Being a positive influence(r): Exploring affective pedagogies of wellbeing and positivity on Instagram

Abstract

Influencers attract praise—and censure—for how they are perceived to influence followers. These discussions are strongly gendered: representations of mainstream influencers are highly feminised, and it is typically women and girls who are imagined as the targets—or victims—of influence. We suggest that the value influencers can offer is increasingly understood in affective and emotional terms and materialises in the form of mindset advice and modelling emotional management strategies. In this paper, we draw on theories of affective practice to examine “teachable moments” of positivity, optimism and resilience as influencers model and educate followers in emotion-laden styles and standpoints. Our analysis centres on data gathered in confidential interviews with eight established and aspiring Instagram influencers, who work in mainstream, lifestyle domains. We focus on the affective pedagogies influencers mobilise to show followers how to adopt culturally favoured emotional styles. Our analysis sheds light on the pedagogical work of influencing as gendered labour, its psychosocial utility and socio-political entanglements. To conclude, we reflect on how the patterns we identify index broader shifts in neoliberal wellness repertoires away from the management of time and towards the management of emotional energy.