Stories we tell each other : analysing the identity of the mediated self on Instagram
(2022) MKVM13 20221Media and Communication Studies
Department of Communication and Media
- Abstract
- Digital communication, and particularly social media, has radically altered the way we build and sustain relationships and thus, our sense of self. At the same time as social media platforms have provided a place that is fully designed around its users, they have also brought a new manner of portraying and making sense of oneself. Social media, in particular, has intensified this trend by fostering networks built around individuals, with personal narratives serving as a starting point and targeted at their relevant audiences, either real or imagined.
The thesis focused on investigating what roles self-presentation and imagined audiences play in creating and posting Stories on Instagram by looking at the affordances present within this... (More) - Digital communication, and particularly social media, has radically altered the way we build and sustain relationships and thus, our sense of self. At the same time as social media platforms have provided a place that is fully designed around its users, they have also brought a new manner of portraying and making sense of oneself. Social media, in particular, has intensified this trend by fostering networks built around individuals, with personal narratives serving as a starting point and targeted at their relevant audiences, either real or imagined.
The thesis focused on investigating what roles self-presentation and imagined audiences play in creating and posting Stories on Instagram by looking at the affordances present within this platform. The interest is in how these affordances affect specific elements of Story sharing, such as selecting content for it and interpreting feedback. The thesis aimed to explore how young adults perform their personal and generational identities on the social media platform Instagram through one of the platform’s main features: Instagram Stories. Methodologically, this thesis uses the ‘go-along’ interviews to explore the participants’ experiences, interpretations, and practices as a result of being ‘walked through’ the digital environment of Instagram Stories for each participant.
The analysis illustrated that the participants were highly aware of the affordances provided by the social platform Instagram as well as of an algorithmic imaginary and employed different strategies to create, maintain and explore their digital selves. The articulation of online identities on Instragram Stories offered a powerful understanding of how individuals perform their selfhood within ‘personalised network publics’ (Chambers, 2013). (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9087249
- author
- Martolea, Medeea LU
- supervisor
-
- Annette Hill LU
- organization
- course
- MKVM13 20221
- year
- 2022
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- identity, imagined audiences, performance, affordances, Instagram Story
- language
- English
- id
- 9087249
- date added to LUP
- 2022-06-15 07:07:15
- date last changed
- 2022-06-15 07:07:15
@misc{9087249,
abstract = {{Digital communication, and particularly social media, has radically altered the way we build and sustain relationships and thus, our sense of self. At the same time as social media platforms have provided a place that is fully designed around its users, they have also brought a new manner of portraying and making sense of oneself. Social media, in particular, has intensified this trend by fostering networks built around individuals, with personal narratives serving as a starting point and targeted at their relevant audiences, either real or imagined.
The thesis focused on investigating what roles self-presentation and imagined audiences play in creating and posting Stories on Instagram by looking at the affordances present within this platform. The interest is in how these affordances affect specific elements of Story sharing, such as selecting content for it and interpreting feedback. The thesis aimed to explore how young adults perform their personal and generational identities on the social media platform Instagram through one of the platform’s main features: Instagram Stories. Methodologically, this thesis uses the ‘go-along’ interviews to explore the participants’ experiences, interpretations, and practices as a result of being ‘walked through’ the digital environment of Instagram Stories for each participant.
The analysis illustrated that the participants were highly aware of the affordances provided by the social platform Instagram as well as of an algorithmic imaginary and employed different strategies to create, maintain and explore their digital selves. The articulation of online identities on Instragram Stories offered a powerful understanding of how individuals perform their selfhood within ‘personalised network publics’ (Chambers, 2013).}},
author = {{Martolea, Medeea}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Stories we tell each other : analysing the identity of the mediated self on Instagram}},
year = {{2022}},
}