Representations of sustainability by Instagram influencers: An examination in the context of digital opinion leadership

The destruction of nature over the past century, rapid urbanization, population growth, and the pollution that accompanies these processes, together with climate change and disasters, indicate that the world is increasingly facing serious threats. In this context, sustainability has also emerged as a social issue. Social media has become an arena where sustainability-related content circulates. This study aims to examine through which thematic frameworks sustainability discourse is presented in sustainability-themed posts shared by influencers who actively use Instagram in Turkey. The research was conducted using a qualitative content analysis approach based on social media content. A total of 2,155 content units (posts and reels) shared by 15 Instagram influencers were analyzed. The analysis identified three main themes: presentation of sustainable lifestyle, digital representation of sustainability discourse, and follower interaction and feedback. The findings indicate that sustainability discourse was predominantly framed through individual lifestyle practices such as reuse, recycling, zero-waste living, and responsible consumption. By contrast, structural environmental issues appeared less frequently within the analyzed content. Follower interactions were largely supportive, while critical engagement remained limited. The findings further suggest that these communication practices display characteristics associated with discussions of digital opinion leadership in the literature. However, the study does not directly measure influence, persuasion, or behavioral change among followers. Unlike the consumption-oriented approaches that dominate much of the influencer literature, this study examines how sustainability is thematically represented in digital content, using Turkey as its empirical context.