"Instagramers" e "influencers". El escaparate de la moda que eligen los jóvenes menores españoles

Abstract

This paper explores Instagram as a communication space for young Spanish minors, from 14 to 17 years old. To achieve this, a double methodology is used, with two consecutive and diachronic phases: a longitudinal, analytical-synthetic bibliographic exploration on the concepts of Instagram, influencers and fashion communication; and a correlational, quantitative and qualitative, descriptive crosssectional type, looking for the 15 Spanish fashion influencers with more followers on Instagram, their publications, their YouTube channels, their blogs, if they have their own clothing store, the products they sell and the brands that they tag in their photographs of the social network. The results show an original ratio, of followers/ publication, the feedback of Instagram with YouTube, the blog or the online store, and several necessary ethical reflections, about the minimum age of the users, in the social network of photographs and in the stores of the influencers. The exponential growth of Instagram users in Spain, the possibility of creating an account at the age of 14, and the success of the selected protagonists, reveal a new fashion era. The new digital showcase of photographs totally replaces traditional physical storefronts for young Spaniards. Likewise, it’s anticipated that Instagram, with each update and new service it offers, will continue to subtract users from other social networks and decrease the need, previous or parallel, for the influencer to also publish and comment on its costumes in a fashion blog.