Internet celebrity

An internet celebrity, also referred to as an internet personality, is an individual who has acquired or developed their fame and notability on the Internet. The growing popularity of social media provides a means for people to reach a large, global audience, and internet celebrities are commonly present on large online platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube,^[1] which primarily rely on user-generated content. Some internet celebrities are also social media influencers, known simply as influencers, due to their social influence online.

Certain internet celebrities may function as lifestyle gurus promoting a particular lifestyle or attitude. In this capacity they act as key amplifiers of trends across various genres including fashion, cooking, technology, travel, video games, movies, esports, politics, music, sports, and entertainment.^[2] As part of influencer marketing, companies and organizations may enlist internet celebrities to advertise their products to their fan base and followers on their respective platforms.

History

In 1991, the Internet and the World Wide Web became widely available, leading to the creation of numerous websites dedicated to shared interests. These forums allowed users to seek advice and help from experienced individuals in their field, increasing the availability of information beyond mainstream print media and corporate websites.^[3] Dedicated social media platforms emerged from these developments, providing users with the ability to create profiles and connect with others. SixDegrees.com pioneered this concept in 1997.^[4] Additionally, websites supporting blogging emerged around the same time, allowing users to publish long-form articles and stories.^[3] Since then forums, social media and blogging have transformed into integral components of communication, social interaction, business and journalism. Popular social media platforms include Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, Twitch, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter, Discord, Viber, WeChat, and WhatsApp.^[5]

Influencers

An influencer, also referred to as an online influencer, social media influencer, or social media personality, is a term traditionally associated with someone who is considered influential. The term has more recently been associated specifically with people who influence and guide the interest of others using social media.^[6] The modern referent of the term is commonly a paid role in which a business entity pays for the social media influence-for-hire activity to promote its products and services, known as influencer marketing.^[7]

Types of influencers include fashion influencer and virtual influencer. Some influencers are associated with specific social media apps such as TikTok influencers,^[8] Instagram influencer,^[9]^[10] or Pinterest influencer, and many are also considered internet celebrities. As of 2023, Instagram is the social media platform on which businesses spend the most advertising dollars towards marketing with influencers.^[11] However, influencer can exert their influence on any type of social media network. Thus, Instagram's leadership in the influencer marketing space has been under assault by platforms such as LinkedIn, TikTok and Roblox.^[12]^[13]^[14]

Types

Depending on their rise to fame, internet celebrities may reach their audiences in different ways. Some people write journals or blogs, some make YouTube or TikTok videos, others post frequently on Instagram or Twitter (X). The Internet has made fame accessible to and attainable for the general public.^[15] In some cases, people might rise to fame through a single viral event or viral video, and become an Internet meme. For example, Zach Anner, a comedian from Austin, Texas, gained worldwide attention after submitting a video to Oprah Winfrey's "Search for the Next TV Star" competition.^[16] Viral videos from internet celebrities could entail a funny event happening in the moment, a popular new dance, or even a post on Twitter.^[17]^[18]

YouTubers and vloggers

YouTube has risen as one of the biggest platforms for launching internet celebrities. YouTube creators (known as YouTubers), regardless of the genres or types of videos they make, have created an industry that can generate revenue from video views and online popularity. For example, Swedish internet celebrity PewDiePie uploads gaming and comedy videos on YouTube. As of October 2024^[update], he has around 110 million subscribers and is the fourth most-subscribed non-corporation YouTuber.

Every minute, 300 hours of videos are uploaded to YouTube, and 5 billion videos are watched every day.^[19] In August 2014, Variety wrote that YouTubers are more popular than mainstream celebrities among U.S. teens.^[20] Advertisers, in an effort to reach teenagers and millennials who do not watch regular television and movies, have started contacting YouTubers and other internet celebrities.^[21]

YouTube's AdSense program enables creators to earn money from advertisements. AdSense has certain requirements—a YouTuber must have more than 1,000 subscribers, live in an eligible country, and have more than 4,000 hours of watch time within a year to be eligible.^[22]

