Influencers and beauty perception: A study on Instagram users

The perception of beauty is related to the way a person perceives and defines beauty. In many cultures, the perception of beauty is formed by the influence by the media and society. The perception of beauty in social media is often related to the fact that images, videos and messages shared on social media determine what is considered beautiful in society. Today, social media has become a tool that shapes and influences many people's perception of beauty. It should be recognised that the images created on social media do not reflect reality. In the study conducted in qualitative research design, it is aimed to determine what the Influencer and the perception of beauty in social media is and how it is perceived. In the study, Instagram posts of 5 influencers who had posts about beauty perception between 1 November 2022 and 31 January 2023, had more than 250 thousand followers, had at least 250 posts and were selected by criterion sampling method, were examined. In the first stage of the research, the most liked photos shared by influencers were identified. In the second stage; Instagram users between the ages of 25-35 were identified and questions about 5 photographs were asked to the participants by using the interview technique. Of the 8 participants, 5 were female and 3 were male. According to the research, in the examined posts of influencers, the participants found the photos "unnatural" and "exaggerated". According to the participants, naturalness is an important factor in beauty perception and excessive use of make-up or filters is perceived negatively. The findings show that unnatural and exaggerated appearance is frequently used in influencers' posts, but people have a critical attitude towards content that looks unrealistic or exaggerated. Natural and realistic looks may have a more positive impact on followers' perception of beauty.