Parasocial Intimacy and Parasocial Relationship among Kazakhstani Women Beauty/Fashion Influencers on Instagram

Abstract

This study analysed parasocial intimacy and relationships among Kazakhstani beauty and fashion influencers. This is important because Instagram has become a digital space where people can share their self-presentation and performance. The main creators and consumers of Instagram were women in Kazakhstan, which why the beauty and fashion content are popular. The research is based on an analysis of public digital Instagram data that was automatically collected from the accounts of Kazakhstani women beauty / fashion influencers. Methodologically, the project includes quantitative content analysis and longitudinal analysis because the study examines not only the content of individual publications but also changes in interaction indicators over time. The study collected data over a 3-month period from January to April 2026. Also, 1139 instagram posts were collected from 28 influencers. One of the most notable findings is that visible reply activity of influencers is associated with higher audience engagement. The second interesting result is that the type of content matters for audience engagement. This means that not all publications elicit the same response from followers, as some formats give the audience more reasons to comment and discuss, while others elicit a weaker response. Also, the study showed that visible replies enhance engagement at the level of individual posts but do not automatically lead to stronger parasocial relationships over time. Which means that short-term visible proximity and more stable follower attachment are not the same process. It is also interesting to note that results showed that content strategy matters more than simple activities, such as outfit coordination and style / lifestyle content categories, which caused a stronger audience reaction than overt promotion. Also, it was found that to explain audience engagement, it is not enough to look only at the intensity of publications or the overall activity of the account. In other words, it turned out to be important what kind of content the influencer publishes and how much this content gives followers a reason to react, evaluate and discuss. So in this case, digital engagement is formed not just by the number of posts, but by the content strategy of how the influencer builds the content structure of her presence. It is also clear that digital attention turned out to be uneven, as most of the public discussion centred around a small number of influencers. For future studies, it is recommended to extend the follow-up record to a longer one and include other platforms such as TikTok.