Gabi Bilbo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipQi3Ct_b-o&feature=youtu.be

Instagram: For Her or For You?

Methods:

I used one survey, four interviews, and one focus group to collect data. I distributed my survey through Facebook. I messaged people individually and received over the amount of needed responses. All of the interviews and the focus group were audio recorded. I had each individual fill out a consent form before and explained to them the purpose of the project.

Research Question:

What kinds of unwritten rules do women follow in posting pictures on social media?

The women I collected data from stated that they don’t follow many rules or norms when posting their pictures on Instagram. They did admit to following the Primetime rule (posting a photo at a certain time of the day to get more likes and recognition).

Hypothesis:

Women are primarily concerned with the content of photos that feature themselves both alone and in social settings in order to build their online and social identities.

I found that my hypothesis was supported. The women involved in my study care about how they portray themselves online. One interviewee said she cares about her online identity because of future employers that could see her photos. Another example is that 60% of the people who took my survey said “yes” when asked if they’re concerned with how many likes their photo gets. Another one is that one of the interviewees stated “I don’t post selfies, it makes me look lonely”. These are all good examples of women that care about their online identities and all of these support my hypothesis.