Seeking transformative lifestyles : a role for social media influencers in creating sustainable futures
department or school: Science, Faculty of
department or school: Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Anderson, Lea M.
issued: 2023-06-29T17:57:35Z
issued: 2023
related degree: Master of Arts - MA
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Academics, NGOS, and governments alike have called upon social media influencers to support sociocultural change for sustainability by promoting and popularising more sustainable ways of living. Enabling influencers to answer this call requires a better understanding of how and why these salient members of social media communities understand and portray sustainable lifestyles. This thesis asked: what elements of sustainable lifestyles do influencers promote, and how do they portray the desirability of these lifestyles to their audiences? Through a qualitative study that draws on conceptions of transformative change for sustainability, pro-sustainability values, and subjective wellbeing, this thesis found that some influencers are already promoting private pro-sustainability actions in ways that signal both the hedonic and eudaimonic value of more sustainable ways of living. However, features of social network sites such as online hate and shadowbanning pose barriers to influencers promoting civic and political practices that are integral to sustainable lifestyles. Addressing these barriers will be key to enabling influencers’ support of the widespread action necessary to advance transformative change for sustainability.
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/85175
note: SEEKING TRANSFORMATIVE LIFESTYLES: A ROLE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS IN CREATING SUSTAINABLE FUTURES by Lea M. Anderson B.A., The University of British Columbia, 2019 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Resources, Environment, and Sustainability) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) June 2023 © Lea M. Anderson, 2023 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the thesis entitled: Seeking Transformative Lifestyles: A Role for Social Media Influencers in Creating Sustainable Futures submitted by __Lea M. Anderson_______________ in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of __Master of Arts____________________________________________________ in __Resources, Environment, and Sustainability_____________________________ Examining Committee: Dr. Kai M.A. Chan, Professor, Institute of Resources, Environment, and Sustainability (IRES), The University of British Columbia Supervisor Dr. Mollie Chapman, Senior Scientist, University Research Priority Program in Global Change and Biodiversity, University of Zürich Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Terre Satterfield, Professor, Institute of Resources, Environment, and Sustainability (IRES), The University of British Columbia Additional Examiner iii Abstract Academics, NGOS, and governments alike have called upon social media influencers to support sociocultural change for sustainability by promoting and popularising more sustainable ways of living. Enabling influencers to answer this call requires a better understanding of how and why these salient members of social media communities understand and portray sustainable lifestyles. This thesis asked: what elements of sustainable lifestyles do influencers promote, and how do they portray the desirability of these lifestyles to their audiences? Through a qu…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2023-11
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0433825
language: eng
degree discipline: Resources, Environment and Sustainability
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Chan, Kai Ming Adam, 1975-
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/85175