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In an ever-evolving social media landscape, online communication has become more prone to the revelation of our affective states. In this study, I investigate how iterations of emotional capital, an extension of Pierre Bourdieu’s four forms of capital, shape social interaction in mediated relationships on YouTube, a platform that fosters a participatory culture. Previously, the field of media studies has devoted itself to the cognitive-behavioural effects of media consumption, allowing research on consumers’ emotionality as an influence on virtual sociality to be left behind. I attempt to elucidate the emotional footprint left by the discourse of the user comment by applying Marci D. Cottingham’s theorisation on emotional capital, paired with Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe’s Discourse Theory and by extension Discourse Theoretical Analysis expanded by Nico Carpentier et al on a sample of three sets of thirty most popular user comments, each attributed to a video by UK-based content creators Jade Bowler, Lucy Moon, and Venetia La Manna, to argue that the sociality found within their discourse is formed by the parasocial relationship the user exhibits towards the creator. Depending on the affective distance the user expressed towards the creator or to the other subscribers, different forms of emotional capital emerged - care and vulnerability derived from the address to self; inspiration, communication, encouragement stemming from the address to the community; and empathy and respect originating in the address to the creator. Thus, this study provides a novel outlook on mediated relationships in an online setting, where users actively, and more importantly, emotionally engage with themselves, their community, and the creator, to form affective social networks.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka konsumenters förtroende för modevarumärken och hur deras köpbeslut påverkas av varumärken som tillämpar virtuella influencers (VIs) i sin marknadsföring på sociala medier i Sverige. En kvantitativ metod med deduktiv ansats har tillämpats, där en webbenkät distribuerades till svenska studenter vid Textilhögskolan i Borås i åldrarna 20–35 år och användes för att samla in data. Den virtuella influencern Lil Miquela användes som en fallstudie i enkäten med syfte att fördjupa sig i fenomenet och bedöma dess påverkan på konsumentbeteende och förtroende. Studien visar att VIs har en påverkan på konsumenters förtroende för varumärken. Viktiga fynd tyder på att VIs, särskilt exemplifierat av Lil Miquela, påverkar konsumenters förtroende när upplevd autenticitet, mänskliga egenskaper och känslomässig koppling ökar. Varumärken bör därför fokusera på att göra sina VIs mer mänskliga för att öka förtroendet och potentiellt lojaliteten. Studien visar även att VIs påverkar konsumenters köpbeslut, men för en positiv påverkan krävs en känslomässig koppling, mänskliga attribut, samt varumärkesförtroende hos VIs. Dessa insikter betonar potentialen hos VIs att påverka konsumenters uppfattningar och förtroende, vilket ger värdefulla implikationer för marknadsföringsstrategier som involverar VIs. / The purpose of the study is to investigate consumers’ trust in fashion brands and how their purchase decisions are influenced by brands that apply virtual influencers (VI) in their marketing on social media in Sweden. A quantitative method with a deductive approach has been applied, where an online survey was distributed to Swedish students at the University of Textiles in Borås aged 20-35 and used to collect data. The VI Lil Miquela was used as a case study in the survey with the aim of delving into the phenomenon and assessing its impact on consumer behavior and trust. The study shows that VIs has an impact on consumers’ trust in brands. Key findings suggest that VIs, particularly exemplified by Lil Miquela, influence consumer trust as perceived authenticity, human characteristics, and emotional connection increase. Brands should therefore focus on making their VIs more human to increase trust and potentially loyalty. The study also shows that VIs influence consumers’ purchase decisions, however for a positive influence an emotional connection, human attributes, and brand trust with VIs is required. These insights emphasize the potential of virtual influencers to influence consumer perceptions and trust, providing valuable implications for marketing strategies involving VIs.

