‘Brandsluts’ : Instagram influencers and conspicuous consumption in post-apartheid South Africa

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dc.contributor.author Sana, Vidhya
dc.date.accessioned 2024-08-22T07:18:07Z
dc.date.available 2024-08-22T07:18:07Z
dc.date.issued 2024
dc.description.abstract Post-Apartheid South Africa shifted to a culture of consumption, originating with a transition to a neoliberal society [Sana, V. (2022). Bits of bytes and bites of bits: Instagram and the gendered performance of food production in the South African Indian community. Agenda, 36(1), 100–108), alongside access to a globalized world. During apartheid, consumption was strictly regulated, and racialized. This culture of consumption has been prevalent since the mid-1990s. As apartheid regulations lifted, the freedom of movement, choice and the ability to consume unreservedly, opened possibilities previously unimagined for much of the population. Consumption in South Africa is largely characterized by the unique contextual and symbolic processes that inform it. Consumption practices have impacted performances of identity and anxieties of belonging in turn [Sana, V. (2022). Bits of bytes and bites of bits: Instagram and the gendered performance of food production in the South African Indian community. Agenda, 36(1), 100–108]. This paper examines the visual representations of consumption practices on Instagram. Using critical consumption studies, an analysis of various Instagram influencers' consumption uncovers how South Africans affirm their place in the neoliberal global stage through acts of consumption. The article considers the consumption of products as a product itself to be consumed, and how this links to debates around conspicuous consumption in South Africa. en_US
dc.description.department Sociology en_US
dc.description.librarian hj2024 en_US
dc.description.sdg SDG-12:Responsible consumption and production en_US
dc.description.sponsorship The National Institute for The Humanities and Social Sciences. en_US
dc.description.uri http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/csid20 en_US
dc.identifier.citation Vidhya Sana (2024): ‘Brandsluts’: Instagram influencers and conspicuous consumption in post-apartheid South Africa, Social Identities, DOI: 10.1080/13504630.2024.2371340. en_US
dc.identifier.issn 1350-4630 (print)
dc.identifier.issn 1363-0296 (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.1080/13504630.2024.2371340
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/97802
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher Routledge en_US
dc.rights © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. en_US
dc.subject Race en_US
dc.subject Consumption en_US
dc.subject Post-apartheid South Africa en_US
dc.subject Instagram en_US
dc.subject SDG-12: Responsible consumption and production en_US
dc.title ‘Brandsluts’ : Instagram influencers and conspicuous consumption in post-apartheid South Africa en_US
dc.type Article en_US


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