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Selling the Self: Influencer Culture and Digital Capitalism

Module description

The term ‘influencer’ is both ubiquitous and controversial within media discussions of the internet, youth, work, and fame. Influencer culture has dramatically changed how businesses market themselves and engage with consumers, as well as the ways that people portray themselves online. On this module you will critically examine how influencers sell products, services, and lifestyles through ‘personal branding,’ within the context of late-stage capitalism and ‘perma-crisis,’ such as climate change and an unaffordable cost-of-living. You will also draw upon feminist theories to interrogate the often-gendered media narratives surrounding influencers, and explore the role of some influencers in organising social activism and resisting stereotypes. You will map the history of the relationship between influencer culture and the internet and explore topics such as family vlogging and ‘mom-fluencers,’ health and wellness, fashion, digital sex work, fandoms and the far-right. You will draw upon a range of critical approaches to think about consumption, digital spaces and capitalism.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to:

• Help students analyse the ways that influencer culture has impacted the relationship between businesses and consumers.
• Understand the ways that people’s identities are cultivated online.
• Introduce some of the key issues that surround influencing, drawing upon a range of cultural theories to think beyond the – often gendered – media construction of ‘the influencer.’

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of influencing as part of wider socioeconomic issues.
• 2. Engage with a range of media theories to explore the relationship between influencer culture, capitalism, and the internet.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Demonstrate an understanding of how media and communications theory can be applied in a research project on influencer culture.
• 4. Conduct research and analysis of information from a range of appropriate primary and secondary sources.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Demonstrate strong presentation skills through the delivery of a research plan.
• 6. Develop constructive assessments of other students’ work, and critically reflect upon your own learning and research process.

Syllabus plan

The module will take a thematic approach to the study of influencer culture and digital capitalism. Topics covered might include but are not limited to:

• The rise of the influencer
• The reality TV to influencer pipeline
• Momfluencers and family vloggers
• Multi-Level Marketing and pyramid schemes
• Gym-influencers and diet culture
• Digital fandom
• Fast fashion and slow fashion
• Cottagecore and the Alt-Right
• The Podcast Bro
• Digital sex work

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of a deferral will not be capped and will be treated as if it was your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Senft, T.M., 2013. Microcelebrity and the branded self. A companion to new media dynamics, pp.346-354.
• Burns, K.S., 2021. The history of social media influencers. in Research perspectives on social media influencers and brand communication, pp.1-22.
• Carter, D., 2016. Hustle and brand: The sociotechnical shaping of influence. Social Media + Society, 2(3), p.2056305116666305.
• Rogan, F., 2022. Digital Femininities: The Gendered Construction of Cultural and Political Identities Online. Taylor & Francis.
• Abidin, C., 2016. “Aren’t these just young, rich women doing vain things online?”: Influencer selfies as subversive frivolity. Social media+ society, 2(2), p.2056305116641342.
• Abidin, C., 2017. # familygoals: Family influencers, calibrated amateurism, and justifying young digital labor. Social Media+ Society, 3(2), p.2056305117707191.
• Abidin, C., 2016. Visibility labour: Engaging with Influencers’ fashion brands and# OOTD advertorial campaigns on Instagram. Media International Australia, 161(1), pp.86-100.
• Proctor, D., 2022. The #tradwife persona and the rise of radicalized white domesticity. Persona Studies, 8(2), pp.7-26.
• Finlayson, A., 2021. Neoliberalism, the alt-right and the intellectual dark web. Theory, Culture & Society, 38(6), pp.167-190.
• Bradley, C. and Oates, H.E., 2021. The Multi-Level Marketing Pandemic. Tenn. L. Rev., 89, p.321.
• Jones, A., 2015. Sex work in a digital era. Sociology Compass, 9(7), pp.558-570.

Key words search

Media; Social Media; Influencer Culture; Capitalism; Cultural Theory; Digital Marketing