Anderson, L.M., M. Chapman, B. Muraca and K.M.A. Chan “Transformative influence? The hedonic and eudaimonic sustainabilities of social media influencers.” Environmental Communication: 1-19. Doi: 10.1080/17524032.2025.2458227
Amid a global context of intensifying climate-and-ecological crisis, academics, NGOs, and governments alike have called on social media influencers to support sociocultural change for sustainability by promoting more sustainable ways of living. Yet, given that influencers depend on social network sites that profit from existing sociopolitical structures and systems of consumption, it is unclear whether their portrayals of sustainable lifestyles involve political efforts to change systems, actions that signal anti-consumerist values, or only incremental changes in the private actions of individuals. This research 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, we found that some influencers are promoting private pro-sustainability actions in ways that signal both pleasure-based (hedonic) and principle-based (eudaimonic) values. 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.