Pseudo-event Construction on Instagram by the Iranian Female Micro-Celebrities

Abstract

The pseudo-events -events that are created through and for the media- are one of the main opportunities to increase the visibility of micro-celebrities and to grow and maintain their audiences. This study aims to find what happens behind the scenes of pseudo-events that micro-celebrities organize. The primary purpose of this article is to study pseudo-events on social media accounts of Iranian female micro-celebrities on Instagram. Therefore, we aim to answer the following questions: What are pseudo-events on Instagram and what are their characteristics? How do Iranian female micro-celebrities create these pseudo-events? And What are the motivations behind creating these events and the way they are held? The methodology of this research is online ethnography and to answer the questions, we conducted unstructured interviews with 16 micro-celebrities and informants on micro-celebrities’ personal lives. Then, raw data were analyzed using the content analysis method. Based on the analysis, the central theme was fake events whose characteristics are: 1. participants (present and absent), 2. time (event occurrence time, event receipt time), 3. location (in real space, on virtual space), 4. etiquettes and form of performance (type of gifts, music, food, and the well-staged nature of events). The findings also showed that in these events, the represented image is more important than the event itself. In fact, these events are designed and performed for filming and display.