celebrity culture

 

1) Media Magazine reading

Media Magazine 72 has a feature linking YouTube influencers to A Level media theories. Go to our Media Magazine archive, click on MM72 and scroll to page 60 to read the article ‘The theory of everything - using YouTubers to understand media theory’. Answer the following questions:

1) How has YouTube "democratised media creativity"?

The YouTube platform has decentralised media creativity by allowing average users—known as "produsers" (producer-users) and "prosumers" (producer-consumers)—to contribute their own videos. After content is published, audiences filter or assess it.

2) How does YouTube and social media culture act as a form of cultural imperialism or 'Americanisation'? 

Prior to the internet, improved communications had already transformed the world into a small, interconnected village. Emma Chamberlain and other well-known YouTubers are Americans, albeit not all of them are. Nevertheless, they account for the majority.YouTube influencers support American references, language, and mindsets. Globalisation of this kind demonstrates the dominance of Western values and the "West vs. the Rest" cultural dichotomy. 

3) How do influencers reinforce capitalist ideologies? 

YouTube celebrities frequently receive sponsorship from business entities and end up endorsing goods. Their posts serve as an example of the commercialization or commodification of entertainment, which, while in some ways more sincere and overt than past instances of covert product placement, still steers viewers towards conformist viewpoints and behaviours by enticing them to purchase goods and strive for material advancement. 

4) How can YouTube and social media celebrity content be read as postmodern, an example of hyperreality? 

The conventions and standards of traditional cinematography are constantly questioned in YouTube videos. The handheld camera, cartoonish subtitles and sounds, crash zooms into extreme close-ups, jump cuts, and other obvious editing techniques are some of the tools they use to show the artificiality of their filmmaking.

5) What are the arguments for and against regulating online content such as YouTube?

In casual, irreverent language, viral video clips are most often spoken. This raises the issue of accessibility for younger audiences. It may be difficult to restrict older children's access to such websites since they may be more vulnerable and less able to emotionally and critically distance themselves from what they are watching.

6) How can Hesmondhalgh and Curran & Seaton's ideas be linked to online media debates? 

According to David Hesmondhalgh, Curran, and Seaton, corporate power and the need for profit are what drive the cultural industries. Huge corporations like Google and Facebook gain market dominance and leave little room for democracy, individualism, or independence when they acquire platforms and apps that were formerly their rivals. 

7) How can Gauntlett's ideas around identity and audience be applied to YouTube and influencer content?

Online media, according to David Gauntlett, promotes experimentation with multiple personas among regular users by portraying identity as varied and malleable. Viewers may see a wide variety of perspectives and ways of being because there are so many different YouTubers to choose from. Because they see themselves in their role models, younger viewers are drawn to numerous YouTubers.

8) What is YOUR opinion on celebrity influencers? Are they a positive, democratic addition to the contemporary media landscape or a highly constructed product promoting hegemonic capitalist ideologies?   

I dopnt have an opinion on influencers i feel like theyre normal people jjust like anyone else and yes they havee an impact on many peoples lives but at the end of the day thats part of free will so we need to allow people who want their lives to be affected by influencers to let it happen

2) How to build a social media brand: case study

Read this excellent case study on how to build a celebrity social media brand and answer the following questions: 

1) What are the different ways celebrities manage their social media accounts? Give examples.

 Social media managers frequently have the duty of taking on the voice of their famous clients and collaborating with them to ensure that their social media presence is "on brand." It's impossible to know if a celebrity has a personal Instagram or Twitter account.  

2) Why is 'voice' important in celebrity social media content and what examples are provided? 

Voice helps businesses stand out from the competition, and a celebrity's tone and social media presence are no different. Teigen frequently gives the sense that her spontaneous and frequently funny tweets were not written by a celebrity at all.

3) What different goals may celebrities have for their social media accounts? 

Choosing these goals and how to accomplish them while connecting with their thousands or millions of followers is the responsibility of a celebrity's social media manager.

4) What types of content can be found from celebrity social media posts? 

News, Buzz, and behind-the-scenes content; slice-of-life content; and celebrity photos 

5) How does social media allow influencers to interact with fans? Give examples.  

Celebrities can engage with fans and engage in conversation by asking questions that go beyond likes and retweets. Celebrities and their managers can monitor mentions and direct messages to pick who to shout out and like.

3) Guardian article: Social media harming young people

Finally, read this Guardian article reporting that social media and celebrity culture is harming young people. Answer the following questions:

1) What did the YMCA's report suggest about social media content and celebrity culture?  

The YMCA found that 62% of teenagers between the ages of 15 and 16 thought social media had increased expectations for their physical beauty. The association asserted that young people's conceptions of what a normal physique looked like had been altered by the use of Photoshopped images and the sharing of only the most attractive shots. 

2) What examples are provided of how this can have a damaging effect on young people? 

Instagram and Snapchat, among other social media platforms, "can be damaging and even destructive" to girls' mental health, claims Dubicka. Young people feel constant pressure to engage and keep up with their classmates in order to avoid feeling excluded and going unnoticed in society. 

3) What is YOUR opinion on this topic? Do you feel social media is dangerous to young people? Should age restrictions be enforced? Explain your answer. 

Of course social media is dangerous to everyone not only young people, actually i feeel that its the least dangerous to younger generations as this is what theyve grown up with and theres no way of changing that, so we have to allow them to indulge in the internet so that they gain a better understanding of what the internet really is to protect themselves