Instagram was one of the first social media applications built especially to be used on mobile phones and, despite nowadays it can be accessed on desktop, its functions still being directed for the use on mobile devices. Being the second social platform most accessed in Brazil (We Are Social, 2017), Instagram is been used by an early phenomena called digital influencers. Along this discussion, it is going to be reported some specific on-going debates about how these digital influencers are using the app in a different purpose, and how the audience of those people who interact with them are being changed.

Firstly, it will be debated how the new forms of advertising on mobile applications are being used on Instagram. Plus, how Brazilian women labeled as ‘digital influencers’ are connected to these by monetizing their profiles and transforming their Instagram pages in an “advertising space” (Abidin, 2014: 124). Secondly, it is going to be presented an analysis of how these new bloggers assume a different identity when using their Instagram usernames and how ‘thetered’ they become to the interactions of their “online selves” (Turkle, 2008: 125). Also, it is going to exchange views about the considerations involving the performance of a “commercial persona” (Abidin, 2014: 126) in this imagery social media. Thirdly, some implications related to the use of content and data obtained by Instagram interactions of the audience that follows digital influencers (Carah and Shaul, 2016: 69) are going to be discussed in the light of online media surveillance implications. And finally, a research among a female Brazilian public of Instagram users will be shown to uncover some behavior patterns related to their relationship with six main digital influencers from their country. In addition, if this relation follower to follower can influence in the purchasing of beauty related products promoted by these digital influencers or not.

It is important to contextualize the concept of ‘digital influencers ‘to start the discussion that follows. These influencers are one of the forms of “microcelebraties” (Abidin, 2016: 87) who maintain contact with their audience, that can even became attached to them as fans at some point. They use digital platforms, in this case, Instagram, to accumulate a number of followers on social media sharing moments “through the textual and visual narration of their personal, everyday lives” (ibid).

Previous ways of using Instagram by those popular characters of social media have been changed by the increasingly popularity of the application. Before, they used to profit from Instagram as a manner of obtaining more access to their written blogs or Youtube channels in which they could monetize their work by selling advertisement spaces. In instance, they used to publish some images announcing a new post or video in the other platforms to somehow make people migrate to them. As Instagram became the “fastest growing media application among mobile-savvy users” (Aw Yeong, 2013), it started to be itself the place where they wanted to publish and profit from their usage of the application.

As conceptualized by Wissinger (2017), Instagram works as an “image machine” that combined with smartphones features, such as touchscreen and the possibility for easily scrolling turns the application experience into a never-ending flow of images.”(Carah and Shaul, 2016:70). Besides that, those images are intrinsically related to the functions offered by the mobile device in which they can be taken, stored, manipulated, uploaded, have filters applied and so on. Also, the easy access to an “always-on/always-on-you technology” (Turkle, 2008: 13) can facilitate the use of Instagram in everyday life circumstances, thus turning Influencers job easier. The ephemeral character of these images published could be even more intensified with the introduction of the stories feature done by Instagram in 2016, in which users can share videos and images to an extent of 24 hours, then disappearing. All these attributes can be used by Influencers to connect with their followers aiming to engage them in the “form of likes and comments” as well as induce them to pause on “particular images, tapping on hashtags, or visiting accounts” (Carah and Shaul, 2016: 71)

As digital influencers gained popularity, their skills for creating content and trends were notice as valuable strategy by different markets.” (Archer and Harrigan,2016: 7). Especially for fashions products, companies started using the creative approaches of these bloggers to grab the attention of its followers in an attempt to profit from their influence in an advertising saturated media atmosphere (Abidin, 2014: 126). Although not first seen as the primary purpose of the bloggers as perceived in earlier research by Archer and Harrigan (2016), monetizing their Instagram profiles ended up being part of their life. Along with that, some strategies were adopted such as publishing pictures in determined times during the day, scheduling posts (Abidin, 2014: 126) and adopting a style that could remark their followers that the content posted was related to them.

