Free to Be Bound: Labor Relations and Labor Process of Social Media Influencers

Research Article
Open access

Free to Be Bound: Labor Relations and Labor Process of Social Media Influencers

Yijin Zhang 1*
  • 1 Syracuse University    
  • *corresponding author yzhan269@syr.edu
Published on 14 September 2023 | https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7048/8/20230193
LNEP Vol.8
ISSN (Print): 2753-7056
ISSN (Online): 2753-7048
ISBN (Print): 978-1-915371-97-3
ISBN (Online): 978-1-915371-98-0

Abstract

The rapid growth of social media has attracted an increasing number of user-producers who put effort into creating content and accumulating followers to become social media influencers. Influencers could trade their creativity, content, and popularity for monetary rewards from advertisers by producing and posting commercial content on their social media accounts. More and more employees choose to establish their social media accounts in their leisure time and generate fans via constant content production. It seems social media laborers have more flexibility in working hours and more ownership of their work, while they are facing a different form of capital control compared with traditional laborers. Through implying case study method analyzing a typical employee-turned-influencer labor process and labor relations with platforms and advertisers, this research unveils that platforms have prolonged exploitation periods and conducted invisible control of social media laborers through technology and algorithm, and social media laborers are facing dual exploitation from both platform capitalists and advertiser capitalists.

Keywords:

digital labor, social media influencers, labor-capital relations, labor process

Zhang,Y. (2023). Free to Be Bound: Labor Relations and Labor Process of Social Media Influencers. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,8,334-339.
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References

[1]. Fagioli, A. (2021) To exploit and dispossess: The twofold logic of platform capitalism. Work organization, labour & globalization.15(1), 126-137.

[2]. Gerlitz, C., Helmond, A. (2013) The like economy: Social buttons and the data-intensive web. New media & society, 15(8), 1348-1365.

[3]. Duguay, S. (2019) “Running the numbers”: Modes of microcelebrity labor in queer women’s self-representation on Instagram and Vine. Social media+ society, 5(4), 2056305119894002.

[4]. Abidin, C. (2017) # familygoals: Family influencers, calibrated amateurism, and justifying young digital labor. Social Media+ Society, 3(2), 2056305117707191.

[5]. Zheng, S. X. (2021) The “Sacred Labor” that is stared at and ignored--re”—— Anthropological comparison and reflection on the study of delivery riders. New Vision, 6), 77-83.

[6]. Fuchs, C. (2021) Social Media: A Critical Introduction.3rd ed. UK: SAGE Publication Ltd.

[7]. Xinhua net. (2017) 95s generation’s notion of employeement.Xinhuanet.com.Retrieved from http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2017-04/24/c_1120860496.htm

[8]. Satora, A. (2023) Key Influencer Marketing Statistics to Drive Your Strategy in 2023. Retrieved from https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-statistics/

[9]. IMS. (2021) Chinese influencer economy development report. Retrieved from https://pdf.dfcfw.com/pdf/H3_AP202108021507528798_1.pdf

[10]. Sun, P., Qiu, L. C., Yu, H. Q. (2021) Platform as A Method:Labour, Technology and Communication. Journalism and Communication,28,8-24.

[11]. Bauman, Z. (1983) Industrialism, consumerism and power. Theory, Culture & Society, 1(3), 32-4.

Cite this article

Zhang,Y. (2023). Free to Be Bound: Labor Relations and Labor Process of Social Media Influencers. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,8,334-339.

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The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

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About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of the International Conference on Social Psychology and Humanity Studies

ISBN：978-1-915371-97-3(Print) / 978-1-915371-98-0(Online)
Editor：Muhammad Idrees, Faisalabad Matilde Lafuente-Lechuga
Conference website: https://www.icsphs.org/
Conference date: 24 April 2023
Series: Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media
Volume number: Vol.8
ISSN：2753-7048(Print) / 2753-7056(Online)

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References

[1]. Fagioli, A. (2021) To exploit and dispossess: The twofold logic of platform capitalism. Work organization, labour & globalization.15(1), 126-137.

[2]. Gerlitz, C., Helmond, A. (2013) The like economy: Social buttons and the data-intensive web. New media & society, 15(8), 1348-1365.

[3]. Duguay, S. (2019) “Running the numbers”: Modes of microcelebrity labor in queer women’s self-representation on Instagram and Vine. Social media+ society, 5(4), 2056305119894002.

[4]. Abidin, C. (2017) # familygoals: Family influencers, calibrated amateurism, and justifying young digital labor. Social Media+ Society, 3(2), 2056305117707191.

[5]. Zheng, S. X. (2021) The “Sacred Labor” that is stared at and ignored--re”—— Anthropological comparison and reflection on the study of delivery riders. New Vision, 6), 77-83.

[6]. Fuchs, C. (2021) Social Media: A Critical Introduction.3rd ed. UK: SAGE Publication Ltd.

[7]. Xinhua net. (2017) 95s generation’s notion of employeement.Xinhuanet.com.Retrieved from http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2017-04/24/c_1120860496.htm

[8]. Satora, A. (2023) Key Influencer Marketing Statistics to Drive Your Strategy in 2023. Retrieved from https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-statistics/

[9]. IMS. (2021) Chinese influencer economy development report. Retrieved from https://pdf.dfcfw.com/pdf/H3_AP202108021507528798_1.pdf

[10]. Sun, P., Qiu, L. C., Yu, H. Q. (2021) Platform as A Method:Labour, Technology and Communication. Journalism and Communication,28,8-24.

[11]. Bauman, Z. (1983) Industrialism, consumerism and power. Theory, Culture & Society, 1(3), 32-4.

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