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Ekaterina Vinnik Prompt #4

 

Social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube offer massive opportunities for those whose talent would otherwise go undiscovered. People who manage to capture the attention of a wide audience are presented with endless opportunities, regardless of their socioeconomic status. In this blog post I will be using Crystal Abidin’s and Taylor Lorenz’s definitions of influencers and ‘nimcels’ to argue that Emma Chamberlain started off as a ‘nimcel’ and paved her way through the clutter to become one of the most popular influencers in the U.S. I will be using one of her most viral videos to support my argument, discussing its content, message, and style. 


Emma Chamberlain is a well-known YouTuber who was born in 2001 and comes from San Bruno, a small town in California (Phillips, 2020). Growing up she struggled with her parents’ divorce, bullying at school, family’s financial struggles and mental health issues. Emma’s natural creativity and love for film and editing come from her father who is a painter and an artist (Phillips, 2020). With her main audience being teenagers and Gen-z viewers, some important themes that come through her videos are authenticity, openness, independence, silliness, vulnerability, humor and normalization of flaws and emotions.


Emma found her niche in vlogging and speaking to the camera about everything she felt and did. The first video which reflects Emma’s unique style is called “We All Owe the Dollar Store an Apology” which aired on July 27, 2017 (McCarthy, 2019). According to Taylor Lorenz, ‘nimcels’ are internet personalities with niche audiences (Lorenz, 2022). They are often known in their community but aren’t big enough yet to be called influencers. In the beginning of her career, Emma was not well-known, and the style of her videos differed from most other YouTubers’ videos at the time. Lorenz would argue that despite being a huge influencer today, Emma started off as a ‘nimcel’ as her fame today was never intentional but rather a “consequence” of her authenticity and likeable personality (Lorenz, 2022, p. 1). Taylor Lorenz also believes fame or money are never primary motivations for creating content, but rather love for what they do (Lorenz, 2022). Emma started watching YouTube when she was six, got into editing in middle school, and started posting on YouTube to get out of a depressive episode (Bromwich, 2019). She got famous by simply being herself. Nimcels’s content is not carefully curated but is rather messy and “unprepared” (Lorenz, 2022). In Emma’s videos called “PULLING AN ALL NIGHTER”, she wears pimple cream, a messy bun and says the most unfiltered things. Finally, Lorenz says, that some ‘nimcels’ “use their micro fame to launch careers as full-fledged influencers” (Lorenz, 2022, p. 4). While Lorenz would argue that Emma Chamberlain was a ‘nimcel’ at the very beginning of her YouTube “career”, Abidin would say that today, Emma is a “full-blown influencer” (Lorenz, 2022, p. 5).


Today, Emma has almost 10 million followers on YouTube and over 11 million followers on Instagram (Bromwich, 2019). Abidin would call Emma Chamberlain an influencer as she believes influencers are ordinary people who use the internet and have a lot of followers, with whom they share their lives and profit by doing so (Abidin, 2015). Emma’s “PULLING AN ALL NIGHTER” video has almost 9 million views (YouTube, 2018). She has brand deals with world-known luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Cartier, owns a Coffee Brand and a podcast (Bromwich, 2019). Despite her net worth today being more than 12 million U.S. dollars, Emma stays true to her authentic self (Bautista, 2022). Abidin would note that, like most other influencers, Emma does “advertorials”, or personalized and opinionated paid posts about products she has personally experienced (Abidin, 2015). Earlier this year she partnered with Cava to create “Emma’s fire bowl”. Being vegan and practicing healthy lifestyle, this food chain perfectly matches Emma’s aesthetic (Emma Chamberlain on Instagram, 2022).

 

Abidin also uses the term “perceived interconnectedness” which refers to one-sided connections influencers form with their audiences, creating an illusion of intimacy (Abidin, 2015). In the All-Nighter video, Emma manages to entertain the viewers by going to the grocery store and folding her laundry in the middle of the night. In Emma’s case, the intimacy and perceived interconnectedness she formed with her viewers over the years, are huge contributors to her success. While for many, according to Abidin, these connections are carefully curated, for Emma being real is just a part of who she is (Abidin, 2015). Most influencers only go as far as giving the “impression of exclusive, intimate exchange”, however for Emma this exchange is what made her famous in the first place (Abidin, 2015).


The elements of the All-Nighter video are all examples of things that helped Emma break through the clutter and transition from a ‘nimcel’ to an influencer in just a few months (McCarty, 2019). Starting from her unique editing style, with comments, zooming in and including clips of herself editing, finishing with its message, about following your gut, the video is dynamic and easy-to-watch.

 

However, being authentic online does not come without its downsides. In 2021, Emma has experienced what Abidin would refer to as “influencer burnout”, which implies tiredness and pressure an influencer feels from constantly having to put their lives on the internet for people to see (Abidin, 2015). In one of her last videos of 2021, Emma opens up about her struggles with anxiety and pressure that come from having to post one video a week (Gunn, 2022). 

 

Through exploration of themes that persist in Emma Chamberlain’s videos and an analysis of Abidin’s and Lorenz’s readings, this blog post aimed to analyze how Lorenz and Abidin would classify Emma Chamberlain. Emma, who Lorenz would argue, started off on YouTube as a ‘nimcel’, has quickly transitioned into being a world-known influencer, as Abidin would say. The “PULLING AN ALL NIGHTER” video along with other content created by Emma, has helped me analyze what elements of her personality and her videos contribute to her success.

 

                                                                                                                 

Works Cited

Abidin, C. (2015). Communicative <3 intimacies: Influencers and perceived interconnectedness. Links to an external site.: A Journal of Gender, New Media, & Technology 8. 

Bautista, A. (2022, October 2). Emma Chamberlain's net worth skyrocketed after down to Earth video went viral. HITC. Retrieved November 14, 2022, from https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2022/10/02/emma-chamberlains-net-worth-skyrocketed-after-down-to-earth-viral-youtube-clip/ 

Bromwich, J. E. (2019, July 9). The evolution of Emma Chamberlain. The New York Times. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/09/style/emma-chamberlain-youtube.html 

Chamberlain , E. (2018, July 28). Pulling an all nighter. YouTube. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkgL4wpF0Jg 

Chiu, M. (2019, April 18). YouTube star Emma Chamberlain's podcast hits no. 1 in 50 countries - all about the latest episode. Peoplemag. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://people.com/celebrity/youtube-star-emma-chamberlain-new-podcast-number-one-50-countries/ 

Facebook.com/forcreatorscom. (2021, August 10). Spotlight on Emma Chamberlain: How did she become so popular?ForCreators.com. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://forcreators.com/emma-chamberlain/ 

Guardian News and Media. (2022, October 3). What Emma Chamberlain's home reveals about the influencer aesthetic. The Guardian. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/oct/03/emma-chamberlain-home-influencer-aesthetic 

Gunn , T. (2022, June 22). Emma Chamberlain officially returns to YouTube after 6-month hiatus. E! Online. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://www.eonline.com/news/1335426/emma-chamberlain-officially-returns-to-youtube-after-6-month-hiatus 

Lorenz, T. (2022). What is a niche internet microcelebrity? The Washington Post

Phillips, H. (2020, November 15). Here's how Emma Chamberlain really got famous. Nicki Swift. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://www.nickiswift.com/279201/heres-how-emma-chamberlain-really-got-famous/ 

Rice, N. (2019, February 6). 6 Emma Chamberlain videos that perfectly capture why she's so easy to love. Elite Daily. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://www.elitedaily.com/p/emma-chamberlains-best-youtube-videos-perfectly-capture-why-shes-so-easy-to-love-15929201 

 

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