Micro-celebrities

A micro-celebrity, also known as a micro-influencer, is a person famous within a niche group of users on a social media platform. Micro-celebrities often present themselves as public figures.^[23] The concept of the micro-celebrity was originally developed by Theresa Senft and P. A. Poitier in their 2008 book, Camgirls: Celebrity and Community in the Age of Social Networks.^[24] According to Senft and Poitier, the concept of the micro-celebrity "is best understood as a new style of online performance that involves people 'amping up' their popularity over the Web using technologies like video, blogs and social networking sites".^[25] A micro-celebrity is also known as "a form of identity linked almost exclusively to the internet, characterizing a process by which people express, create and share their identities online".^[26] However, micro-celebrities differ from more traditional forms of celebrities associated with Hollywood stars because a micro-celebrity's popularity is often directly linked to their audience, and the audience comes to expect a certain degree of authenticity and transparency.^[25]

The Internet allows the masses to wrest control of fame from traditional media, creating micro-celebrities with the click of a mouse.
— David Weinberger of the Harvard Berkman Center for Internet and Society^[27]

Wanghong

Wanghong (Chinese: 网红; pinyin: wǎnghóng; lit. 'Internet fame') is the Chinese version of Internet stardom. The wanghong economy is a Chinese digital economy based on influencer marketing in social media.^[28] Some wanghong celebrities generate profits via retail or e-commerce, through attracting the attention of their followers. Internet celebrities have become a popular phenomenon in China. For example, Sister Furong (Fúróng Jiějiě, 芙蓉姐姐) received worldwide notoriety and fame for her self-promotion efforts through online posts.^[29] According to CBN Data, a commercial data company affiliated with Alibaba Group, the Chinese internet celebrity economy was estimated to be worth CN¥58 billion (US$8.4 billion) in 2016, more than China's total cinema box office revenue in 2015.^[30]

There are two main business models in the wanghong economy: social media advertising, and online retail. In the online retailing business model, e-commerce-based wanghong use social media platforms to sell self-branded products to potential buyers among followers via Chinese customer-to-customer (C2C) websites, such as Taobao. Internet celebrities may promote their products by modeling for their shops by posting pictures or videos of themselves wearing the clothes or accessories they sell, or giving makeup or fashion tips.^[31]

Zhang Dayi (张大奕)—one of China's best-known wanghong according to BBC News, with 4.9 million followers on Sina Weibo—has an online shop on Taobao, reportedly earning CN¥300 million (US$46 million) per year.^[32] This is comparable to the US$21 million made by Fan Bingbing (范冰冰), a top Chinese actress. Li Ziqi (李子柒), a celebrity food blogger with more than 16 million followers on Weibo, has inspired many bloggers to post similar content on traditional Chinese cooking and crafts.^[33]

Censorship in China has created an independent social media ecosystem that has become successful in its own way.^[34] For every Western social media platform, there is a comparable Chinese version; Chinese social media platforms, however, generate revenue differently. The greatest difference between Chinese internet celebrities and their Western counterparts is that the profits generated by Chinese celebrities can be immense. Unlike YouTube, which takes 45% of advertising revenue,^[35] Sina Weibo, one of the largest Chinese social media platforms, is not involved in advertising, which allows internet celebrities to be more independent. The monthly income of Chinese influencers can exceed CN¥10 million (US$1.5 million).^[36]

Net idols

In Japan, a specific type of internet celebrity is known as a net idol (ネットアイドル, Netto aidoru), a sub-category of the idol industry in Japan. Net idols first emerged in the 1990s through personal websites and blogs when internet became more accessible, with some selling personal merchandise such as photo books through their websites.^[37] Around March 2007, dance covers (known as odottemita (踊ってみた, lit. "I tried dancing")) became popular in video-sharing websites such as Niconico, which in turn led people into performing choreographed dances from anime series and idol groups.^[38] Notable creators of dance covers, known as odorite (踊り手), who later debuted as idols include Kozue Aikawa from Danceroid,^[39] Beckii Cruel,^[40] and Keekihime.^[41]

VTubers

VTubers or virtual Youtubers are entertainers that use digital 3D model avatars that are computer generated. VTubers originated from Japan, beginning in the early 2010s, and have risen in popularity in the 2020s. The first virtual Youtuber was Ami Yamato,^[42] who debuted on May 18, 2011; the first VTuber who had used the phrase "virtual Youtuber" is Kizuna AI,^[43] who began entertaining in 2016. The appeal of VTubers is similar to a real person, except the entertainer may choose to remain anonymous through their VTuber persona. The 2D anime virtual avatars appealed to many Japanese fans and popularity began to spread internationally. In October 2021, there has been reported to be 16,000^[44] VTubers around the world.

