informellt lärande tillför kunskaper och sammanhang åt ungdomar som saknar motsvarande inom ramarna för den formella utbildningen. På nätet värderas de sociala och kulturella tillgångarna, vilka formar den sociala ordning inom ungdomars gemensamma livsvärld som kommer till uttryck genom deras bruk av sociala medier. Utbildning utgör fortfarande en central aspekt av många ungdomars liv och deras förutsättningar för framtiden, men genom den ökade tillgängligheten till sociala medier så skapas nya villkor för vilka som kan utgöra centrala aktörer för ungdomars kunskapsproduktion och identitetsarbete.

This thesis examines Swedish politicians' use of Instagram and how they choose to represent themselves. In recent years, there has been a discussion about politicians' use of social media and whether their behavior can be compared to celebrities or even influencers. Today we get access to more of their personal thoughts and private life from their social media where many politicians portray themselves as celebrities or influencers. Individual politicians attract more attention than their respective parties, have the opportunity to circumvent traditional media, and partially control how they are presented to the public through their own social media accounts. They can also interact directly with their followers and build strong connections with potential voters.   The purpose of the thesis is to identify how this phenomenon manifests itself in Swedish party leaders' use of Instagram. Through a qualitative textual and visual analysis of the party leaders' respective Instagram posts the study aims to answer how they choose to portray themselves and if they use any communicative strategies to create interaction with their followers. Through a quantitative approach the study aims to answer which type of posts create the most engagement and to what extent they portray themselves as private or professional.  Among other things, this study shows that both Annie Lööf and Ebba Busch portray themselves on different levels, both private, professionally and combining them both for political gain. Posts that are characterized by being personal have a higher engagement rate than professional and political posts. This study contributes to the political- and communication field and looks at different aspects of how Swedish party leaders portray themselves on Instagram.

Since YouTube's launch in 2005, it has grown into one of the most visited social media platforms in the world. It launched with the slogan "Broadcast Yourself" with the promise that the content sharing site would allow anyone to post, share, and interact with videos from anyone around the world for free. Many people took advantage of that promise and became Internet celebrities, or "influencers," in a short amount of time, amassing millions of subscribers and billions of views. The success of these YouTube stars has led them to land roles on TV and in films, launch music careers, write books, and many other avenues. However, these stars have also had their fair share of public controversies that have caused advertisers to pull their content from YouTube's platform. This has forced YouTube to change their algorithm and other procedures so that YouTube stars' videos are no longer boosted to the front page, which in turn hurts their budding careers. This puts YouTube at a crossroads between billions of dollars in advertising revenue and the homegrown celebrities that helped make YouTube what it is today. The research in this study examined what YouTube influencers value and would change about YouTube's affordances to help make the website a better opportunity for anyone and everyone to grow their Internet careers. Using qualitative methods to gain insights from several YouTube influencers, this study explored what YouTube and other future social media accounts can do to help those that know and utilize their platforms best. The findings of this study show that while social media oftentimes acts as a conduit for online content sharing, YouTube doubles as an investor who will back videos with advertising revenue, front-page access, and algorithmic preference to boost a video's success and reach. This venture capital-style system comes with challenges as influencers can both benefit greatly from these affordances, but also be hurt when these affordances block their videos from finding audiences. Because of this, money-making on YouTube can be highly rewarding, but also discouraging and risky. Influencers are often stuck finding other ways to make money such as external sponsorship, platform diversification, and independent merchandising. This puts YouTube and influencers in a constant state of renegotiation where YouTube toes the line of pleasing advertisers and influencers while influencers struggle to work around YouTube affordances, policies, and terms. These findings show that YouTube is a rich, immersive medium with significant potential for influencers. The findings also show that affordances, while often viewed as beneficial to all parties, may at times be beneficial and detrimental depending on the individual. Future research can build off the foundation this study lays to learn if this model exists on other platforms and media.

