Lifestyle, activism and consumption in environmental influencers on Instagram

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25029/od.2021.326.21

Keywords:

activism, lifestyle, influencer, environment, instagram, sustainability

Abstract

Concern about the climate crisis has generated environmental activism on social media, largely led by influencers. This article addresses the relationship between such activism, lifestyle and personal narratives on Instagram, based on a case analysis of the account @vivirsinplastico. Part of an ongoing qualitative research is presented, the results of which allow us to argue that the figure of the “eco-influencer” opens up a new mode of social activism based on promoting a certain sustainable lifestyle in which images play a fundamental role.

Author Biographies

Gemma San Cornelio, Open University of Catalonia (Spain)

Associate Professor of Information and Communication Sciences Studies at the Open University of Catalonia. Teacher in the field of communication and design and Academic Director of the University Master's Degree in Design, Visual Identity and Brand Construction. She is coordinator of the Mediaccions research group, in communication and digital culture, and has published extensively on creative practices and participation in digital media, personal narratives and identity on the Internet.

Elisenda Ardèvol, Open University of Catalonia (Spain)

Professor in the Arts and Humanities Studies at the Open University of Catalonia in the field of Social and Cultural Anthropology. She has been Professor Emeritus of the Department of Anthropology, History and Humanities of Flacso, Ecuador (2020-2018) and Visiting Scholar at the Center for Digital Ethnography at RMIT, Melbourne, Australia (2015). She is a member of the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Culture and Digital Communication Mediaccions (2009-2019) and has extensive scientific publication and research experience in national and international projects in visual, digital and media anthropology, with special emphasis on ethnography and qualitative methodologies.

Sandra Martorell, Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain)

Researcher and contracted doctor professor of the Department of Audiovisual Communication, Documentation and Art History of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, and member of the GAME research group (research group in Learning, Media and Entertainment) of the Open University of Catalonia. Her lines of research mainly cover communication and visual culture, and she has published in different indexed books and magazines on social networks and the image.

Competencias digitales y alfabetización mediática para una educación abierta y en red

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Published

2021-09-28

How to Cite

San Cornelio, G., Ardèvol, E., & Martorell, S. (2021). Lifestyle, activism and consumption in environmental influencers on Instagram. Obra Digital, (21), 131–148. https://doi.org/10.25029/od.2021.326.21

Issue

No. 21 (2021): Digital skills and media literacy for open and online education

Section

Miscellaneous

License

Obra Digital uses a Creative Commons International licence 4.0 

Copyright for authors

Creative Commons.org Licenses 4.0