Lifestyle guru

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Lifestyle gurus (also called lifestyle coaches, lifestyle trainers, lifestyle consultants) trained people to understand how they can make themselves happier through changes in their lifestyle. Lifestyle gurus are a profession popularised by several celebrities, including Cherie Blair and Madonna in the 1990s and 2000s. [1]

Contents

Prominent examples of lifestyle gurus include Carole Caplin, who worked as a lifestyle guru for the Blair family. [2]

Activities

Lifestyle gurus embody the para-social, leveraging intimacy, authenticity, and integrity.[ clarification needed ] They are enabled by social media to attain micro-celebrity status and influence, demonstrating the emotional investment and trust they garner from the public. [3]

Spiritual gurus have significantly influenced consumer behavior, especially in the FMCG sector. Their endorsements are based on public affinity towards spirituality, lending credibility to the products they promote. This has led to a competitive edge for brands like Patanjali and Sri Sri Tattva against established companies (Narendra et al., 2022). [4]

Influencers, especially in health and wellness, effectively engage their audience through "influencer pedagogy". This method, while indirect, educates followers on social media platforms through relatable interactions, cultivating authenticity and expertise (Hendry et al., 2021). [5]

Criticism

Lifestyle gurus have come under heavy criticism in recent years, with most criticisms concerning their utility. [2] Other criticisms have centred on the perception that they are a symptom of the indecisiveness of today's society. [6]

Frank Furedi, a professor of sociology at the University of Kent, has been a prominent critic of lifestyle gurus. [7] Lifestyle gurus have received criticism for preaching unscientific ideas and thus influencing public opinion. [1]

A 2017 article in Vox accused personal-growth gurus of being "all smoke and mirrors", "a hypocrite's game", and "bullshit artistry" aimed at making money from selling a product, such as books or conferences. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Habitus (sociology)</span> How individuals perceive and react to the social world

In sociology, habitus is the way that people perceive and respond to the social world they inhabit, by way of their personal habits, skills, and disposition of character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subculture</span> Smaller culture within a larger culture

A subculture is a group of people within a cultural society that differentiates itself from the conservative and standard values to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, political, and sexual matters. Subcultures are part of society while keeping their specific characteristics intact. Examples of subcultures include BDSM, hippies, hipsters, goths, steampunks, bikers, punks, skinheads, gopnik, hip-hoppers, metalheads, cosplayers, otaku, otherkin, furries, and more. The concept of subcultures was developed in sociology and cultural studies. Subcultures differ from countercultures.

The reputation or prestige of a social entity is an opinion about that entity – typically developed as a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria, such as behavior or performance.

Celebrity culture is a high-volume exposure to celebrities' personal lives on a global scale. It is inherently tied to consumer interests where celebrities transform their fame to become product brands.

Medicalization is the process by which human conditions and problems come to be defined and treated as medical conditions, and thus become the subject of medical study, diagnosis, prevention, or treatment. Medicalization can be driven by new evidence or hypotheses about conditions; by changing social attitudes or economic considerations; or by the development of new medications or treatments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of fear</span> Arrangement in which fear of retribution is pervasive

Culture of fear is the concept that people may incite fear in the general public to achieve political or workplace goals through emotional bias. It was developed as a sociological framework by Frank Furedi and has been more recently popularized by the American sociologist Barry Glassner.

A lifestyle brand is a brand that attempts to embody the values, aspirations, interests, attitudes, or opinions of a group or a culture for marketing purposes. Lifestyle brands seek to inspire, guide, and motivate people, with the goal of making their products contribute to the definition of the consumer's way of life. As such, they are closely associated with the advertising and other promotions used to gain mind share in their target market. They often operate from an ideology, hoping to attract a relatively high number of people and ultimately become a recognised social phenomenon.

Personal branding is the conscious and intentional effort to create and influence public perception of an individual by positioning them as an authority in their industry, elevating their credibility, and differentiating themselves from the competition, to ultimately advance their career, widen their circle of influence, and have a larger impact.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Influencer marketing</span> Type of social media marketing

Influencer marketing is a form of social media marketing involving endorsements and product placement from influencers, people and organizations who have a purported expert level of knowledge or social influence in their field. Influencers are someone with the power to affect the buying habits or quantifiable actions of others by uploading some form of original—often sponsored—content to social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok or other online channels. Influencer marketing is when a brand enrolls influencers who have an established credibility and audience on social media platforms to discuss or mention the brand in a social media post. Influencer content may be framed as testimonial advertising.

