Microcelebrity status on Instagram can arise without an obvious platform or talent
Evidence
Friesz, or “Freeezy,” appears to be a fairly ordinary Indiana high school sophomore. Her Instagram is full of selfies, along with pictures of friends, food, and concerts. Somewhat inexplicably, she has 31,496 followers; a basic selfie garnered 4,246 likes and 144 comments, including “Damm your sexy!! ;)” from @thug _life53 and “Damn I feel so ugly now HAHA” from @laurenmelissarae (see figs. 4 and 5). The very fact that she is “Instagram famous” confers enough prestige upon her to have inspired others to create multiple fan pages for her. — Alice E. Marwick, Instafame, 43
Categorization
- SEED: An essay on how ambient fame in the attention economy attaches to ‘ordinary’ people precisely because ordinariness is itself the aesthetic — the paradox that undistinguished content accrues prestige.
- XREF: connects to: Instafame means having a relatively large follower count on Instagram — Alice E. Marwick, Instafame: Luxury Selfies in the…, 2; Microcelebrity is strategic self-presentation aimed at accumulating attention and online status. — Alice E. Marwick, Instafame: Luxury Selfies in the…, 5
Related
- Instafame means having a relatively large follower count on Instagram (similarity 0.88)
- Microcelebrity is strategic self-presentation aimed at accumulating attention and online status. (similarity 0.81)
- Instagram’s design forces microcelebrities into clunky substitutes for direct audience interaction. (similarity 0.81)
- Alice E. Marwick — Instafame Luxury Selfies in the Attention Economy (similarity 0.80)
- Feigned indifference to fame makes online popularity seem deserved (similarity 0.79)
- Social-media popularity amplifies high-school popularity into mainstream celebrity (similarity 0.78)
- Open-ended social media platforms let non-mainstream individuals attain popularity. (similarity 0.78)