Listan över influerare som har gjort skönhetsingrepp kan göras lång. För att nämna ett exempel har Bianca Ingrosso med ett följarantal på 343 000 på Youtube talat öppet om att hon gjort lipfillers (Ingrosso, 2020). Dessa inlägg där influerare talar om hur de korrigerar sin kropp i kombination med att de unga är i majoritet på internet och sociala medier (Svenskarna och internet 2019) ligger till grund för vår vilja att genomföra denna undersökning. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur influerares reklam och framställning av skönhetsingrepp kan skapa betydelse för hur unga kvinnor ser på den egna kroppen. För att genomföra studien har vi använt oss av sex stycken kvalitativa intervjuer med kvinnor i åldrarna 15–17 år. Intervjuerna har spelats in och transkriberats och materialet har sedan analyserats för att besvara våra frågeställningar. Utifrån våra intervjuer kan vi se att influerares sätt att tala om och göra reklam för skönhetsingrepp har betydelse för unga kvinnors attityder till den egna kroppen. Några av respondenterna har även uttryckt att de blivit osäkra gällande sin egen kropp efter att ha sett inlägg gällande skönhetsingrepp från en influerare. Vi kan tydligt se att respondenterna tror att unga kvinnor är den grupp som påverkas mest av influerares framställning av skönhetsingrepp. Intervjuerna visar att respondenterna tar del av ett dominerande skönhetsideal på sociala medier och de beskriver idealet som att man ska vara smal, lång och vacker. Vi kan tydligt se, genom de analyserade intervjuerna, att de unga kvinnorna som deltog i denna studie är kritiska till influerare som talar om och gör reklam för skönhetsingrepp, då de tycker att det uppmanar andra till att korrigera sin kropp. Trots kritiken så spelar influerare en stor roll i de unga kvinnornas liv och de uttrycker att de får inspiration av influerare gällande var och vad man äter, hur man klär sig och hur man tränar. Vi kan därmed se en viss ambivalens i respondenternas svar då de följer specifika influerare samtidigt som de riktar kritik gentemot dessa. / The list of influencers who has had cosmetic procedures done can be made long. To mention one example, Bianca Ingrosso with 343 000 followers on Youtube, has spoken openly about her lip fillers (Ingrosso 2020). These types of posts, where influencers talk about how they correct their body, in combination with the fact that young people are a majority of the internet and social media users (Svenskarna och internet 2019) forms the basis of our motivation to conduct this study. This study aims to analyze whether, and if so, how influencers advertising and speech about cosmetic procedures contribute in creating meaning regarding how young women view their own body. This study was conducted with six qualitative interviews, with women in age 15-17. The interviews have been recorded and transcribed and the material has been analyzed to answer our research questions. Throughout our analyzed interviews can we see that influencers' speech and advertising about cosmetic procedures are meaningful regarding young women's attitudes to their own body. Some of the respondents expressed that they felt insecure about their own body after seeing an influencer talk about cosmetic procedures. We can also see that the respondents think that young women as a group of people are affected by influencers' opinions about cosmetic procedures. In the interviews, we can also see that the respondents take part in constructing a dominating beauty ideal on social media and they define the ideal as being skinny, tall and beautiful. Clearly the young women who took part in this study are critical of how influencers talk and do commercials about cosmetic procedures, they think influencers tell others to correct their body. Despite the criticism, the young women in this study are still inspired by influencers, regarding where and what they eat, how they dress and how they work out. We can clearly see some ambivalence in the way the respondents answer as they follow specific influencers while they also are criticizing them.

本研究是為了比較電視媒體和網路社交媒體在名人與粉絲間的類社會互動程度與後續情感及行為效果上是否有差異。藉由蒐集314份網路問卷，以類社會互動程度為自變項、情感效果與行為效果為應變項，分別比較這兩種媒體。研究結果顯示：第一、不同媒介在引發粉絲對名人的類社會互動上的確存在差異，且以電視的影響力較大。第二、在類社會互動程度引發的情感、行為反應方面，電視都顯著地高於網路社群。第三、整體來說類社會互動程度在預測網路社群上的情感、行為反應是有效的預測變數，與過去電視媒體的文獻結果一致。此外，本研究也發展出粉絲類型量表，以量化的方式將粉絲依照對名人的感興趣程度分成低、中、高三類。進一步將三類粉絲分開檢視，發現粉絲類型確實會調節類社會互動程度與情感、行為效果。 / This research was done to study the relationship between the level of fans’ parasocial interaction and the effects caused by television and online social media. This study collected 314 online questionnaires. The independent variable was the level of parasocial interaction and the dependent variables were affective effects and behavioral effects, including the importance of celebrities, emotions of celebrities’ disappearance, activity, and adaption.The findings of this study indicate that television produced significantly greater influence on the level of parasocial interaction toward celebrities than online social media.Furthermore, the affective effects and behavioral effects caused by parasocial interaction from TV are more significant than the result from social media. Generally speaking, the level of parasocial interaction effectively predicts fans’ affective and behavioral in the context of online social media, which is consistent with the result found in the past television studies. Besides, this study developed a fan scale to classify fans into three levels, including low-interest fans, moderate-interest fans, and high-interest fans. The result reveals that the level of fans can moderate the effects of the level of parasocial interaction, affective effects, and behavioral effects of television and online social media.