Moreover, it is clear for Instagram influencers that there is a need to balance their personal life and commercial purposes. Commercial bloggers have an important difference from mainstream media due to the fact that they can easily relate their own experiences to average consumers’ that follow them (Abidin, 2014: 124). Therefore, their credibility is also attached to how they ensure that their authentic personal posts are not overlaid by sponsored publications (ibid), even if it sometimes demand that they “obscure the commerciality of their posts” (ibid: 126) by using discourses related to themselves.
This persuasion ability can be associated to the two-step flow communication theory first proposed by Lazarsfeld and Berelson in 1944, in which some personalities’ influence is noticed to exert more power above audience than mainstream media sources of information. Therefore, it can be seen that bloggers on Instagram can work with their “personal influence” (Lazarsfeld and Berelson, 1955) to change their followers’ behavior and get their decision making leveraged by the images and discourses they share on Instagram. One the one hand, this opinion leaders are valued by brands that use them as an advertisement strategy, and in the other they keep trying to upgrade their abilities to “develop creative strategies to integrate advertisements into their feed” (Abidin, 2014: 124) and keep the online business going on.

As all of applications used on mobile devices, the concern about surveillance and its implications can also be investigated within the context of Instagram. Surveillance can be present on devices in many ways and “serve a variety of purposes” (Martin, 2012: 409) that can be either empowering or controlling users. One of the concepts most related to surveillance is the privacy, that can be understood as “the ability of an individual to control their personal information” and to choose which of the information they leave online
can be or not accessed by other people and in which ways it is going to be used (ibid: 410).

In the case of Instagram, a series of algorithms are generated, and especially in this case, the ones that are from users that interact with digital influencer’s. Primarily in function of the “image machine” (Carah and Shaul, 2016: 82) created by Instagram that can categorize users by its location, number of follows, interactions – as liking, following, commenting, responsive reactions to stories – the application has many alternative ways in which it can track an user comportment (ibid: 71). Additionally, those algorithms can be generated by the own user while using a hashtag, a way of labelling publications for its content, that can work as a “manual algorithm” for the platform (Carah and Shaul, 2016: 72). Besides that, Instagram is still improving the processes for providing access to images, users and take the attention of its users (ibid: 70). For instance, each person can have a personalized “explore” feed in which new users to follow are suggested.
All of these data collected by Instagram can be later used by brands that want to reach new potential consumers that follow the Instagram bloggers to broader their marketing activities (Carah and Shaul, 2016: 79). Thus, it is seen that the personal information of users is exposed to others without the majority of them being even concerned about it. Such activity can “potentially undermine the privacy of the virtual world” (Martin, 2012: 410), with repercussions that go beyond the application experience. In this case, these “machine learning algorithms” (Nafus and Sherman, 2014: 2) are problematic because they can be not only constraining “in the way they shape the domain of possibilities
available” (ibid: 3) by constantly showing to users sponsored content, but also dictating to which users or influencers they will be exposed and incentivized to interact.
Another important aspect about digital influencers is the identity concerns that this public character assume when dealing with their Instagram-built persona. As highlighted by Hall and Baym in 2012, the “always-on” character of mobile devices can encourage its usage for constant relational contact (Hall and Baym, 2012: 317). Although this is the feature most enjoyable for users, it can also be identified as a negative need that involves having the feeling of obligation to always be attached to it (ibid: 319). With influencers, this is not different. Instead, it can be even more demanding for them due to the fact that they need to show to their followers a constant frame of their personal lives based on the persona they have created to them (Abidin, 2014: 126). For some scholars, like Abidin (2014), it can be involving in such a manner that it becomes like a lifestyle to the person in charge of this job, as it requires a high “degree of calculated performativity” (Abidin, 2014: 126).
Furthermore, the lines that separate the “formal work hours and recreational nonwork” (Abidin, 2014: 125) become blurred by the intense relation of the commercial bloggers to their online activities. As a consequence of that, their social media performance become attached to a “branded self” (Carah and Shaul, 2016: 79), that can be understood as a broaden narrative used to promote a determined trend and guide “participations in the production and judgment of images of their bodies, identities, and lives” (ibid). In the case of the digital influencers discussed in this essay, they are able to personify a “desirable upper-middle-class lifestyle” (Abidin, 2014: 126) stereotype and make
hegemonic statements of patterns of beauty to be followed. Although problematic, this issue increases even more the desire to follow the everyday life experiences of these people either because it is an unreachable reality of the person subscribing to its feed, or because it is actually taken as a model to be followed (Abidin, 2014: 126).
This is concerning because the Instagram platform is an important space for people to reveal themselves and recreate versions of self that they have some kind of difficult to show in the offline world (Martin, 2012: 410). The people who follow a digital influencer may have some kind of “attachment to their virtual self” (Turkle 1995), and relating to the fact that they are persuaded by this digital celebrities, they may not achieve their desiring appearance or will not be able to purchase products sold by the created persona. Therefore, it can cause frustration and illusion (Turkle, 2008: 125) to these Instagram users unable to reach their desirable virtual-self.
From the statements discussed until now, a research that follows was conducted by using quantitative method to identify through a survey if digital influencers usage of self-image to marketing purposes related to fashion products can influence in the purchasing habits of their followers. As quantitative methods predict, there are limitations (Allen, Titsworth and Hunt, 2009:3) concerning about the small sample compared to the whole population to be analysed, although it still useful to comprehend “how a particular phenomenon might be generalized to a larger population” (Allen, Titsworth and Hunt, 2009:2)
The first question of the survey was about considering itself an active Instagram user or not. After that, if the answer was negative, the person would not have their answers taken into account in the rest of the survey because the analysis involves people that were actually attached to their devices and Instagram to be discussed. From the total of 56 women, between 16 to 25 years, only 32 of them continued to complete the survey, being the total public of it. The question that followed was if the person knew any of the users related on a list that follows:

