Food: another tool to determine power on Twitter?

Food and alcohol plays a large part in the celebrity and fan culture on Twitter. Celebrities offer their fans a glimpse into their life, with snapshots of meals taken from exotic and exclusive locations that only the wealthy can afford. Celebrities endorse different alcoholic beverages, many even produce their own and they advertise to their fans on Twitter. This filters down to how fans interact with each other, it’s cool to be drinking the name checked drink in their favourite rap song. They also mimic the celebrity lifestyle, talking about how “dope” a party was last night, even though they’re only 15.  Young fans write, “they want their life”, referring to their favourite young celebrity.

Celebrities also expand their empire, by developing new businesses like restaurants, cookbooks and lifestyle companies. Such as Jessica Alba’s, The Honest Company and Miranda Kerr’s organic products, which accompany her healthy eating lifestyle. They use Twitter as a marketing and advertising tool, to reach their target audience.

The fans financially keeping up, with the lifestyles of the rich and famous, post photos to prove it. They feel apart of something, if they too are eating at the places the celebrities frequent. Twitter can be used as a podium to draw attention; fans keep up with these celebrities and think they’re apart of a special world; therefore hoping it will draw followers to their account also. Meanwhile other Twitter fans, try to appear more worldly and social with their food snapshots. Some celebrities use twitter as a vehicle to appear like an everyday person, by posting pictures cooking with their kids in the kitchen.  In our lecture this reminds me of, “Virtual space and virtual identity is very much a performed identity, rather than a authentic identity” (Kuttainen, 2013, n.p).

 On the other hand, if you’re a teen from a poverty stricken project, you might not want to follow the users who flash their wealth. Yes, they might feel more comfortable to follow their favourite celebrities, but celebrities are “special”. In turn, they may follow fans with similar lifestyles to themselves. They post pictures of their dinner at their local neighbourhood diner, not at expensive LA restaurants. Pierre Bourdieu argues that, "the distinction between social groups, especially classes, in their tastes for food and other commodities may become a badge of their identity" (Atkins & Bowler, 2001, p.272). 

To some degree, users can choose who holds power over them; there is a sense of great freedom about this. Yes, you may feel powerless when your favourite celebrity has no idea you exist, and posts pictures of their million dollar lifestyle. But it’s your choice whether you let them have this power, by the simple function of “following” or “unfollowing” the celebrity, and besides, you are powerful because you get to become privy to their world. Isn’t that what we all want to do at some point in our lives, escape to somewhere different, far from our own reality? In the end, maybe it’s not harmful at all. Maybe it's as simple as, it just brings a little happiness to their day. 

Reference

Atkins, P., & Bowler, I. (2001). The origins of taste, in Food in society: Economy, culture, geography (p. 272). London, England: Arnold. 

Kuttainen, V. (2013). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the making of Place, Lecture 7 Part 1.

Image Credits

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/22/article-2237075-162B6E3C000005DC-571_634x636.jpg