The lifecycle of a social media beauty trend: a case study of the Instagram body

Abstract

This article explores the evolution of the Instagram body as an example of a social media beauty trend and theorises an updated lifecycle model to convey this phenomenon. The advent and evolution of social media has led to an online beauty culture and ecosystem, with new influential creators, and consumers driving trends and standards in online spaces. Lifecycle models exist across a range of contexts, with the fashion lifecycle being the most relevant to the current study. However, these models have not been adapted to reflect the phenomenon of social media and the current study aims to address that gap. The current research consists of a qualitative case study of the Instagram body as an example of a social media beauty trend. Interviews were carried out with influential stakeholders (fitness professionals, content creators and a cosmetic surgeon) who could observe and provide insights into changing behaviour and beauty ideals. Archival data were collected through an analysis of song lyrics and music videos to underpin the timing of specific stages in the lifecycle. A six-stage life-cycle model is proposed, consisting of emergence, mainstreaming, normalisation/peak, criticism/fatigue, discard and retrospective phases. Themes around gender disparity in the production and consumption of contemporary beauty trends were uncovered, providing direction for future research in this area. This research has implications for future research in body image, fashion, media and cultural studies.

Keywords

• Social media
• Instagram
• beauty
• lifecycle
• trend
• ideal