Identity Construction through Consumer Collectives: A qualitative study on how consumers construct their identity within the beauty community on Tiktok

Abstract: The study aims to develop an understanding of how consumers construct their identities through online communities on social media platforms. The paper will specifically look into the platform Tiktok, and moreover how consumers construct their identities within the beauty community on the platform. The findings of the study demonstrate how consumers within the beauty community on Tiktok are seeking inspiration and recommendations about beauty products from others on the platform in their quest to enhance their own identity. Accordingly, the other members provide them with visualization of their future selves as well as providing the products they endorse with symbolic meanings, making them more desirable. The consumers are linked together by their interest in beauty where the commitment does not lie in specific brands, but to the community itself.