Social media stars gain star-status with uploads on social media pages like YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram. One of the most popular platforms is “Instagram” owned by Meta/Facebook. The growing social, cultural, and economic power of so-called influencers raises questions about key drivers of success and, moreover, distribution of income on social media platforms. Instagram has been accused of strategically favoring images with nude content. In order to shed light on this socio-critical aspect, this paper examines the following research questions: Does body exposure drive income success on Instagram? Is there a difference between male and female content in this regard? This paper empirically analyzes 500 top Instagram stars within the categories (1) fashion and beauty, (2) fitness and sports, (3) music, (4) photo and arts, and (5) food and vegan. The data provide information on popularity, posting behavior, and price estimates per post. Using hybrid regression models, the results show indeed positive impact of body exposure on monetary success. Accounts with high level of body exposure achieve higher prices and advertising revenues than accounts with less nudity, regardless of the gender. Regarding gender differences, male content achieves on average higher advertising prices, whereas female accounts provide more branded content and eventually achieve higher advertising revenues.

中文翻译：

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收入分配和社交媒体上的裸体：Instagram 明星的注意力经济学

社交媒体明星通过在 YouTube、TikTok 或 Instagram 等社交媒体页面上上传内容获得明星地位。最受欢迎的平台之一是 Meta/Facebook 旗下的“Instagram”。所谓影响者不断增长的社会、文化和经济力量引发了人们对成功的关键驱动因素以及社交媒体平台上的收入分配的质疑。Instagram 被指控战略性地偏爱含有裸体内容的图片。为了阐明这一社会批评方面，本文探讨了以下研究问题：身体暴露是否会推动 Instagram 上的收入成功？男性和女性在这方面的内容有区别吗？本文对 500 位 Instagram 顶级明星进行了实证分析，涵盖以下类别：(1) 时尚与美容、(2) 健身与运动、(3) 音乐、(4) 照片与艺术、(5) 食品与素食。这些数据提供了有关受欢迎程度、发帖行为以及每个帖子的价格估算的信息。使用混合回归模型，结果表明身体暴露确实对金钱成功产生积极影响。无论性别如何，身体暴露程度较高的帐户都比裸露程度较低的帐户获得更高的价格和广告收入。就性别差异而言，男性内容平均获得更高的广告价格，而女性账户提供更多品牌内容，最终获得更高的广告收入。