Three experiments examined how a transgressor’s response, once accused of a wrongdoing, alters other’s perceptions of transgressor. Study 1 investigated how a baseball player’s response to steroid usage accusations affected fans’ perceptions of him. Participants thought of the athlete more positively when he apologized for his drug usage as compared to when he denied it or provided no comment. Study 2 examined if the effects of a transgressor’s response are moderated by the transgressor’s reputation. Participants were predicted to prefer apologies over denials if they had a pre-existing positive view of the transgressor (i.e., the person was a friend and not a stranger or someone known for being lazy). Results showed that, similar to Study 1, participants respected the transgressor and thought he handled the situation better when he apologized instead of denied the transgression, but contrary to predictions, the transgressor’s reputation did not have an effect on participants’ reactions to a transgressor’s responses. Study 3 examined whether feelings of schadenfreude (i.e., positive affect resulting from another’s misfortune) mitigated negative feelings toward a transgressor who denied the transgression. After participants witnessed a transgression, they then had to work with the transgressor on a task. When the transgressor performed the task incompetently, participants were predicted to feel schadenfreude and therefore not feel it was as important to hear the transgressor admit to his wrongdoing. Results indicated that participants felt more negatively toward an incompetent transgressor than one who contributed equally to the task, regardless of whether he denied or apologized for the transgression. Furthermore, contrary to the results of Studies 1 and 2, participants did not have increased positive feelings toward transgressors who apologized. Overall, these studies provide evidence that apologizing and expressing ownership for a transgression is the best method to respond with to facilitate relationship repair within multiple situations.

Influencers har idag ett stort inflytande på konsumenter vilket, till viss del, blivit avgörande för företag. Det förekommer mer frekvent att influencers även skapar egna grundade varumärken. Denna studie har utgått från fyra svenska influencers som har ett eget grundat varumärke. Dessa influencers och deras varumärken är Therése Lindgren (Indy Beauty), Katrin Zytomierska (Clean Eating), Rebecca Stella Dion (Rebecca Stella Beauty) och Alice Stenlöf (A-dsgn). Studien syftar till att undersöka hur en influencers skandal påverkar deras eget grundade varumärke på Instagram. Detta undersöktes med hjälp av två kvantitativa metoder. Den första metoden, digital datainsamling, analyserade antalet gilla-markeringar och antalet kommentarer på varumärkenas Instagram. Studien undersökte sedan individers agerande gentemot influencernas varumärke genom en kvantitativ enkätundersökning. Resultatet som framkom var att medelvärdet för gilla-markeringarna minskade för tre av fyra av varumärken efter skandalen. Medelvärdet för kommentarer minskade för ett av fyra varumärken. Resultatet från enkätundersökningen visade att respondenterna aktivt tog avstånd från att gilla varumärkets inlägg på Instagram efter skandalen. Den främsta anledningen till detta var att de inte ville stötta influencers förens de såg en förändring i influencerns agerande. Respondenterna ville även motta en offentlig ursäkt från influencern innan de var beredda att förlåta influencern. / Today influencers have a great influence on consumers, which to some extent, has become crucial for companies. It is more common for influencers to also create their own established brands. This study has been based on four Swedish influencers that have their own established brand. These influencers and their brands are Therése Lindgren (Indy Beauty), Katrin Zytomierska (Clean Eating), Rebecca Stella Dion (Rebecca Stella Beauty) and Alice Stenlöf (A-dsgn). The study aims to investigate how an influencer's scandal affects their own founded brand on Instagram. This was investigated using two quantitative methods. The first method, cross-sectional study, analyzed the number of likes and the number of comments on the brands Instagram. The study then examined respondents’ actions online towards the influencers brand through a quantitative survey. The result showed that the average number of likes decreased after the scandal for three out of four influencer brands. The average number of comments decreased for one out of four brands. Moreover, the results from the survey revealed that the respondents actively choose not to like posts from influencer brands on Instagram after the scandal. The main reason for this was that the respondents did not want to support influencers until they were convinced the influencers had changed their behaviors and actions. Furthermore, the respondents also wanted to receive a public apology from the influencer before they were prepared to forgive the influencer.

