Exam question: Zoella and audience

How far can aspects of identity be seen to affect the way in which audiences use online media?

 Discuss, with reference to Zoella.  You should refer to relevant academic theories in your response.

Online media allows audiences to find a wider range of media to identify and interact with, but according to Gauntlett's identity theory, it also gives them a wider variety of media to build an identity with. In the case of Zoella, she does not challenge any stereotypes or preconceptions of womanhood, and therefore the audience does not have to think so hard to understand her content. It is very surface level and seemingly open. While o an intellectual level, we all understand that the way Zoella presents herself in the videos is not necessarily who she really is (especially since Zoella is a brand identity), due to the manner in which she addresses her audience in the videos, she creates the illusion of a two way friendship between her and the viewer. This makes the viewers more captivated in her content, and they then allow her subconsciously to have greater control over how their identity is shaped than perhaps a YouTuber they feel is very cold and distant.

However, the audience is no longer solely a consumer of the media they like. In the age of online media, people can actively create a two way conversation between the consumer and the producer. This ties in to Shirky's end of audience theory. The audience is no longer passive. Not only are they shaped by the media they consume, but the media is shaped by them. While the audience is shaped by the content Zoella puts out, if she were to create a completely different style video that the fans didn't like, they could immediately and in large numbers give her negative feedback for it. This would then affect her content, as it is unlikely she would create another video that style if the last one received backlash. This also means that the audience has a greater control over their identity, as they have greater control over the things that influence it. However, consumers could trap themselves in never wanting to see different content, and therefore restricting the media that moulds their identity.

Jenkin's fandom theory follows the idea that fans, in the age of online media, can not only consume media they like, but create media in response to it. Fans of Zoella's could create fan fiction, fan art, or fan pages. This means that not only are they consuming media that influences them, but they are also producing media that may influence others. This then means that parts of the audience now bare the same responsibility of the producer, which is to be aware of how the content created can be interpreted. Producers of media have an obligation to their fans to make sure the content they create is appropriate for their audience. A YouTuber that created content primarily for young children suddenly releasing a video full of swear words and other age inappropriate content would not only be irresponsible, but a betrayal of the trust they had with their audience. This would inevitably effect their views and the number of people interested in their content, and by extension the money they earn.