Influencers in social media and the problem of authenticity: a theoretical essay

Abstract

Technological changes have, especially in the last few years, triggered changes in social, economic and cultural levels, including consumption based on digital platforms; this shift have contributed to the unveiling of new forms of consumption, production and digital advertising. Using a theoretical framework that relies on philosophy and cultural studies, this essay aims to discuss the role of an important actor in the current consumption dynamics: the influencers in social media. It is argued that such actors act as disseminators of inauthenticity - in general, lifestyles that are not sustained by individual experience. The essay also proposes a way to understand how the dynamics of marketing strategies that use influencers in social media to promote or endorse products or services occur. As contributions, we highlight the innovative approach to discuss an important contemporary social actor, as well as bring light to a diffuse and polysemic concept - authenticity - for the marketing literature. Finally, we sought to problematize the performance of a specific type of influencer, the micro-influencer, as a possible disseminator of inauthenticities in a more complex character and of relative current concern.