What do social media teach? Influencers and followers in informal education in social media

Abstract

The educational potential of social networks, such as Instagram, YouTube or TikTok, marks the relationships between influencers and their followers. Both have a specific vision of what is taught and learned through the user experience. This perception depends on the objective of the content creator, their social or moral responsibility, and their vocation of public service. This study is part of a broader research project focusing on ethics in social media. First, it seeks to verify the correspondence between the teaching that influencers believe they transfer and the learning that their followers claim to obtain. Second, it seeks to identify the possible dysfunctions of this communicative exchange, the level of influence that these opinion leaders have on their audiences and the social and ethical responsibility they reflect in the dissemination of their content, as well as the knowledge both groups possess about media education and media literacy. To this end, a qualitative study was carried out based on in-depth interviews of 13 influencers and 24 followers, then processed using a thematic analysis with the Atlas.ti tool. The results reveal differences between influencers and content-creators, their scope and ethical responsibility. Followers also lack an adequate critical attitude, but they derive good lessons from the digital society. Media education and media literacy are revealed as a necessity for free, safe and critical interaction with social media.