Sophia Gaenssle, assistant professor of Creative Industries and Digitalization at Erasmus University Rotterdam, published a paper in scientific journal Kyklos showing that nudity pays off on Instagram, entitled “Income distribution and nudity on social media: Attention economics of Instagram stars”. It is the first quantitative study on income of influencers on the social network service.
Instagram has previously been accused of giving strategic preference to images with nudity, which influencers use to make more money. The influence these influencers have raises questions about the key drivers of success and revenue distribution on social media platforms. Gaenssle examines whether nudity drives income success on Instagram. And whether there is a difference between male and female content.
Monetary Success
Gaenssle does an empirical analysis of 500 top Instagram stars in the categories of fashion, beauty, fitness and sports, music, photo and art and food and vegan. The data on popularity, posting behaviour and estimated prices per post indeed show a positive influence of body exposure on monetary success. Accounts with nudity achieve higher prices and ad revenue regardless of gender.
As for gender differences, Gaenssle shows evidence of a gender pay gap. Male content achieves higher ad prices on average, while eventually, female accounts offer more branded content and ultimately achieve higher ad revenue.
More awareness and dialogue
The research on the monetisation of nudity on social media shows the need for more awareness and dialogue on the social and cultural implications of sexualised content. It is the basis for dialogue on the complex issues surrounding societal values, norms, ethics, and legal standards. While Instagram stars may boost their social media income with nude content, questions arise about the sustainability of this economic model due to ethical and social concerns, particularly regarding its impact on children and adolescents exposed to such content on social media.
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- Researcher