Anthropomorphism and Digital Influencers

Social media influencers, specifically digital influencers, come to mind when thinking of opinion leaders, as they can shape audience opinions. They strategically engage and appeal to target audiences by showcasing highly desirable traits and ideals that resonate with their followers. For example, such a strategy is sharing posts centred around their fictional lives and active engagement with followers, fostering an impression of genuineness and closeness (De Visser et al., 2016, p. 331). Generally, Schroeder and Epley (2016) revealed that humans tend to anthropomorphise machines and adhere to social norms when interacting (pp. 1427–1428). Since computers possess social agency, much of the current research and application of human-agent interaction is grounded in the Computers-Are-Social-Actors (CASA) theory (Heyselaar, 2023, p. 3). Nevertheless, becoming an influencer is more complex than sharing posts and engaging with followers; it requires having an identity. Therefore, the thesis will elaborate on anthropomorphism/humanisation, attractiveness and authenticity (da Silva Oliveira & Chimenti 2021, pp. 1-21; Torres et al., 2019, pp. 1267-1269). Moreover, identification plays a key role when looking at digital influencers and their relationship with their followers (Djafarova & Rushworth, 2017, p. 2). Coincidentally, Horton and Wohl (1956) were the first to introduce such a concept; they proposed that this relationship is characterised by a unilateral connection with celebrities, which involves both unilateral and illusory emotive qualities (p. 215). Moreover, perception is influenced by specific cues ranging from femininity, clothing, facial expressions, physical attractiveness, use of emojis, and photorealism (Arsenyan & Mirowska, 2021, p. 12). Thus, as society has advanced, individuals' aesthetic preferences have become more diverse, and the idealised presentation of a digital influencer often mirrors subjective understandings and evaluations of feminine beauty. As a result, promoting unachievable physical ideals can cause followers to acquire a distorted perception of reality and negatively affect their mental well-being by fostering unflattering comparisons (Allal-Chérif et al., 2024, p. 7). In essence, the rise of this phenomenon can be ascribed to the manipulation of brands towards followers, who manipulate the outward appearance and personal encounters of these influencers in accordance with the desires and demands set by brands. Hence, this inclination arises from the perception that there must be a congruence between the influencer and the endorsed product (Wan & Jiang, 2023, p. 338). For instance, the fashion industry relies heavily on social influencers, recognising them as essential figures such as Lil Miquela, who successfully secured endorsements with high-end brands (Hwang et al., 2024). However, digital influencers have limitations in their ability to formulate opinions about products independently and may possess lower levels of social accessibility than humans. Therefore, based on these empirical findings, this research addresses the following questions: "How do digital influencers present themselves to their followers on Instagram?", "How do digital influencers represent fashion brands on Instagram?". Specifically, this was achieved through a thematic analysis; this research compared four digital influencers, examining their Instagram posts to capture and analyse their anthropomorphism/humanisation, attractiveness and authenticity.