Communications in Humanities Research ISSN: 2753-7072
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Research Article

The Construction of Beauty Ideals on Social Media: A Frame Analysis of Chinese Influencers on RED

Shiqi LiangUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign*

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

With the development of technology, social media has become deeply integrated into the daily lives of the majority of people. In China, the rise of social media, and the emerge of “Wanghong economy” leads to the emergence of Internet celebrities, also known as “influencers”. While existing research has underscored the impacts of social media on cognitive functions and social interactions, there is a growing concern regarding influencers manipulating societal beauty standards in an un. By using the Chinese social media platform named "RED" as a case study, the research employs frame analysis to understand how did influencers construct beauty standards by videos and posts. Our analysis suggests that three mechanisms of framing are most commonly used by influencers to redefine beauty norm on “RED”, including the mechanisms of definition, causal relationship and association. This study delves deeper into this phenomenon, exploring its implications and the social construction of beauty in the Internet age.

Keywords: social media; beauty ideal; beauty norms; influencers
Published: December 7, 2023
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/22/20231727
Volume: CHR Vol.22
pp. 217-222
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