This study explores the functions and effects of virtual communities on Instagram and YouTube and discusses the communication process between Swedish female social media influencers and their followers. With a qualitative research design, where I analysed both the textual and visual posts on Instagram and YouTube, I found that the virtual communities can function as a place where people find like-minded people and where they can affirm their own self imagine and experiences, specifically in relation to questions regarding LGBTQIA+ and body positivity. The study operationalises Horton and Wohl’s (1956) concept of Parasocial Relationships which describes the phenomena where people form intimate and close relationships with media people they watch on television. By analysing my material through theoretical frameworks from Goffman (2020; 1979), West and Zimmerman (1987) and Deutsch (2007), I also found that Instagram and YouTube functions as places where norms of femininity and love are constructed, deconstructed, and reproduced. The study concludes that social media (platforms), specifically the virtual communities established and maintained by (social media) influencers, play a vital role in how users understand themselves and other people. Social media can in such a way operate as an institution that helps to both deconstruct and reproduce normative ideals about femininity and sexuality depending on how influencers do gender and portray themselves on their social media profiles.

In the aftermath of #MeToo, Amber Heard chose to share her experiences of sexual abuse and violence in the relationship with Johnny Depp in an article. Depp denied the allegations and claimed that the accusations were fabricated and therefore chose to sue Heard for defamation. The defamation trial between the ex-spouses began in 2022 and received much attention since it was broadcast live to the public. The lawsuit quickly went viral on social media where Depp's fans constructed and spread favorable narratives on Depp's behalf in order to restore his reputation. The purpose of the study is to examine, from a gender perspective, how fans of a public figure crisis communicated on social media during an ongoing trial following accusations of intimate partner violence. This is achieved by a qualitative content analysis where posts published by Depp's fans during the trial are analyzed based on the theories of postfeminism and Image Repair Theory. The study concluded that both Depp and Heard are portrayed based on male and female attributes to relate to the roles of victim and perpetrator more clearly. Heard is blamed and mocked, while Depp is celebrated and respected. Furthermore, there are also narratives that connect to misogynistic ideas that are hidden by, for example, discussions about equality and can be seen as a backlash against feminist successes. / I efterdyningarna av #MeToo valde Amber Heard att dela med sig av sina erfarenheter av sexuella övergrepp och våld i förhållandet med Johnny Depp i en debattartikel. Depp förnekade anklagelserna och menade att de var fabricerade och valde därför att stämma Heard för förtal. Förtalsrättegången mellan de forna makarna inleddes 2022 och fick stor uppmärksamhet eftersom den livesändes inför allmänheten. Rättegången blev snabbt viral på sociala medier där Depps fans konstruerade och spred fördelaktiga narrativ å Depps vägnar i syfte att återupprätta hans rykte. Syftet med studien är att utifrån ett genusperspektiv undersöka hur fans till en offentlig person kriskommunicerat på sociala medier under en pågående rättegång efter anklagelser om våld i nära relation. Detta genomförs med en kvalitativ innehållsanalys där inlägg publicerade av Depps fans under tiden för rättegången analyseras utifrån teorierna postfeminism och Image Repair Theory. Studiens resultat visade att både Depp och Heard porträtteras utifrån manliga och kvinnliga attribut för att tydligare anknyta till rollerna som offer och förövare. Heard blir skuldbelagd och hånad, medan Depp blir hyllad och respekterad. Vidare förekommer också narrativ som anknyter till kvinnofientliga idéer som döljs av exempelvis diskussioner om jämställdhet och kan ses som en motreaktion på feministiska framgångar.

The purpose of this thesis is to increase the understanding of political party organizations' digital communication by investigating what and how Swedish political youth associations communicate on TikTok. The purpose is realized through a case study of two youth associations, Moderata Ungdomsförbundet (MUF) and Sveriges Socialdemokratiska ungdomsförbund (SSU). The material is collected from a three-month period (November 1, 2023 - January 31, 2024) and the method of the thesis is a combination of quantitative multimodal content analysis and thematic analysis. The theoretical framework provides an understanding of the youth associations' conditions and expectations as an organization, as well as the media logics and norms that they need to adhere to in their communication. In the result it became clear that what the youth associations communicate differs. The most frequently communicated content from SSU consisted of entertainment content, closely followed by political content. MUF mostly focused on political content, but entertainment was also seen. Like previous research, only a small part of the material consisted of personal content. In terms of how the youth associations communicate, there was a similarity in that both associations used a comic style frequently, something that is typical for the platform and thus becomes a way for the youth associations to adopt the current style on TikTok. Similar to previous research, however, there was a lack of interactive tendencies on the part of MUF, which the platform invites. SSU appeared to use the interactive style in about half of the material. Similar to previous studies, we found that both SSU and MUF were diligent users of affordances such as music, audio, text, hashtag and location features. Tendencies we could see in how the youth associations communicated were also that they use platform trends and vernaculars frequently, which differs from previous research. We could thus state that both youth associations showed an adaptation to the platform dynamics.