In the previous week, I wrote about my interest in lifestyle content, which I will be exploring ethnographically for my digital artefact. Lifestyle content presents various avenues and opportunities, and in contemporary society, it is ever-increasing. Due to its broad nature, I have decided to refine my topic and focus my ethnographic research on one channel, in particular, Sarah’s Day. By doing this, I will be able to focus on one perspective and one voice of lifestyle content. I have been a loyal subscriber to Sarah’s Day for quite a few years now and have chosen her as my focus as she is excelling as a content creator on a global scale. As stated by Burrell (2009), a field site denotes to the ‘spatial characteristics of a field-based research project’, the phase where social process under focus occur (p.182). This site is built in terms of how a phenomenon, in this case, lifestyle content, is viewed and acted on by participants (Burrell, 2009). Moreover, the field site is defined by places embedded in speech and text, social imaginings and physical movements. Another element of field research is whether the topic under focus involves observation or participant observation. In this case, I will be employing participant observation as I am part of the target audience.
“Ethnographic research allows us to regard and represent the actors as creators as well as executants of their own meanings. The very way in which they tell us about what they do tells the researcher a great deal about what is meaningful for an in the research. It adds richness and texture to the experience of conducting research”
Hannabuss, 2000, p.99
Sarah’s Day began her YouTube career around seven years ago and has now gained 1.46 million subscribers on YouTube. Her YouTube channel is full of day in the life vlogs, healthy recipes, home workouts, clothing hauls and so much more. One thing I love about this channel is how raw her videos are. Today, many YouTubers glamorise their life and often neglect to show the nitty-gritty aspects of life. Moreover, I love her overall aesthetic and style. Influencers these days all have their unique look and feel on social media. Creating a visually appealing aesthetic is an important part of reaching wider audiences as they are drawn in by the look of an account. Sarah’s Day also manages various side jobs and projects including a health-based podcast, whilst posting regularly on Instagram and YouTube. I have included a mind map below illustrating the network and connections associated with just one lifestyle content creator. In recent years, a growing amount of literature has examined celebrity studies with digital media theory, exploring the role of the “micro-celebrity” (Lawson, 2020). Marwick (2015) defines a micro-celebrity as “a self-presentation technique in which people view themselves as a public persona to be consumed by others, use strategic intimacy to appeal to followers, and regard their audience as fans” (p.333).
Edit 29/8 – below i have inserted the field site for the almond milk aesthetic, with our primary focus on the #creamaesthetic hashtag
Personally, I love engaging with Sarah’s Day’s content as I find her life and views inspiring and motivating. Her content is tailored to my interests and I always come out feeling happy and having learned something after watching her YouTube videos. Through her weekly engagements, she creates a close community who feels as though they are a part of her life and visa versa. Sarah’s Day further reinforces this by referring to her audience as ‘Sezzy’s Squad’. I have included one of Sarah’s videos below as it conveys a true and raw depiction of her life.
Gaining a more in-depth awareness of lifestyle content will be beneficial for those in the creative industries, particularly those with an online following. For instance, individuals may learn the importance of regular engagement across platforms to connect with their audience. In addition to this, my findings may also be advantageous to those wanting to start up their own YouTube channel or Instagram account as they can gain inspiration as well as compare and contrast what various lifestyle content creators are publishing.
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References:
Burrell, J., (2009). The Field Site as a Network: A Strategy for Locating Ethnographic Research. Field Methods, 21(2), pp.181-196. Available at: <https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1177/1525822X08329699> [Accessed 9 August 2020].
Hannabuss, S. (2000), “Being there: ethnographic research and autobiography”, Library Management, Vol. 21 No. 2, pp. 99-107. https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120010309425
Lawson, C. E. (2020) ‘Skin deep: Callout strategies, influencers, and racism in the online beauty community’, New Media & Society.
Marwick AE (2015) You may know me from YouTube. In: Marshall DP and Redmond S (eds) A Companion to Celebrity. Chichester: Wiley, p. 333.
Leonard K 