El objetivo del presente estudio busca determinar la relación entre las acciones de marketing digital y la intención de compra de carteras de lujo en mujeres de 28 a 39 años del NSE A y B+ en Lima. Dicho tema es de importancia para el marketing de esta industria y el mercado peruano, pues el interés por la moda y las tendencias está incrementándose y el acceso a ello esta creciendo cada vez más de manera virtual. Las acciones de marketing digital se midieron por medio de las siguientes dimensiones: la presencia en redes sociales implementadas por las marcas de carteras de lujo, el acceso al contenido digital por parte de las mismas y el contacto y seguimiento de influencers reconocidas dentro del ámbito de moda. El estudio demostró que existe una relación positiva entre la presencia en medio sociales y el acceso al contenido digital con la intención de compra de esta categoría de productos. El resultado respecto al seguimiento de influencers fue mixto. Asimismo, se ha demostrado que la implementación de dichas acciones permite a estas marcas obtener mejor exposición y relación con las clientas. Debido a ello, el contenido –calidad, distribución e información adecuada- es muy importante para consolidar la imagen de marca y el estilo de vida que estas buscan proyectar y que las consumidoras, a su vez, buscan reflejar por medio de la compra. Además, es importante resaltar la transversalidad del mercado peruano en cuanto al segmento de carteras de lujo; existen distintos tipos de consumidoras -en función del poder adquisitivo- que buscan comprar carteras de lujo y, por ello, es preferible plantear un enfoque aspiracional en la comunicación y las acciones de marketing de las marcas. / The objective of this study seeks to determine the relationship between digital marketing actions and the intention to purchase luxury handbags in women between 28 and 39 years of age from the NSE A and B + in Lima. This topic is of importance for the marketing of this industry and the Peruvian market, since interest in fashion and trends are increasing and the access to this information is growing more and more virtually every time. Digital marketing actions were measured through the following dimensions: the presence in social media implemented by luxury handbag brands, access to digital content by them and the contact and monitoring of recognized influencers within the scope of fashion. The study showed that there is a positive relationship between the presence in social media and access to digital content with the intention of purchasing this category of products. The result regarding the following of influencers was mixed. Likewise, it has been shown that the implementation of these actions allows these brands to obtain better exposure and relationship with clients. Due to this, the content –quality, distribution and adequate information- is very important to consolidate the brand image and the lifestyle that they seek to project and that the consumers, in turn, seek to reflect through the purchase. In addition, it is important to highlight the transversality of the Peruvian market in terms of the luxury handbags segment; There are different types of consumers - depending on purchasing power - who seek to buy luxury portfolios and, therefore, it is preferable to propose an aspirational approach to communication and marketing actions for brands. / Trabajo de investigación

Instagram is a phenomenon which has the recent years gotten significance within the marketing field. Traditional marketing is being replaced by online-marketing. A concept of marketing that is still evolving within the research field is Instagram influencer marketing. To understand influencer marketing, first and foremost it is crucial to understand the relation between an influencer and an Instagram user. To understand the relation, the study was conducted as a case study focusing on tourists. Furthermore, the research aimed to study a specific location and since its high number of Instagram attention received, the Indonesian island, Bali, was chosen. Thereby, this case study examined the impact influencers had on tourists of Bali. The research was implemented through a mixed methodology approach to content analysis. The data was collected directly from Instagram and contained findings such as engagement rates, favored destinations and motivations for travel. The findings showed that Instagram gains a lot of focus upon choosing a travel destination and upon visiting locations in Bali during the trip. The study concluded that influencers are being viewed asinformation sources by travelers. Furthermore, influencers impact Instagram user’s perception and create visit intention. They also implement norms on how the Instagram posts should look to be found attracting, which the users follow to make their feed look captivating.

Influencers are the new opinion leaders, especially for young people in today's mediated society. Young women tend to follow beauty-oriented influencers, who are often using feminist messages in their content. The aim of this study is to investigate how young women, aged 16-19 years, feel that they are influenced by following beauty-oriented influencers and how they perceive the relationship between influencers, feminism and beauty. The study is also aimed to investigate the possible paradox that may arise in the relationship between beauty focus and feminism. This leads up to the following two research questions, RQ1: How do young women feel they are influenced by following beauty-oriented influencers in social media? RQ2: How do young women perceive the relationship between influencers, feminism and beauty in social media? The theoretical framework is based on a constructionist paradigm and consists more specifically of feminist media theory and theories about postfeminism, combined with theories about personal influence and representation. To conduct the material we are interviewing four focus groups. The material is analyzed through a thematic analysis. The results show that these young women are more positively affected by content they perceive as genuinely feminist, such as norm-breaking content, and more negatively affected by content they perceive as less feminist, such as norm setting content. The focus group participants also see a paradox in using feminist messages in beauty-related marketing. These insights can contribute to an increased awareness of what content in social media is more or less developmental for young women, and underlines the importance that influencers talk about feminism in a way that does not diminish the word.