Spotlight: What we are taught by the top 10 stars Instagram
Alexandra Savina
Selena Gomez topped the listmost popular celebrities on Instagram, shifting from the first position Taylor Swift. We are used to not interpreting such ratings seriously, forgetting that all this is part of social processes and practices that are rapidly changing before our eyes. Each of us - not just celebrities - uses social networks to build a verified public image and translate certain ideas. We studied the ten most popular Instagram accounts and tried to figure out what their content says not only about their owners, but also about the state of society - that is, about all of us.
Selena Gomez
72 million followers
Singer and actress Selena Gomez gained wide popularity through the Disney channel show and even after filming in Otyaznachny Vacation, she builds the image of the “right” girl in social networks: she uploads photos with her family, children’s pictures with her best friend, cousin Priscilla Deleon, photos with a long time friend. Taylor Swift and travel pictures with friends, talks about faith and god, thanks fans and assures them that he is browsing their pages. All this is interspersed with standard celebrity shots from photo shoots, excerpts from clips and photos from social events. Judging by the instagram, Selena Gomez treats herself with a certain amount of self-irony and understands that she has a big responsibility (“The thing is how you use your platform, not how great it is,” she writes). In addition, she calmly treats food and her body (or, at least, pretends to be so): to the delight of fans in the photos and in the video, she occasionally eats McDonald's burgers and Cheetos chips.
Taylor Swift
71 million followers
Taylor Swift was for a long time the most popular celebrity on Instagram and only this spring she lost the first place to Selene Gomez. On her page, she struggles to look like a role model: a simple girl who, nevertheless, is in a relationship with an ideal boyfriend, befriends many celebrities - from Lorde to HAIM and Cara Delevin, is ready to generously forgive Kanye West for his loud and unpleasant remarks, visits fans in the hospital and regularly thanks them for presents, loves animals, periodically lays out selfies with their cats and works very hard. What seems to be ease and spontaneity, perhaps, in fact, to the smallest detail, a thoughtful image, in which there is no place for chance, - however, millions of Taylor fans are not embarrassed.
Ariana Grande
65.4 million followers
Teen favorite Ariana Grande gained fame thanks to the Nickelodeon children's TV series, but now she is trying to change the image to a more adult one. In Instagram, Grande behaves like a typical Millennial and puts mostly selfies and shots from photo shoots, as well as a lot of pictures and videos of his dogs. On his page, Grande also appears as an exemplary daughter and granddaughter: she confesses to love to her family and, in particular, to her grandmother, whom she constantly admires, uploads screenshots of touching sms-correspondence with her mother and photos with her older brother. In addition, the singer, apparently, reads what is written to her in social networks, communicates with commentators and condemns Lukism and objectification. Not so long ago, Grande posted several feminist quotes in instagram - all of them are connected with the release of her new song "Dangerous Woman", but I want to believe that her subscribers make other conclusions from them.
Kim Kardashian
65.3 million followers
This list would not be complete without Kim Kardashian - the recognized queen of the social network, whose selfies were awarded a separate book. Kim uses instagram primarily as a platform to advertise his many projects and for selfies - his own and with famous friends. For the rest, Kim, as in life, instagram likes to be primarily a mother and a wife: she often confesses love to children and Kanye and likes to spread touching frames of family life into the social network. In her account, Kim appears as an ordinary person: she publicly quarrels (hinting that Taylor Swift wears Kanye's sneakers, despite the fact that she quarreled with him) and reconciles (putting a photo with Amber Rose on the social network). But perhaps the most important thing in Kardashian's instagram is that he helps start a conversation about important issues: recently, when Kim posted a nude selfie, commentators called her a bad role model, and her behavior was unworthy of a wife and mother of two children. In response to a wave of slatshiming, Kim posted another selfie in the nude and said that she had every right to enjoy her own sexuality.
