Between Advocacy and Consumerism: Exploring the Representation of Sustainability by Greenfluencers on Instagram
2024
Jekel, Johanna
This study investigates how Greenfluencers, a subgroup of social media influencers specializing in promoting sustainable lifestyles and raising environmental awareness among their followers, represent sustainability on Instagram. With the assumption of their influence going beyond the commercial sphere, potentially shaping public attitudes and behaviors toward sustainable development, Greenfluencers are considered relevant actors in sustainability communication. This research examines how sustainability is depicted through a qualitative content analysis of posts from ten German-speaking Greenfluencers during August 2023. Drawing on Raworth's "safe and just space for humanity" concept, the study evaluates the content of Greenfluencers' sustainability communication. Results revealed diverse portrayals of sustainability, focusing on environmental issues and individual responsibility. Greenfluencers often overlook the complexity of sustainability, the interconnectedness of social, economic, and environmental aspects, and the systemic causes of sustainability issues. Their content (partly) promotes ‘green’ consumerism through product recommendations and advertisements, overshadowing systemic solutions. Despite these limitations, Greenfluencers have the potential to serve as role models by promoting impactful, sustainable behaviors, such as adopting a plant-based diet. The exploratory nature of the study, its small sample size, and the limited timeframe of the content analysis limit the generalizability of the findings. The study highlights limitations within influencer-driven sustainability communication and underscores the importance of further investigation into the conditions under which social media influencers’ influence can promote sustainable development.
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