New Media and Influencers

Rad opisuje povijesni razvoj medija, od najranije povijesti – pojave prvih novina i vijesti pa do danas kad je Internet, uz društvene mreže, postao glavni medij. Razvojem društvenih mreža došlo je i do pojave tzv. influencera – utjecajnih osoba koje promoviraju proizvode velikih brendova i prate ih tisuće, čak i milijuni ljudi na društvenim mrežama. Influenceri su prisutni gotovo u svim područjima života – od mode, kozmetike, fitnessa pa sve do majčinstva, kuhanja i područja videoigri. Influencer je zanimanje koje pojedincima donosi zaradu puno veću od prosječnih plaća, a zarade idu kroz suradnje s brendovima s kojima potpisuju ugovore. Ipak, prisutnost influencera intenzivna je u tolikoj mjeri da im ljudi sve manje vjeruju, a najveći razlog tomu je prevelik broj sponzoriranih objava. U posljednje vrijeme teško je procijeniti promovira li influencer određeni proizvod zato što mu se zaista sviđa i kvalitetan je ili isključivo zato što je plaćen za to. Ipak, influenceri su uvelike olakšali odluke o kupnji i brojne ljude motivirali da postanu najbolja verzija sebe. Unatoč tomu, neizostavno je spomenuti i manipulaciju medija. Društvene mreže nerijetko vrlo intenzivno utječu na samopouzdanje mladih. U svrhu odgovora na pitanje kako influenceri utječu na pojedince napravljena je anketa provedena na 229 ispitanika diljem regije. Glavno pitanje ovog rada također je i što će biti s influencerima u budućnosti, oko čega su mišljenja i dalje uvelike podijeljena, ali jedno je sigurno – još dugo će biti sveprisutni na društvenim mrežama i u medijima.The paper describes the historical development of media, from its earliest history – the first newspapers and news until today when the Internet and social media take up the most of the media place. The development of social networks has also led to the creation of the ''influencers''. They are people who promote great brand products and they are followed by thousands, even millions of followers on their social networks. Influencers are present in almost every domain – from fashion, cosmetics, fitness to motherhood, cooking and the video games area. The influencer is a full-time job and they manage to make more money than the average wages through their collaborations with brands. However, the presence of the influencers is so intense that people are less and less likely to really trust them, and the main reason is that their content is too sponsored. It started to be really hard to evaluate if they are promoting a certain product because it is really good or because they are paid for it. The influencers have greatly facilitated purchasing decisions and motivated people to become the best version of themselves. Nevertheless, it is important to mention the manipulation of the media content. Social networks often have a very intense impact on young people's confidence. The second part of the paper is dedicated to a survey conducted on 229 respondents across the region. The main question of the questionnaire was the question about influencers' future, about which opinions are still divided. Although, one thing is certain – influencers will continue to be present and famous on social networks and in the media for a long time