Personal Influence 2.0 : En kvalitativ studie om hur olika generationer förhåller sig till influencers

Sammanfattning: Abstract In the modern era of social media influencers have assumed a more prominent role and become a wellknown phenomenon. Many companies today choose to enter in to marketing programs of influencers promoting the company`s products through their own social channels e.g. on Instagram or blogs. Influencers are exposed in most contexts on all social media, where the content is reachable for both young and adult people. This study is viewing how young, respectively adult women relate to influencers on social media. The aim of the essay is to illuminate the attitudes and relations of different generations towards the phenomenon. Furthermore the study investigates why people consume, or desist to consume contents of influencers. The questions formulated after the purpose are: • In what way do the respondents experience consumption pressure from influencers? • What role do influencers play in the daily media use of the responders? • What drives women to follow influencers? • How does the attitude towards influencers differ between the two age categories? To survey the attitudes of young and the adult women in this context it was imperative for us to talk to them. Thus the study assumes a reception perspective, to obtain a reliable interpretation of the reality of the respondent. Hence we decided to carry out six quality interviews with women ranging in age between 31 and 39 years and two group interviews with young women, all of them above 18 years of age. This study is based on the theories of recognised researchers, which are adequate to answer our purpose and questions. The most substantial theory is the uses and gratifications theory and the theory of the two-step hypothesis, which is crucial to understand how influencers are created. Furthermore the user model is elaborated, understood as how people use media, and how opinion leaders are created. Then it emerges how the new media are from a point of view of the uses and gratifications theory, how social media can induce problems when it comes to a persons wellbeing. This study is established on substantial researcher's theories which are relevant in order to provide answers to our purpose and questions. The most extensive theories are uses and gratifications theory and two-step flow, which are central components that provides the understanding on how people supply their needs and how opinion leaders are created. Subsequently, the new media is viewed through uses and gratifications theory, how social media may cause problems regarding the well-being of a person.    4 To summarize, based on the results of the study, we may conclude that influencers tend to affect all respondents. The first group interview of the younger had a negative attitude because of how they were influenced by them. The second group as well as the older women had almost frequently a positive attitude on how they were influenced by them as they received valuable inspiration from the influencers in return. Finally our conclusion is that the influencers have an impact on the great masses, and not because of different ages. The distribution of gratuities is an motivation to follow influencers and that they are always a part of their consumption of media.