Understanding the Strategies and Practices of Facebook Microcelebrities for Engaging in Sociopolitical Discourses

Abstract

In this paper, we study popular microcelebrities from the Global South to understand their strategies and practices on Facebook. Unlike traditional celebrities who gain their reputation through different types of physical performance, these microcelebrities attain their status by presenting themselves in a favorable way to their online followers. We conducted interviews with 19 microcelebrities from Bangladesh and analyzed our data using actor-network theory (ANT) and Goffman’s dramaturgical analysis (DA) of human interaction. We discuss the complex socio-technical ecosystem of the microcelebrity and the roles of non-human actors, such as platforms and local internet infrastructure along with human actors’ practices. We explain the microcelebrities’ experience with the process of microcelebritification–the process of being a microcelebrity on social media through impression management, and becoming opinion leaders in local sociopolitical discourses as part of their online identity. Our paper contributes to the emerging literature on microcelebrities by highlighting the process viewed in the context of the Global South.