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Abstract
Rapid advancements in information and communication technology have deeply transformed the pedagogical and structural aspects of education and training systems. Most particularly, the inclusion of social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, etc.) in the classroom environment has produced dramatic effects on the role of teachers, resulting in the appearance of education influencers, namely edu-influencers, or teacher influencers. Edu-influencers are the individuals who actively create educational content, materials, or philosophies by leveraging these social media platforms. Within this context, investigating prospective teachers' views on the edu-influencers has come into prominence in order to reveal the current situation of the teacher profession in the digital era. Therefore, this paper aimed to examine the representation of teachers in social media from the perspectives of prospective teachers. The research was configured in accordance with phenomenology, one of the qualitative research methods, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 40 teacher candidates studying in 9 different departments at a state university during the 2025-2026 academic year. The data obtained from the pre-service teachers were analyzed in line with the descriptive analysis method and organized into meaningful categories, sub-categories, and codes. As a result of the research, teacher candidates' views on the edu-influencers, content shared in social media, and the impacts on the teaching profession were revealed in detail.
