Desire To Be a Social Media Influencer: Desire for Fame, Materialism, Perceived Deprivation and Preference for Immediate Gratification as Potential Determinants

Abstract

Many young people have aspired to become social media influencers (SMIs) in today’s social media proliferated world. However, there has been little scientific literature about this widespread aspiration. This study introduces a robust and straightforward self-report scale measuring desire to be an SMI. Item and factor analyses supported the unidimensionality of the desire to be an SMI questionnaire. Reliability analysis, including inter-item correlation, corrected item-total correlation and Cronbach’s α, revealed good internal consistency. Subsequently, we investigated the psychological determinants and consequences of the desire to become an SMI. Results revealed that desire for fame, materialism, perceived deprivation, preference for immediate gratification to delayed gratification and confidence in one’s success as an SMI predicted desire to be an SMI. In addition, an elevated desire to be an SMI was linked to a tendency to place less value on education but not on careers in education (e.g., teaching). Our findings suggest that the aspiration to be an SMI may inspire ‘hope labour’, which may lead young people to devalue education.