@camilacoelho (6.8 M followers)
@flaapavanelli (5.4 M followers)
@thassianaves (3 M followers)
@camilacoutinho (2.3 M followers)
@lalatrrussardirudge (1.6 M followers)
@helenabordon (1 M followers)

The six usernames above are specific users of Instagram well-known in Brazil as digital influencers and are part of the list of the most followed accounts in the country.
If the answer was positive, which actually was for all of the 32 participants that recognized at least one of the users listed, it would be taken to the next question. The question that followed was if they have ever bought anything recommended and/or used by the commercial bloggers of Instagram. By last, it was asked if they noticed any kind of sponsorship from the company seller of the product related to the user.
At the end of the research, it was seen that 28 people mentioned that they have at least once purchased something that they had seen first being used by some of the bloggers mentioned in the list. To the last question, the answer was positive for 12 people that have seen that there was a company marketing strategy behind the product mentioned in the influencer profile.

The results of the survey have shown that 87% users of Instagram were influenced at the time of purchasing an item because of the images spread by the bloggers on Instagram. It can be seen as an efficient method of marketing in which “commercial lifestyle bloggers” demonstrate their ability to sell products to the industry (Abidin, 2014: 126) and are used by them as an strategically way of reaching their targeted publics. This effectiveness can be seen not only in the way the images are articulated by the ‘Instagrammers’, with the objective to mix their personal life with publicity posts, but also when the public that follow those people start making spontaneous marketing by applying hashtags, posting pictures using the products and so on. This kind of behaviour can be related to the attachment they develop while using the Instagram application, becoming “tethered to their devices” and to the “gratifications offered by their online selves” (Turkle, 2008: 125). The posting of products that they own influenced by a digital influencer can include an attempt to be part of a selected fashion group that later will give them a sense of belonging in this social media that praises the culture of images. Therefore, as Turkle mentioned in 2008, this includes a “promise of affection” to the users that, in this case, will be demonstrated in the forms of comments, more followers and new conversations to other users.

Moreover, the fact that only 37% of the participants have noticed that there was a sponsor behind the post of the blogger related to a certain product
shows how often the strategy is used on Instagram. The attempt to maintain an “Instagram persona” (Abidin, 2014: 125) blurring the boundaries between the influencers’ lifestyle’ and ‘work’ turns out to be deceiving to people that follow them and do not realise that they are actually performing an identity to sell and advertising space that later will be persuading them. This is problematic because it shows a lack of transparency in the social media, which does not have any guidelines concerning about this kind of publicity made to “obscure the commerciality of their posts” (Abidin, 2014: 126).

