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Performing Instagram photography and the disciplining gaze

Cassinger, Cecilia LU and Thelander, Åsa LU orcid (2019) International Communication Association (ICA) 2019
Abstract
This paper approach participation in visual promotional strategies as a novel form of public performance. The paper examines the social rules and conventions of photography practices on visual social media platforms in a qualitative study of how 30 participants in so-called Instagram takeovers make sense of and perform photography as an embodied visual practice situated in time and space.
A dramaturgical perspective (Goffman, 1959) is adopted to understand how the participants perform and make sense of photography. The concept of gaze (Urry, 1990) is introduced in order to analyse and discuss social conventions and norms that guide the performances and have consequences for the photographs taken.
The findings of the study point to... (More)
This paper approach participation in visual promotional strategies as a novel form of public performance. The paper examines the social rules and conventions of photography practices on visual social media platforms in a qualitative study of how 30 participants in so-called Instagram takeovers make sense of and perform photography as an embodied visual practice situated in time and space.
A dramaturgical perspective (Goffman, 1959) is adopted to understand how the participants perform and make sense of photography. The concept of gaze (Urry, 1990) is introduced in order to analyse and discuss social conventions and norms that guide the performances and have consequences for the photographs taken.
The findings of the study point to the tensions between different gazes and how they discipline participants’ imaginations. Hence, the inclusion of social media in communication strategies does not necessarily reinvigorate images of the place or the organisation, since conventional gazes govern photography practice on social media. The study elucidates how a visual practice is socially constrained, which results in that only certain aspects are made visible and regarded as photo worthy, while others remain unseen.
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
published
subject
keywords
photography, performativity, gaze, disciplinary power, Instagram, Instagram take-over
conference name
International Communication Association (ICA) 2019
conference location
Washington DC, United States
conference dates
2019-05-24 - 2019-05-28
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
d82ab9af-9808-472d-ac66-1e9687e3e8bb
date added to LUP
2019-05-25 17:32:49
date last changed
2020-10-30 11:34:43
@misc{d82ab9af-9808-472d-ac66-1e9687e3e8bb,
  abstract     = {{This paper approach participation in visual promotional strategies as a novel form of public performance. The paper examines the social rules and conventions of photography practices on visual social media platforms in a qualitative study of how 30 participants in so-called Instagram takeovers make sense of and perform photography as an embodied visual practice situated in time and space.<br/>A dramaturgical perspective (Goffman, 1959) is adopted to understand how the participants perform and make sense of photography. The concept of gaze (Urry, 1990) is introduced in order to analyse and discuss social conventions and norms that guide the performances and have consequences for the photographs taken. <br/>The findings of the study point to the tensions between different gazes and how they discipline participants’ imaginations. Hence, the inclusion of social media in communication strategies does not necessarily reinvigorate images of the place or the organisation, since conventional gazes govern photography practice on social media. The study elucidates how a visual practice is socially constrained, which results in that only certain aspects are made visible and regarded as photo worthy, while others remain unseen.<br/>}},
  author       = {{Cassinger, Cecilia and Thelander, Åsa}},
  keywords     = {{photography; performativity; gaze; disciplinary power; Instagram; Instagram take-over}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  title        = {{Performing Instagram photography and the disciplining gaze}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}