Young people compare politicians who are very active on social media to influencers, and this way of looking at them can impact expectations about the time in politics and what its actors do.
At the same time, those most active on the networks are associated with a “modern and new politics” that is closer to the citizen and less arrogant.
Although politicians from opposing ideological lines stand out in the scenario, the logic focused on themes such as entrepreneurship and individualism predominates, more aligned with the right-wing discourse.
These are some of the conclusions highlighted by a study released by InternetLab, a research center on law and technology, regarding influencers and politics in the perception of young people in Latin America.
Carried out in three stages, the study began in October 2023, when 350 young people aged 16 to 24 from Brazil, , , and responded to a questionnaire on the topic.
In a second stage, carried out between June 2023 and January 2024, the researchers deepened the results of the questionnaire through mini focus groups with 90 participants in total. There was also a third stage of in-depth interviews with influencers and experts from the digital industry to understand the dynamics of content production.
The research mapped the influencers most mentioned by young people and identified among them celebrities, digital natives who emerged on the networks and politicians who adopt strategies typical of the platforms, such as hosting lives and spreading memes, using humor and dancing on .
In this context, the president of , , is a transnational phenomenon known through social networks. He is identified as “someone young, not surrendered to the mainstream media” and successful in taking care of public safety even among those who call themselves progressive.
Brazil, according to the study, stands out for the “fatigue and withdrawal” of young people from politics, related to the polarization experienced in recent years.
The former president () appears in the research in a relevant role among influencers in Brazil, standing alongside prominent politicians in their countries, such as the president of Argentina, Bukele and the former candidate for President of Chile, all aligned to the right.
On the left, the research identified , president of Chile, , of Colombia, , of Mexico, and his predecessor .
According to the study, young people consume more content from right-wing politicians in Brazil, Chile and Argentina. In Colombia and Mexico, the preference is for left-wing characters.
In the Brazilian scenario, Bolsonaro and , federal deputy of Minas Gerais for PL, are the only politicians who appear among the 85 profiles most cited spontaneously by young people when asked about influencers they follow and with whom they identify.
In a closed question about whether they followed the profile of politicians, the former president appears in 30% of the citations, Nikolas, in 23%, and President Lula (PT), in 42%. The PT member, however, is not mentioned spontaneously by young people, which may indicate that he is not necessarily seen as an influencer, says Thais Pavez, one of the study’s authors.
Bolsonaro — by the Federal Police for his involvement in a coup plot to prevent Lula from taking office — has 25.8 million followers on Instagram and 6 million on TikTok. Nikolas has 12.1 million and 6.2 million, respectively. In Lula’s case, the values are 13.2 million and 4.9 million.
The survey was carried out before the projection achieved by the influencer () in this year’s elections. With a profile close to that highlighted in the study, he came in third place in the race for Mayor of São Paulo.
According to Ester Borges, research coordinator at InternetLab, what appears to be in common among politicians identified as influencers is the fact that they use networks to propagate solutions that young people are looking for in a world in crisis.
“We found that these politicians who ended up becoming more popular and famous among young people were those who responded in some way to their desires. Young people, in general, are very pessimistic in relation to the politics and economy of their countries”, he states.
She says that comparing politicians who are very active on the networks to influencers can imply the search for an “increasingly immediate policy”, since the time of the field is different from that of the platforms.
Young people also tend to link the consistency of influencers’ behavior with the idea of authenticity. Therefore, they may not understand changes in positioning that are part of politics as a space for negotiation, says Borges. “The nuance of the political game ends up being lost if we view changes in stance as falsehood or manipulation”, he states.
Despite identifying a “new and modern” policy with influencers, a significant proportion of young people prefer not to talk about the topic on social networks, a scenario that is accentuated in Brazil, where 40% of those who responded to the survey say that talking about politics on platforms “is bad, I prefer to talk in person.” The second largest group, 29%, said doing so is important in shaping their opinions.
