Digital Celebrities: Transformation of Theoretical Approaches

Abstract

The study of digital celebrity is an interdisciplinary field at the junction between sociology, media research and communication studies. Although it is actively developing in social sciences abroad, it is virtually non-represented in the Russian academic discourse. At the same time, due to the rapid development of social media, the importance of opinion leaders who are not directly related to traditional media is increasingly reflected in the everyday media consumption practices of Russians.

This article is intended to mainstream the subject of digital celebrity in the research field of Russia. The key objective is to review the evolution of the conceptual mindmap of the major theoretical approaches — from the classical theories by R. Merton and P. Lazarsfeld to modern authors, such as N. Couldry, J. Alexander, D. Marshall, K. Abidin. The article focuses on the analysis of a new type of celebrity digital platforms, the selection and systematization of key concepts and theoretical frames for their analysis.

As a result, a matrix for analyzing digital celebrities and their transformation is presented. The authors also propose conceptual frames to characterize the nature of fame, the basis of digital-celebrity media capital.

Acknowledgements. The study was carried out within the RFBR grant No. 21—011—31746 “Potential of micro-influencers in the coverage of socio-political processes on new digital platforms (Instagram, Telegram, TikTok)”.