#microcelebrities

Digital Platform Influence: What are Microcelebrities?

Microcelebrities are a form of influential individuals that are primarily built through digital platforms. Unlike traditional celebrities, they build relationships with their followers by branding themselves through smaller scale platforms (Abidin 2018). They exert more influence on their followers by projecting authenticity, familiarity, and realness, which in turn garners their trust and attention. They make influencer culture an important and integral part of the modern media society.

Microcelebrities not only exert influence by branding themselves through digital platforms but also treat themselves as a commodity. They use self-branding to commodify their appearance, personality, values ​​and lifestyle, and use endorsements and sponsorships to build their careers and generate income (Marwick, Redmond & Marshall 2015).

Responsibility as a communicator in the digital age: Microcelebrities and ethics

Microcelebrities are closely related to digital citizenship in the modern online environment, centered on media platforms, from various perspectives. First, as described above, microcelebrities have the power to communicate by branding themselves. On the other hand, digital citizenship requires healthy and responsible behavior and behavior online (Öztürk 2021). Therefore, as they influence many people, they are required to be aware of this and act ethically in accordance with their influence and to communicate in a manner appropriate to their position. It is essential to be careful when communicating, in preparation for the risk of unconscious actions such as discriminatory remarks, actions, and the spread of misinformation. In addition, microcelebrities often communicate commercial content such as sponsored posts and product introductions, and ethical issues are sometimes pointed out, especially in "stealth marketing" that is difficult to recognize as advertising (Jin, Muqaddam & Ryu 2019). Therefore, transparency and legal compliance as a sender are important, and the credibility of a digital citizen greatly affects the sustained influence of a microcelebrity. Moreover, their audiences are often made up of impressionable young users who mimic the digital behavior of microcelebrities. As a result, microcelebrities not only shape trends but also serve as informal norm-setters for responsible digital engagement.

References:

Abidin, C 2018, Internet celebrity: understanding fame online, Emerald Publishing, Bingley, viewed 6 June 2025.

Jin, SV, Muqaddam, A & Ryu, E 2019, ‘Instafamous and social media influencer marketing’, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol. 37, no. 5, pp. 567–579, viewed 6 June 2025, https://doi.org/10.1108/MIP-09-2018-0375.

Marwick, AE, Redmond, S & Marshall, PD 2015, ‘You may know me from YouTube: (Micro)-celebrity in social media’, in A companion to celebrity, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, pp. 333–350, viewed 6 June 2025, https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118475089.ch18.

Have you ever:

been scrolling and come across a feminine influencer’s post, showcasing their skinny waist, perfect face and big bum, and thought why don’t I look like that?

been scrolling and seen a masculine influencer’s post, that focuses on their tanned skin, chiseled abs and sharp jawline and instantly felt bad about yourself?

This is because the social trend of ‘ideal body’ has joined forces with social media, leading to users being constantly reminded of these desired body types and how they differ from them.

Body shapes and sizes have gone in and out of fashion for thousands of years, especially for women. In Ancient Greece between 500 – 300 BC, a plump, light skinned and full-bodied woman was the perfect shape, and men’s standard of beauty mattered much more, which favoured muscular and sharp features. The roaring 20s saw the ideal woman’s shape being ‘boyish’, flat chest, downplayed waist and short bob hairstyle. Nowadays, the ‘healthy skinny’ is trending, with features such as large breasts and butt, thigh gap and flat stomach.

These social ideals for body and looks are called aesthetic templates, and with the rise of social media, these templates have become increasingly harmful.

Aesthetic templates refer to individual’s embodying ideal attributes and norms of an environment, such as wearing a suit and tie to a workplace. On social media, current beauty standards have become one of the most important features of the template.

This is partially due to the insurgence of microcelebrities, which refers to an ‘online performance involves creating and maintaining an online identity that resembles a branded good in order to gain status through visibility online’ (Senft quoted in Drenten et al, 2018, pg. 42).