Beyoncé
65.2 million followers
Instagram Beyonce is a real textbook of self-control: each of the shots in it, like all elements of the singer's image, is carefully verified, and journalists are wondering if she takes with her a professional photographer who works exclusively on her pictures for the social network. Instagram is almost the only way to learn about new projects of the singer, who recently almost does not communicate with the press; it was here that Beyonce announced the release of her video album, and here she puts out excerpts from new clips. For the rest, Beyonce's instagram constructs the image of an ideal wife and mother and promotes the same ideas as in ordinary life - supports movements for the rights of women and the rights of African Americans, the legalization of same-sex marriage and charitable campaigns. The image is too perfect and that is why it seems plastic: the calculation is involuntarily seen even in "ridiculous" photos and videos - it seems that Beyonce allows himself to be funny, but only to a certain limit, even here without going beyond the established limits.
Justin Bieber
63.3 million followers
Justin Bieber is the first man in the top ten most popular Instagram users, having traveled from a simple teenager from YouTube to a superstar. In his instagram he tries to keep a similar balance. He puts pictures and videos on which, on the one hand, he appears as a simple guy: riding down a hill, kissing his sister, fishing and admiring nature - and on the other, he demonstrates a pumped body, as well as the fact that he collects stadiums, travels on a private helicopter and is able to launch a model career for a 17-year-old girl by simply posting her photo with the signature "OMG, who is this?" on the social network. Other loud and less successful stories are connected with the singer's instagram: in the past, for example, he laid out the pictures in which he holds a snow leopard cub in the Red Book. Considering that the singer has been accused of irresponsible and frivolous attitude towards animals for several years now, it is not the best example to follow.
Kylie jenner
56 million followers
Kylie Jenner mainly uses instagram to advertise her application and cosmetics line, as well as to hidden advertising other products. The bulk of Kylie's instagram is selfies, because of which she is periodically accused of racism and cultural appropriation (mindless appropriation of elements of a foreign culture). But there are rare positive initiatives on Jenner’s account, such as the #iammorethan campaign: she puts in her instagram pictures of other social network users who talk about how they managed to accept and love themselves and cope with the harassment. True, on the move to find them among other pictures Kylie is not easy.
Cristiano Ronaldo
52.9 million followers
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of two men and the only athlete listed among the most popular Instagram users. In his instagram there are no program texts and loud statements - only photos and videos from trainings and games, advertising shots (of course), as well as pictures with mom and son Cristiano Jr., who is brought up by a football player independently with the support of his mother. Ronaldo constantly emphasizes that he loves to spend his free time with family and son - given the influence of a football player, a good example for those who for some reason still believe that raising children is an exclusively “female” occupation.
Kendall Jenner
52.6 million followers
The third representative of the Kardashian-Jenner family in the list of the most popular users of the social network is Kendall, who also has a photo on her account that gained the most Instagram posts in 2015. Much of the Kendall photos on instagram is related to her work - these are shots from photo shoots and advertising campaigns, some of which cause fierce disputes, such as the Mango "Tribal Spirit" campaign, the authors of which are accused of cultural appropriation. Kendall Jenner doesn’t have many charitable instagram initiatives, but they are still there: the model supports the non-profit organization The Black Jaguar-White Tiger Foundation, which is dedicated to animal welfare, and the movement for African American rights. True, Kendall does not always care about what thoughts she brings to her subscribers — hence the occasional jokes that play up stereotypes about women.
Nicki Minaj
51.3 million followers
Niki Minaj broadcasts conflicting views on instagram: on the one hand, he speaks out against racism and fetcheshiming and for the empowerment of women in the music industry, on the other hand, puts sexist jokes on the social network. Almost all Minaj's instagram consists of pictures of her luxurious life, but you can also find, for example, photos from the charity event "Autism Rocks", aimed at supporting people with autism. In addition, Niki Minaj is periodically accused of having too much processing of her pictures in a graphic editor - but she denies everything.