Deconstruction of an Influencer Image in the Modern Media Space

Abstract

The paper conceptualises the phenomenon of deconstruction of an influencer image. The study bases on the analysis of two plots, namely, stories of a schoolchild from Novy Urengoy Nikolai Desyatnichenko who spoke in the Bundestag, and of a Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg promoting a culture of environmental activism. The author proposes a definition of the deconstruction of the influencer image as a strategy detaching publicity capital from a certain actor. Based on the possessed and endowed traits, i.e., appearance, systemic self-positioning, and broadcasted discourse regarding resonant precedents of social reality, a public persona potentially fits into the classic portrait of an influencer. However, uncontrollable and unpredictable consequences for the construction of the image and promoting a personal brand might occur as a result of the dominating opposite frames and intentions in the media space. The study draws attention to the fact that this effect may be observed in the long term against the background of a clear detachment of publicity capital and distinguishes the ametric and systemic models of deconstruction of the influencer's image. It also explains the criteria of their differentiation basing on the principle of media solidarization in the fields of television and the Internet.