Food, Family, and Fame: Food Ideologies and Digital Persona Construction of an Italian Nonna Influencer
Food carries not only material but also symbolic and ideological significance (Tovares & Gordon, 2021). Choices surrounding food consumption and the ways people talk about food are shaped by individual preferences as well as broader socio-cultural and economic contexts. As such, food-related discourses function as resources for identity construction and positioning (İkizoğlu & Gordon, 2021; Tominc, 2017). These meanings and practices have become especially visible on social media, where food has emerged as a central theme in online content creation (e.g., Cenni & Vásquez, 2025; Matwick & Matwick, 2025; Rüdiger, 2021).
Against this backdrop, this study examines the case of nonna Fina (@mynonnaFina), a highly popular Italian nonna influencer on Instagram who has amassed over 900,000 followers and attained microcelebrity status (Senft, 2013). Through everyday depictions of cooking, grocery shopping, and family meals, her content goes beyond documenting routine practices to express distinct food preferences and ideologies. Alongside traditional Italian recipes, some of her videos implicitly communicate norms of food quality, quantity and acceptability. Drawing on qualitative digital discourse analysis, this study investigates the food-related discourses produced by nonna Fina, as well as the responses of her audience in the comments section, and considers the factors contributing to her online success.