VTubers function in a similar fashion to YouTubers and streamers, with some VTubers being music artists. These VTubers that were music artists or broadcast their musical talent would be dubbed "VSinger" (virtual singer).^[45] Agencies such as Hololive and VShojo, scout and hire these VTubers to aid in marketing and build popularity. Their trademark character being the VTuber avatar or a 2D anime form of that character on the album covers, allowing recognition of the avatar and for the agency.^[46]

Income

In 2023 in the United States, 27 million people were paid content creators.^[47]^[48] Of those,^[47] 12 million did content creation as their full-time profession.^[48] 8 million did it as part-time work, and 7 million did it as a hobby.^[48] Influencers can make money in various ways, but most of them earn money from endorsements or sponsorships. Social media influencers can use their fame to promote products or experiences to their followers, as a method of providing credibility to products.^[49]

Influencers can also expand their source of revenue by creating their own products or merchandise to sell.^[50] By doing this, and by using their platform to promote their products to an established audience, influencers can earn money by developing their own reputable brands. Bloggers can feature sponsored posts in social media to make profits.^[51] For instance, fashion blogger Chiara Ferragni started as an online blogger, and then gained millions of followers on Instagram. She later created her brand, the Chiara Ferragni Collection. Like many other Instagram celebrities, Ferragni started by charging money per post for promoting brands. She earns revenue from promotional Instagram posts and the sale of her own products.^[52]

In 2020, a report by venture-capital firm SignalFire stated that the economy spawned by internet creators was the "fastest-growing type of small business".^[53]

Cancel culture

Cancel culture is a form of ostracism where an individual is excluded from social or professional circles because of certain past or present actions or allegations. The act may occur on social media platforms or in person. Cancel culture is a common term among internet celebrities where they may lose their source of income, fans, or reputation because of their controversial actions. For example, Beauty Guru YouTuber Jeffree Star has faced many allegations of misconduct in his career, which include cyberbullying and vocally expressing racist remarks. On July 10, 2020, the makeup brand Morphe cut ties and ceased all makeup collaborations with Jeffree Star because his problematic past had resurfaced.^[54] The year before that, Kuwaiti celebrity Sondos Alqattan was "cancelled" for criticising Filipinos. As a result of this, some brands cut ties with her.^[55]

Interacting with fans

Meetups are often a way internet celebrities interact with fans in real life. Occasionally, an internet celebrity might organize a meetup and invite fans to meet them at a certain place and time without proper organization. This can attract crowds of fans, causing disorderly or even unsafe situations. For example, Tanacon was an organization produced in collaboration with talent manager Michael Weist^[56] involving a group of internet celebrities who were set to meet paying fans, but did not follow through. Because of the disorganized setup, the meetup resulted in chaos.^[57]

Alternatively, events can be organized at a venue with security personnel. VidCon is an annual organized video conference designed for people interested in online videos. It invites internet content creators to participate in events for paying fans, such as performances, panels, and meet-and-greets.^[58]

Effect on fans

Internet celebrities can draw in a devoted crowd of fans whether their reach is small or wide. A scholarly article published from Thammasat University in Thailand explains that the younger generation is becoming more attracted to the path of fame compared to the typical intellectual development and financial security route.^[59]

Those who closely follow the lives of internet celebrities are more likely to develop psychological difficulties such as anxiety, depression, and dissociation.^[60] Although many internet celebrities appreciate the support and loyalty of their viewers and fans, the dedication to their lives can sometimes be intense. Fans may develop extreme behaviors or attitudes towards their favorite celebrities that can be identified as obsessive or may sometimes result to criminal behavior.^[60] The younger crowd are also being impacted through seeing their internet celebrities on different social media platforms. The Journal of Behavioral Addictions published by Akademiai Kiado evaluates a study that was done on Hungarian adolescents demonstrate these effects. The research found that the desire for fame on the internet was negatively associated with self-acceptance and potentially result to materialism and the desire for social recognition.^[60]

Internet celebrities are also able to influence fans through creating parasocial relationships with their audiences. For example, Kim Kardashian frequently creates the appearance of authenticity through harnessing the emotions of her audience. In Lueck's (2012) study they find that 60% of her Facebook advertising contains an "embedded emotional/transformational story".^[61]

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