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The Rich Kids of Instagram : Luxury Travel, Transport Modes, and Desire

Cohen, Scott ; Liu, Hongbo ; Hanna, Paul ; Hopkins, Debbie ; Higham, James and Gössling, Stefan LU (2022) In Journal of Travel Research 61(7). p.1479-1494
Abstract

The Rich Kids of Instagram (RKOI) portray luxury lifestyles on social media. The potential roles of travel and transport within these online displays of affluence have not yet been examined. This paper’s purpose is to analyse how transport modes and luxury travel are depicted and interrelated through RKOI images. Co-occurrence analyses were conducted using a data set of Instagram posts with RKOI as a hashtag (2012–2018) to visualize the roles of transport modes and luxury travel in RKOI image construction. The findings demonstrate that both energy-intensive transport modes and luxury travel, whether through air/watercraft or luxury cars, play a vital role in signaling RKOI’s self-image on Instagram, with gendered differences. The... (More)

The Rich Kids of Instagram (RKOI) portray luxury lifestyles on social media. The potential roles of travel and transport within these online displays of affluence have not yet been examined. This paper’s purpose is to analyse how transport modes and luxury travel are depicted and interrelated through RKOI images. Co-occurrence analyses were conducted using a data set of Instagram posts with RKOI as a hashtag (2012–2018) to visualize the roles of transport modes and luxury travel in RKOI image construction. The findings demonstrate that both energy-intensive transport modes and luxury travel, whether through air/watercraft or luxury cars, play a vital role in signaling RKOI’s self-image on Instagram, with gendered differences. The article contributes an original conceptual model of how RKOI construct their image using transport modes and luxury travel. Implications for the social normalization of carbon-intensive transport choices, coupled with luxury destinations as a backdrop, are discussed.

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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
co-occurrence analysis, Instagram, luxury travel, signaling, social norms, transport modes
in
Journal of Travel Research
volume
61
issue
7
pages
1479 - 1494
publisher
SAGE Publications
external identifiers
  • scopus:85116582267
ISSN
0047-2875
DOI
10.1177/00472875211037748
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2021.
id
05b0a5da-86c3-43f5-977b-778ddda0fb0a
date added to LUP
2021-10-27 10:40:43
date last changed
2023-01-01 17:17:05
@article{05b0a5da-86c3-43f5-977b-778ddda0fb0a,
  abstract     = {{<p>The Rich Kids of Instagram (RKOI) portray luxury lifestyles on social media. The potential roles of travel and transport within these online displays of affluence have not yet been examined. This paper’s purpose is to analyse how transport modes and luxury travel are depicted and interrelated through RKOI images. Co-occurrence analyses were conducted using a data set of Instagram posts with RKOI as a hashtag (2012–2018) to visualize the roles of transport modes and luxury travel in RKOI image construction. The findings demonstrate that both energy-intensive transport modes and luxury travel, whether through air/watercraft or luxury cars, play a vital role in signaling RKOI’s self-image on Instagram, with gendered differences. The article contributes an original conceptual model of how RKOI construct their image using transport modes and luxury travel. Implications for the social normalization of carbon-intensive transport choices, coupled with luxury destinations as a backdrop, are discussed.</p>}},
  author       = {{Cohen, Scott and Liu, Hongbo and Hanna, Paul and Hopkins, Debbie and Higham, James and Gössling, Stefan}},
  issn         = {{0047-2875}},
  keywords     = {{co-occurrence analysis; Instagram; luxury travel; signaling; social norms; transport modes}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{7}},
  pages        = {{1479--1494}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  series       = {{Journal of Travel Research}},
  title        = {{The Rich Kids of Instagram : Luxury Travel, Transport Modes, and Desire}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00472875211037748}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/00472875211037748}},
  volume       = {{61}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}