The gentrification of mentorship: How influencers are re-shaping prestige in platform-driven academia

Abstract

This conceptual paper explores how platform society influences academic prestige. It argues that mentorship, traditionally rooted in the relationship between a professor and a student, is becoming commercialised. This commercialisation turns mentorship into engaging performances of advice and self-promotion, positioning academics as influencers. By analysing tourism and hospitality through an interpretive and heuristic approach, the paper categorises academic influencers as gatekeepers, entrepreneurs, aspirers, and outsiders to exemplify various forms of digital authority.