About the Award-Winning Research
The awarded article is entitled: "Who's the Fairest of Them All? How AI Beauty Filter Use Drops with Age Among Influencers Across Markets."
The authors, i.e. mgr Tetiana Artemova and Prof. Małgorzata Karpińskia-Krakowiak – analysed over 3,000 Instagram influencer accounts from several continents, including Europe (n = 911), North America (n = 602), Oceania (n = 94); South America (n = 766), Asia (n = 710), and Africa (n = 821). They examined the relationships between influencers' age, gender, market characteristics, and the use of AI-based beauty filters.
The results turned out surprising. Contrary to popular belief that the propensity to use beauty filters increases with age (especially among women), the analysis showed that in Western markets, the use of AI filters declines with age. Importantly, the number of followers does not significantly influence the decision to use filters, suggesting that it is more a matter of identity and cultural norms than a tool for maximising reach.
Why Is This Important?
The study makes a significant contribution to our understanding of consumer behaviour, social trends and the use of AI in social media. It has implications for researchers and trend analysts, as well as for digital marketing practitioners and AI technology designers.
The EMAC award is particularly significant because the first author of the winning paper is a first-year doctoral student. This confirms the high level of research conducted by young scientists at the University of Lodz.
About EMAC
The European Marketing Academy (EMAC) is one of the most important organisations bringing together academics conducting marketing research in Europe. It brings together leading researchers who present the latest and most groundbreaking research on marketing, consumer technologies and market behaviour. The EMAC Best Paper Award is a recognition by the international academic community of the originality and quality of research.
Financing Information
The research was partially financed by the National Science Centre (NCN) as part of a research project led by Professor Małgorzata Karpińska-Krakowiak from the University of Lodz (id: 2022/47/I/HS4/00032).
Source and photos: Prof. Małgorzata Karpińska-Krakowiak
Edit: Press Office, University of Lodz
