Exam

How far can aspects of identity be seen to affect the way in which audiences use online media? Discuss, with reference to Zoella and Attitude. [30]

Identity, the idea of being one's self, is essential within media as it gives the opportunity for not only an audience to help construct their own audience with the influence of the media but for producers to maximize their profits by manipulating this idea.

Zoe Sugg, a video blogger ('vlogger') who has over 10 million subscribers arguably uses the idea of hyperreality in order for her audience to aspire to identify with her and therefore uses this to sell the image of herself and her products that are under her online persona of 'Zoella'. Attitude online, a gay men's website also uses the influence of media on identity to cultivate a stereotypical and sexist gay ideology in order to sell a certain lifestyle.

Zoella is nearly 30 years old but still constructs herself in an almost childlike manner, she has a heightened pitch of speech with an excited undertone with the repeated phrase of 'hello everybody' on each video. She presents herself in an almost pure way, the way in which she speaks doesn't resemble that of an average 30-year-old woman but rather of a teenager. She does this in order to help her audience identify with her, being the 'online best friend'. She does this as her childlike presentation of herself gives the audience, who is a primarily working-class young female audience, not only someone to identify with her but also aspire to be. Because Zoella has a very well constructed presentation of herself, she has become hyperreal as she is no longer a random girl talking to her camera for fun but a business, an idea, a concept that is incredibly profitable. She shows a very middle class and almost perfect life, on her website Zoella.co.uk, she shows images of picnics she has and instructing her audience of how they can make theirs as good as hers. On the 'shop' tab on her website, you are taken to a selection of products that aren't from her own brand but a variety of clothes and cosmetics in which she will earn a percentage of money by promoting. The audience will see a hyper-real character such as 'Zoella' will then decide what they would like to take from her as a person to help construct their own identity, for example, buying a certain piece of clothing she wears as it will help them try and construct a similar identity to the person they aspire to be, meaning Zoella makes money from her audience viewing her life as better than their own and trying to reach the goal of becoming something not real.

Attitude similarly uses affiliated products that construct an audience in which they will pick and choose what they want from the website and construct an identity that has been manipulated by the website's use to create profit. On the fashion tab on the website, the audience is met with a list of various high-end fashion brands and products that they advertise. The use of the high-end brand is the belief that gay men have more disposable income (the pink pound) due to their usual lack of children, this means the website is able to form an ideology of wearing high-end fashion brands is something to aspire to and the purchasing of these will expand your cultural capital.

However, Zoella, who constructs herself as a middle class, rich woman with a childlike aesthetic is used to become an aspirational figure in which girls will want to create their identity around, because her audience will understand mostly that they won't become rich or famous, instead of blindly following her implanted advertising of not just her products but of herself will instead pick and choose what parts of her character are achievable and wanted to construct their new identity influenced by the media they are watching. This is an example of the pick and mix theory, in which audiences are able to take what they want from a product and warp it to fit their own identity. Attitude is similar, with its suggestions of what men find 'attractive' in their boy's tab or their theatre tab placing an idea of what they should be interested, the audience will instead view the whole website and construct an identity of their own.

Zoella's hyperreality also influences the way in which audiences use media when it comes to identity by the presentation of how she interacts with her audience. The new form media of Youtube has meant that it feels less like a production but rather an 'average' person filming in their own home. She places herself in a bedroom, which gives the idea of inclusion and comfort, that she is just like everyone else in the world and the audience is able to be so intimate with her that they can view her bedroom as if they were hanging out. What this means is that she further able to present her brand as something that is able to be bought, that they are so close that she is helping the audience by recommending things that improve her life, she is in itself an advertisement that sells an identity. She, therefore, profits from the audience being manipulated into believing that she is almost consumable by selling products from her own brand and others affiliated with her as she convinces an audience that these will help them be like her and live the life she is able to.

Attitude uses the idea of the pink pound and the hypersexualized men to sell an ideology of a certain gay identity to maximise profit. The boys' tab on the Attitude website has collections of young, very athletically built men that are wearing little clothing and within in the competition tab, there are things to win in which they are advertised by the same looking men. Using the same type of man to sell products and the website itself creates a hyper-real presentation of the gay lifestyle, that to be like them you have to look a certain way and dress a certain way. This maximizes their profits as the idea of reaching this hyper-real state is so unlikely and almost unachievable to some there will be an attempt to fit into their ideology as much as possible by buying their products and entering their competitions.