Paper short abstract:

The paper explores the role of social media influencers in shaping preferences and consumption patterns on Czech university students. It focuses on the notion of authenticity as communicative process between influencers and their followers.

Paper long abstract:

Social media influencers (SMI) play an ever-increasing role in shaping preferences and consumption patterns of social media users. As many researchers have noted (Audrezet et al 2017, Cuningham and Stuart 2017, Dubrofsky and Wood 2014), „authenticity“ seems to be the main SMI’s asset as opposed to traditional media and brands. The influencer-to-follower relationship is thus based on a very specific notion of authenticity that is paradoxical at its very core, where influencers are being paid to produce content that seemingly represents their authentic taste and lifestyle. Audrezet et al (2017) examine various „authenticity management strategies“ developed by SMI’s in order to balance their relationships to clients (brands) on the one hand and followers who seek authentic (unpaid) content on the other.

The paper explores this paradox by examining the role that SMI’s play in shaping of cultural preferences of Czech university students. Based on digital ethnography among Czech influencers, content analysis of Instagram content and semi-structured interviews with students, it focuses on how content posted by influencers impacts the notion of taste and cultural preferences and if (and how) authenticity is constructed within this process.