Scarlet Scholar’s digital lifecycle (2014–2025)

The study investigated how Abraham H. Maslow’s (1954) concept of the self-actualised individual, and its associated characteristics can be observed within the digital self-presentation of a female millennial influencer (FMI). The study adopted a single case study approach, focusing on the pseudonymous “Scarlet Scholar,” whose decade-long Instagram and YouTube presence documents her trajectory from equestrian performer to scholar-influencer and entrepreneur. By combining digital ethnography, visual cluster analysis, thematic coding, and a persona overlay, the research operationalises Maslow’s framework within a digital field site to trace autonomy, creativity, purpose, and authenticity across distinct phases of online identity formation. The Scarlet Scholar’s digital lifecycle illustrates how self-actualisation is mediated through aesthetic curation, strategic vulnerability, and algorithmic visibility, while also shaped by audience co-actualisation.