Social commerce is a subset of electronic commerce that involves social media and online media that supports social interaction, and user contributions to assist online buying and selling of products and services.

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Lifestyle changes have been increasing slowly since the introduction of media. Lifestyle changes include how people eat, dress, and communicate. Media – films, television shows, magazines, and more recently, the Internet are the main sources of lifestyle influence around the world. Douglas Kellner writes, "Radio, television, film, and the other products of media culture provide materials out of which we forge our very identities; our sense of selfhood; our notion of what it means to be male or female; our sense of class, of ethnicity and race, of nationality, of sexuality; and of "us" and "them.""

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital detox</span> Process of not using digital devices

A digital detox is a period of time when a person voluntarily refrains from using digital devices such as smartphones, computers, and social media platforms. This form of detoxification has gained popularity, as individuals have increased their time spent on digital devices and the Internet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmetic industry</span> Industry that manufactures and distributes cosmetic products

The cosmetic industry describes the industry that manufactures and distributes cosmetic products. These include colour cosmetics, like foundation and mascara, skincare such as moisturisers and cleansers, haircare such as shampoos, conditioners and hair colours, and toiletries such as bubble bath and soap. The manufacturing industry is dominated by a small number of multinational corporations that originated in the early 20th century, but the distribution and sale of cosmetics is spread among a wide range of different businesses. Cosmetics must be safe when customers use them in accordance with the label's instructions or in the conventional or expected manner. One measure a producer may take to guarantee the safety of a cosmetic product is product testing. FDA occasionally does testing as part of its research program or when looking into potential safety issues with a product. Both the cosmetics business and consumers can benefit from the FDA's resources on product testing.

The wanghong economy [internet celebrity economy] refers to the Chinese digital economy based on influencer marketing through social media platforms. Wanghong is the Chinese term for internet celebrity. Chinese wanghong celebrities attract the attention of internet users, which can translate into profit through e-commerce and online advertising.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FMCG in India</span> Fast-moving consumer goods industry

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Get Off My Internets, also known as GOMI or GOMIBLOG, is a website devoted to critiques of online personalities, particularly bloggers. Founded by Alice Wright in 2009, GOMI is an anti-fan site that has a reputation for vicious criticism and cyberbullying.

References

  1. 1 2 Randerson, James (2007-01-03). "Neutralise radiation and stay off milk: the truth about celebrity health claims". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 2014-09-29. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
  2. 1 2 Womack, Sarah; Petre, Jonathan (2005-10-28). "How the cult of the guru puts gullible nation under its spell". The Telegraph . Archived from the original on 2006-02-11. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
  3. Baker, Stephanie Alice; Rojek, Chris (September 2020). "The Belle Gibson scandal: The rise of lifestyle gurus as micro-celebrities in low-trust societies". Journal of Sociology. 56 (3): 388–404. doi:10.1177/1440783319846188. ISSN   1440-7833 via SAGE Journals.
  4. Narendra, N.; Suman, P.; Indira, S. K.; Singh, Brijesh; Nair, Jessy (2022-02-25). "Spiritual Gurus' Influence on the Customer Purchase Intention of FMCG Products Endorsed by Them". Shanlax International Journal of Management. 9 (S1–Feb): 7–20. doi: 10.34293/management.v9iS1.4843 . ISSN   2581-9402.
  5. Hendry, Natalie Ann; Hartung, Catherine; Welch, Rosie (2022-10-02). "Health education, social media, and tensions of authenticity in the ' influencer pedagogy' of health influencer Ashy Bines". Learning, Media and Technology. 47 (4): 427–439. doi:10.1080/17439884.2021.2006691. hdl: 11343/295003 . ISSN   1743-9884.
  6. Knight, India (2005-10-30). "Tone it down, gurus". The Sunday Times . Archived from the original on 2010-06-05. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
  7. Furedi, Frank (2005-11-18). "The age of unreason". The Spectator . Archived from the original on 2016-05-13. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
  8. Goodman, Michele (2017-01-23). "I was a self-help guru. Here's why you shouldn't listen to people like me". vox.com. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 2018-01-30. Retrieved 2018-01-30.