Besides that, the number of participants that have already purchased something due to influencers’ media exposure can be a demonstration of how the surveillance on Instagram is working in its advertising and analytics model. Due to the variety of mechanisms that the application use to “track and target users” (Carah and Shaul, 2016: 79), the algorithms used to label their interests and lea them to follow specific users can be a valuable information to be sold to companies that wants to use the platform as an alternative way of advertising their products. Especially when talking about digital influencers, not only the public that interact with them can be tracked in the forms of comments and other interactions, but also the own bloggers that can be seen as fit or not to the strategies of the companies. With all the generated content in the hand of Instagram, it is explicit that the “machine learning algorithms” (Nafus and Sherman, 2014: 2) are being used to commercial purposes. It is something to be concerned in the light of privacy of the users of Instagram that are exposed to “malleable artifacts capable of adapting to how people enact social categories online” (ibid).

It is important to highlight the limitations of the research above because of the small number of participants and the geographically labeled users, in this case, Brazilian Instagrammers, chosen to be analyzed. Nevertheless, some important points about identity, advertisement strategies and surveillance are still relevant to the debate of online applications used on mobile devices and how its “always-on/always-on-you” (Turkle, 2008: 130) technology amplifies the effects of the usage of social media.
In this new and still developing scenario, digital influencers are important characters and can be further researched as an attempt to explain the early interactions of smartphones owners. For many people who use mobile devices and all the features it offers, it still easier to express their intimacy in the online platforms rather than in the real life world (Turkle, 2008: 125). Therefore, it is extremely important that their integrity is not only respected, but also preserved by all the companies that use it for commercial and advertorial purposes, for mechanisms of gathering data and so on. Transparency from the developers, owners of the media and people that have some kind of influence in whichever social media present in this environment is unpredictable.

References
● Abidin, C. 2014. #In$tagLam: Instagram as a repository of taste, a brimming marketplace, a war of eyeballs. In: Berry, M. and Schleser, M. eds. Mobile Media Making in the Age of Smartphones. New York: Palgrave Pivot, pp. 119-128.
● Abidin, C. 2016. Visibility labour: Engaging with Influencers’ fashion brands and #OOTD advertorial campaigns on Instagram. Media International Australia. 161, pp. 86-100. ● Allen, M., Titsworth, S. and Hunt, S. K. 2008. Quantitative Research in Communication. Sage: California, pp. 1-6.
● Archer, C. and Harrigan, P. 2016. Prosumers with passion: Learning what motivates bloggers as digital influencer stakeholders. Prism. 13(1). [Accessed 10 December 2017]. Available from: http://www.prismjournal.org/homepage.html
● Carah, N. and Shaul, M. 2016. Brands and Instagram: Point, tap, swipe, glance. Mobile Media & Communication. 4(1), pp. 69-84
● Hall, J. and Baym, N. 2012. Calling and Texting (too much): Mobile Maintenance expectations (over) dependence, entrapment and friendship satisfaction. New Media & Society. 14 (2), pp. 316-331.
● Katz, E. andLazarsfeld, P. (1955), Personal Influence, New York: The Free Press. [Accessed 10 December 2017]. Available from: https://www.utwente.nl/en/bms/communication-theories/sorted-by-level/macro/Two-Step%20Flow%20Theory/ ● Kemp, S. 2017. Digital in 2017: Global Overview. [Accessed 10 December 2017]. Available from: https://wearesocial.com/special-reports/digital-in-2017-global-overview
● Martin, J. 2012. Second Life Surveillance: Power to the People or Virtual Surveillance Society? Surveillance & Society 9(4), pp. 408-423.
● Nafus, D. & Sherman, J. 2014. This One Does Not Go Up to 11: The Quantified Self Movement as an Alternative Big Data Practice. International Journal of Communication. 8, pp.1-11.
● Turkle, S. 2008. Always-on/Always-on-you: The Tethered self. In: Katz, J. Handbook of mobile communication studies. Cambridge: MIT, pp. 121-137.