Unboxing Influencers
Have students access the student chapter Unboxing Influencers.
Go through the tricks that influencers use to create parasocial relationships.
Then have students watch the video Unboxing Influencers and answer the questions in the Structure Strip.
Take up the questions:
Influencer tricks:
- Giving personal details: The influencer talks about how she had to pretend to look surprised
- Speaking to you directly by saying “You” : The influencer talks to you for the whole video
- Calling you a nickname or a casual greeting: The influencer calls her viewers “box tops”
- Talking about “backstage” details of how the videos are made: The whole video is a “behind the scenes” look at how another video was made.
What product was this video selling?
The original video was probably selling whatever was in the box, but this video is selling the ring light she mentions at the end of the video.
Was it a paid ad?
It shouldn’t be! There are no hashtags like #ad or #sponsored. It should have those if she was paid to make the video or if the link to the ring light is an affiliate link (which gives the influencer a part of the money from any sale through that link.)
That means that it either was an undisclosed ad, that she endorsed the ring light because she hopes to get a brand deal, or she endorsed it because she really just likes it.
Because we don’t know which of those it was, you can’t be sure it was an honest endorsement.
A parasocial relationship is when you feel like you know someone you only know through media. People can form parasocial relationships with celebrities, influencers and even cartoon characters.