The Myth of Influencers: Does Generation Z really Trust Them?

For many, modern communication is unimaginable without social media, which created the foundations for the emergence and development of new opinion leaders. These so-called influencers seek to create connected and stable communities of followers by publishing content on their official profiles. The main goal of this article, based on the results of qualitative content analysis and quantitative survey research, is to conclude how Generation Z perceives influencers and their communication on social media and what the connection is between the attitudes of influencers and the selected public. To attain this goal, a qualitative analysis of the Instagram profiles of the three most popular influencers in Croatia was carried out to gain a deeper insight into the observed topic. Furthermore, an empirical study was conducted to investigate the perception of members of Generation Z about Instagram influencers. The research showed that respondents do not believe in the veracity of the content published by influencers on social media and do not share similar values with them. In conclusion, the results showed that Instagram influencers, with the content on their official profiles, do not contribute to shaping the attitudes and behaviour of members of Generation Z.