¿Real... Food Influencers?: A Critical and Comparative Review

  1. Cecilia Díaz-Méndez 1
  2. Rocío Pérez-Gañán 1
  3. Cristian González-García 1
  1. 1 Universidad de Oviedo
    info
    Universidad de Oviedo

    Oviedo, España

    ROR https://ror.org/006gksa02

    Geographic location of the organization Universidad de Oviedo
Proceedings:
XX ISA World Congress of Sociology

Publisher: International Sociological Association

Year of publication: 2023

Congress: ISA World Congress of Sociology (20. 2023. Melbourne)

Type: Conference paper

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Abstract

Information about food in social networks is becoming so relevant that some countries, such as Spain, are beginning to regulate some content (especially advertising) issued by the so-called food influencers. In this context, from social studies, we are trying to know the influence that these leaders are having, especially the impact on the youth and children population, however, it is not easy to objectify their influence. The aim of this paper is to make visible the questions that arise when we want to know the real impact of food influencers, in relation to the disparity of approaches and methods (and results) on this object of study. Methods. A comparative study has been carried out between different research on the measurement of influence and engagement of food influencers Findings. The results of this comparative study show a heterogeneity of techniques and processes to measure the impact of food influencers, ranging from very simple measurements to combinations of complex algorithms. They also highlight the difficulty in determining what is actually being measured. The methodological heterogeneity around data engineering and Big Data does not allow comparison of results between different studies and raises some important questions about what to measure when studying the real impact of food influencers.

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