Framing and Shaming: A case of opinion leadership and climate change communication in a social media era - A frame analysis of the Swedish Instagram account Aningslösa influencers
Abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to explore how the opinion leaders behind the Swedish Instagram account Aningslösa influencers frame and represent climate change. I use framing theory (Benford and Snow, 2000) to examine the use of frames as a meaning-making tool. Furthermore, social representations theory is applied in order to gain insight of how Aningslösa influencers anchor and objectify an issue. While the main focus of this study is content produced by Aningslösa influencers, previous research on the concepts of framing, opinion leaders and climate change communication are included to deepen my understanding and place this study within a context. Through a qualitative frame analysis of 327 print screens of posts from Aningslösa influencers Instagram profile, I identified that they engage in core framing tasks (diagnostic, prognostic and motivational) as presented by Benford and Snow (2000). The identified frames include shaming influencers traveling conduct (diagnosis), highlighting the need for reducing travels by airplane as part of one’s lifestyle (prognostic), and by promoting direct effects of such lifestyle changes (motivational). Based on the frame analysis, I found that Aningslösa influencers further anchor climate change through making use of everyday experiences and hence, in relation to emotions of individual and collective guilt. Moreover, Aningslösa influencers objectify climate change by personifying influencers as climate villains and as clueless citizens. Through these findings, I conclude that Aningslösa influencers mirror general assumptions about climate change in Sweden but serve as intermediaries of new ideas, information and opinions. Even if this study draws on a specific case, the inductive analysis of Aningslösa influencers content demonstrates the ability of the framing approach when aiming to portray how a specific issue is made sense of through particular frames that package salient events and hence, offer specific interpretations of an unfolding phenomenon in contemporary social media settings.
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