Instagram educators in Latin America. An approach to their practices and potential

Ana Beltrán-FlandoliDiana Rivera-RogelRebeca Córdova-Tapia^*

• Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Loja, Ecuador

Instagram, a globally influential social platform, is chosen by 85% of the world's influencers as their preferred medium to promote content, however, its potential in education remains underexplored. This descriptive and exploratory study applies a mixed-methods design grounded in digital ethnography to analyze educational influencers -or 'edugrammers'- across Latin America. In the absence of an official directory, an initial mapping of 2,318 Instagram profiles was constructed in the first phase. Using manual extraction, Python, and Talend algorithms, we refined the dataset to 2,214 profiles and identified a sample of 14 Latin American 'edugrammers', who collectively reach over 2,28 million followers. Findings show a growing proliferation of educators using Instagram as a pedagogical tool. These profiles demonstrate a strong preference for visually engaging formats such as reels and maintain a dominant presence in the fields of Arts and Humanities, Education, and Social Sciences. Their content strategies often include deliberative communication, the creative use of platform affordances, and personalized storytelling techniques. These microinfluencers contribute to the shaping of informal learning ecosystems in the region, offering new modes of engagement and educational outreach. The study highlights the relevance of interdisciplinary approaches to understanding digital pedagogies and underscores the importance of integrating media literacy into broader educational discourse.