Self presentation in the context of the influencer effect on social media

With the new social areas, including social media, the individual can now share every movement about himself with other people. In the sharings that last moment by moment, the individual exhibits the self he wants to have as well as the self he has. In social media environments, the self has become a demonstration material. Instagram, which is one of the most used social media channels, is attractive in terms of self-presentation to the individual with its visual materials-weighted shares. Accounts with many followers, which are described as Influencers on Instagram, where the individual shares posts about himself with various visual posts, attract the attention of individuals. Influencers, who are seen as influential by their followers and are a kind of opinion leaders, have an impact on their followers with their shares. Influencers, who are especially effective on the young population, share advice and guidance, and in this context, they are effective in their self-presentations. In this study, it was tried to determine the effect of influencers on self-presentation of university students on Instagram. In line with this aim, the universe of the study consisted of students of Abant İzzet Baysal University and the sample based on the of Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University Communication Faculty students who participated the interview. Focus group interview was preferred as the data collection technique in the study. As a result of the research, it has been determined that the majority of the participants, the influencers they follow on Instagram have no effect on their identity and self-presentation, and they aim to use the information they learned from the influencers in their social media and daily lives. While reflecting the influence of the participants on their own posts, they only benefited from visual materials; It has been understood that their own likes are at the forefront rather than the concerns of likes and popularity in their posts.