Luxury depiction in posts of the most popular Lithuanian influencers on Instagram and Facebook

Abstract

Abstract Background Studies show that depiction of high living standards in social media is related to mental health problems. Influencers in social networks are those who might publish such content and reach high numbers of people. We aimed to assess the prevalence of luxury depiction in posts published by Lithuanian influencers on Facebook and Instagram. Materials and methods All publicly available posts created by 21 most popular Lithuanian influencers on Facebook and Instagram in 2022 were included. The content analysis of the posts was performed and information about luxury and other lifestyle factors was registered. Distribution of the posts depicting luxury was compared according to social networks where they were published and characteristics of the influencers: gender, age, number of followers, and the target audience. Results A total number of 6425 posts were analysed. Every fifth (18.2%) post depicted luxury. Posts depicting luxury were published on Facebook and Instagram with a similar frequency (p = 0.066). Among these posts, luxury brands were presented in 7.5%, luxury hotels and restaurants - in 7.1%, luxurious trips - in 63.0%, luxurious cars - in 27.6%, luxurious activities - in 0.8%, and jewellery - in 0.5%. Overall, men, older influencers, influencers with higher number of followers more frequently posted content depicting luxury (respectively, 29.0% vs. 10.6%, 20.2% vs. 14.5%, 20.3% vs. 15.4%, p-value less than 0.001). Luxury was more frequently depicted in posts targeted to male audience than targeted to female or unisex audiences (respectively, 46.6% vs. 10.5% vs. 20.7%, p-value less than 0.001). Conclusions Every fifth post of Lithuanian influencers depicts luxury. Luxurious trips are depicted most frequently. Male and older influencers, and those with more followers more frequently depict luxury-related content. Luxury is most frequently depicted in posts targeted to male audience. Key messages • Every fifth post of Lithuanian influencers depicts luxury – this might be considered as an important risk factor for public mental health. • Higher prevalence of luxury depiction targeted to male audience should be taken into account when implementing public health interventions.