These microcelebrities use their posts and social media interactions to present a version of themselves they believe to be perfect, which they can then benefit from through brand deals and creator funds. Attention economy refers to attention being social media’s most valuable commodity (Drenten et al, 2018, pg. 42) and influencer marketing is estimated to be valued between $5 and 10 billion by 2020 (MediaKix quotes in Drenten et al, 2018, pg. 41).

To profit, microcelebrities have turned to ‘porn chic’ to succeed in this constant battle for attention, which is related to wider cultural pressures of a woman’s looks to represent her value in the modern world (Daniels quoted in Drenten et al, 2018, pg. 42). The microcelebrities can rely on large amounts of makeup, plastic surgery and fake tan, with their posts usually being highly edited and specifically designed to amplify certain areas. 

Consequently, these posts are not real life.

This unfortunately results in ordinary people attempting to recreate these aesthetic templates, in order to feel valued by society. 2017 statistics from American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery reveal ‘42% of surgeons report that their patients are seeking aesthetic surgery to improve their appearance on Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and other social media channels’ (Dorfman et al, 2018, pg. 332). Body dysmorphia is at an all time high, as ordinary individuals are constantly encouraged to compare themselves to images that mislead and misrepresent.

So what do we do? Since this issue is a social one, it is up to each individual to surround themselves with positive and encouraging online content that makes them feel better rather then worse. 

Some positive social media habits include:

Make an effort to follow people with a range of body types, especially people that look like you

Remind yourself that what you see online is rarely the truth, ie. You come across a picture of Kylie Jenner and take a moment to acknowledge her posts are not real life

Focus your social media on people that you know in real life, rather than ‘celebrities’

Take a social media detox

These videos below also have great explanations and recommendations on how to combat body issues caused by social media.

Social media’s impact on women’s body image:

Fitness industry body dysmorphia:

The online world and aesthetic templates are a dangerous combination, but social media can be used to promote body positively and support people in their journey to self-love and acceptance.

If you or someone you love is suffering from issues with body image or eating disorders, please call the Butterfly Foundation on 1800 33 4673.

References:

Dorfman, G, Vaca, E, Mahmood, E, Fine, N, Schierle, C 2018, Plastic Surgery-Related Hashtag Utilization on Instagram: Implications for Education and Marketing, Aesthetic Surgery Journal, vol. 38, no. 3

Drenten, J, Gurrieri, L, Tyler, M 2018, Sexualized labour in digital culture: Instragram influencers, porn chic and the monetization of attention, Gender Work and Organisation, vol. 27, no. 41

Duffy, BE, Meisner, C 2022, Platform governance at the margins: Social media creators’ experiences with algorithmic (in)visibility, Media Culture & Society, vol. 45, no. 2

Edwards, V 2022, Beauty Standards: See How Body Types Change Through History, Science of People, viewed 17 April 2023, <https://www.scienceofpeople.com/beauty-standards/>

LX News, Social Media’s Impact on Body Dysmorphia NBCLX, 3 September, viewed 17 April, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bnNxGhnLQo>

{Week 7, Self-Branding and Micro-celebrities: Identify a micro-celebrity and discuss how this person used social media to achieve this status. Mobilise at least one key concept from the week in your discussion.}

Shannon Harris or more widely known as Shaaanxo is a micro-celebrity from New Zealand who first gained ‘fame’ from her YouTube channel ‘Shaaanxo’ in which she posts beauty videos in particular make-up related. Posting her first video in 2009 she found that she “started out with little skill and almost no viewership” but as her skills improved and she posted more, her channel began to take off. Today Shaaanxo has just over 3 million YouTube subscribers called the #shanclan, with her most popular video gaining 7.7 million views.

Shannon has found this success through her own self-branding using the domain name ‘Shaaanxo’ in which she creates a large media presence where those who have the same passion for all things fashion and beauty can interact and keep up with her across her multiple social media platforms: Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and her Blog using that domain.

With the success of her YouTube channel brought about the opportunity for Shannon to launch her own brand ‘xoBeauty’ in February 2013, just 4 years after starting her YouTube channel. Her brand ranges from makeup to brushes, lashes, and accessories. She has also partnered with makeup brands such as Clinique and Smashbox Cosmetics.