Значение аффективного труда в культуре интернет-селебрити

Мониторинг общественного мнения: Экономические и социальные перемены. 2021. Т. 5. С. 118–137.

Колпинец Е. В.

Posting about depression, psychological problems, illnesses, and traumatic experiences has become an organic part of social media along with flawless photos and success stories. Hardships and negative personal experiences have become daily content and a way to establish trusting long-term relationships with the audience. The field of social media, primarily Instagram and YouTube, is far more complex and diverse in terms of showcasing your feelings, and affective labor (Hardt, 1999) plays a much more significant role in blogging than the uninterrupted demonstration of optimism and success. It has long been thought that social media is about showing the "best version of yourself," broadcasting optimism, working in "cool" industries, and mimicking the tropes of traditional celebrity culture (Marwick, 2015). We set out to explore how internet celebrities use affective labor to build relationships with their audience. The present study focuses on popular bloggers and their subscribers' reactions to the display of affect. The first part of the paper provides an overview of existing research on the concept of affective labor, followed by an examination of individual affective labor strategies through the use of materials from eight blogs. We will provide an analysis of photos and videos, as well as of photo captions and comments. The time frame of the study is limited to the period from 2017 to 2020. Using methods of empirical research and practical visual analysis of photo and video material from Russian and foreign Instagram and YouTube accounts, I will try to answer the following questions: why emotional and affective labor plays a central role in Internet celebrity culture; how emotional labor and authenticity are related; how the constant demonstration of emotions helps to win an audience and create a loyal community of subscribers around the blog.

Keywords: социальные сети, аутентичность, blogging, celebrity culture, YouTube, social media, Instagram, селебрити, блогинг, инстаграм, влогинг, микро-селебрити, Authenticity