Anaëlle J. Gonzalez
KU Leuven
Drew P. Cingel
UC Davis
Laura Vandenbosch
KU Leuven
Reference
Gonzalez, A. J., Cingel, D. P., & Vandenbosch, L. (2023). A Systematic Content Analysis of the Moral Foundations Featured in Celebrities’, Influencers’, and Athletes’ Instagram Content. Etmaal van de Communicatiewetenschap 2023, Enschede.
Abstract
Despite the attention that moral media content has received for many years, thus far, no research has systematically investigated the moral foundations featured in (visual) user-generated content. This is important, as exposure to moral content may influence the relative salience of different moral foundations among consumers, with implications for their moral reasoning. This manual content analysis investigated the prevalence and consistency of the moral foundations represented in the Instagram profiles of the 59 most followed Western celebrities, athletes and influencers. The study coded 1,256 posts and 2,936 stories, documenting the exemplification of moral foundations and their links with sex, endorser type, platform feature (i.e., stories vs posts), and presence of emojis. Results from multilevel analyses showed that famous individuals posted more content that upheld than violated moral foundations, with care and loyalty having the highest prevalence. On average, morally-laden content represented one-fifth of the posted content, with most personalities sharing moral content at least once. No difference was observed between posts and stories. Loyalty was featured by men more than women, and by athletes more than celebrities and influencers. The representation of moral content, and especially care, predicted the use of (positive) emojis.
* Currently under review
Keywords
Social media influencers
Celebrities
Athletes
Social media – Instagram
Morality – Moral values
Emojis
Methods
Quantitative manual content analysis
Multilevel analysis
Main findings
01
The proportion of moral values represented in a month is quite high (i.e., one-fifth of the posted content). The fact that users follow several personalities often posting similar content, that they interact with the content via platform features and have parasocial engagement with their authors make this prevalence particularly potent.
02
While the moral salience of celebrities’ Instagram content is lower in comparison to other media such as music and books, their content tends to feature more upheld (care, fairness, loyalty, authority, purity) than violated (harm, cheating, betrayal, subversion, degradation) moral foundations which has implications for positive moral learning, with care and loyalty being the most prevalent
03
Moral content, and more specifically the care moral value, is more likely to contain emotional cues like emojis, and especially positive ones, compared to non-moral content.
04
Men and women equally represented the care moral value, but the loyalty value was exemplified more often by men than women, and more often by athletes than celebrities and influencers.
05
These results are especially relevant for adolescents, who undergo significant developmental socio-cognitive and affective changes during this period of moral sensitivity. Taken together, these observations may prove reassuring in the face of the recurring concerns targeting celebrities and influencers serving as questionable moral examples.
Reference
Gonzalez, A. J., Cingel, D. P., & Vandenbosch, L. (2023). A Systematic Content Analysis of the Moral Foundations Featured in Celebrities’, Influencers’, and Athletes’ Instagram Content. Etmaal van de Communicatiewetenschap 2023, Enschede.