Assignment One

I.

Kristen Jo Kaylor, 2016

Observations

Background Information: Instagram was launched on October 6th, 2010 and had more than one
million users by December 12, 2010. Instagram is a social networking website that was created
so that people everywhere could share their lives to their followers through photos and videos.
The user gets to chose between a public and a private profile. Private meaning that only their
followers can see and interact with their posts. Public meaning that any user can see and interact
with their posts. A persons followers can like or comment on posts as they please. In
December of 2013 a new feature was added, Instagram Direct, which lets users privately
message others. Instagram was co-founded by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, two Stanford
University graduates. Kevin came up with the idea and he is in charge of the day-to-day
operations. Mike is the technology guy, he made the website physically what it is today. Eleven
months after Instagram launched, it reached ten million users. Today, it has over four hundred
million users. This goes to show how quickly Instagram grew into one of the most used social
networking sites in the world. Over forty billion photos have been shared since Instagram has
been launched and eighty million photos are posted daily.
Works Cited: Instagram. Instagram, Web. 04 Feb. 2016.
Actors:

Kristen Jo Kaylor: I am an actor on Instagram, I play the role of a user, someone who is
followed and someone who is a follower. I am followed by 1,587 people and I follow 977
people. I post an average of three photos per week and I spend around an hour a day
scrolling through other peoples Instagram posts. I post photos and videos of things going
on in my life and with the people in it. I do not use hashtags when I post on Instagram
anymore, but I did when they were first created.
Taylor Swift: Taylor is an actor on Instagram, she plays the role of the most followed
person on Instagram. She has 65.7 million followers, while only following 82 users. She
posts sporadically, sometimes daily and sometimes only once a week. She posts pictures
and videos from her life, her music, and from her cats life. Taylor uses hashtags to
promote her tour (#1989WorldTourLIVE) and her music videos (#OOTWMusicVideo.)
Brooke Ashley Carswell: Brooke is one of my best friends and my interviewee and is
also an actor on Instagram. She has 465 followers and follows 268 people. Brooke may
post once a week. Although she posts Instagram less frequently than many account
holders, she still looks at Instagram for around an hour every day. The majority of her
posts are of her and her boyfriend, Hayes. Brooke has used hashtags such as man crush
Monday (#mcm) and #UNCG19 but she does not use hashtags every time she posts a
photo.

Artifacts:
Hashtag: A hashtag is basically the summary of a post placed behind a number sign. For
example, f a boyfriend is posting a photo of his girlfriend on a Wednesday, then his
hashtag would most likely be #wcw, meaning (hashtag) woman crush Wednesday. Not
every post has a hashtag on it, that is up to the preference of the person who is posting it.

Assignment One

Kristen Jo Kaylor, 2016

Likes: This is significant because this is how a user shows people that they follow that
they enjoyed the photo or video that was posted. This is a physical way to show emotion
on Instagram.

Comments: A comment is a way to show emotion beyond a like. When one cannot
express how a photo or video makes them feel by simply liking it, they may write a note
that will be placed below the photo.

Observation One:
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Note: On Wednesdays there is one main hashtag, #wcw, which stands for woman crush
Wednesday. This is generally a hashtag that is used by guys who are posting photos of their
girlfriends. A selfie is a photo one takes of his or herself with ones own camera. A mirror
selfie has the same concept, but it is of that person in the mirror. What I called a self portrait
is a photo of one person, generally the person who posts the photo, but it is taken by someone
else.
8am-9am: 1 post. Taco Bell ad
9am-10am: 4 posts.
About: The panthers, thankful for a boyfriend, thankful for a friend(x2)
10am-11am: 6 posts. FedEx ad.
About: hump day, a jeep, woman crush Wednesday(x2), daughter, Niner football
11am-12am: 6 posts. Snowboarding Ad.
About: Happy birthday(x2), chapel service, 100th day of elementary school, missing
warmer weather
12pm-1pm: 9 posts. TV ad (Teachers)
About: woman crush Wednesday(x2), Soundcloud, daughter, family, making valentines
day gifts in elementary school, happy birthday, sorority fundraiser
1pm-2pm: 10 posts.
About: selfie, woman crush Wednesday(x5), a car, sorority fundraiser, mirror selfie for
starting a new job, happy birthday(x2)
2pm-3pm: 9 posts.
About: quote, selfie, mirror selfie(x2), thankful for a friend, a photo working, couple
photo, black lives matter movement, woman crush Wednesday
3pm-4pm: 15 posts. T-Mobile ad
About: sorority picture, selfie(x2), thankful for a friend(x2), woman crush
Wednesday(x4), dog, promoting where she works, quote, mirror selfie, couple
photo
4pm-5pm: 17 posts. Scary mommy ad, Live boldly ad
About: woman crush Wednesday(x3), selfie(x3), artwork, happy birthday(x2), workout
mirror selfie, mirror selfie, skyline, black history month, quote, man crush every
day
5pm-6pm: 10 posts. Chipotle ad.

Assignment One

Kristen Jo Kaylor, 2016

About: woman crush Wednesday(x2), motocross, mirror selfie, food, selfie(x3), singing
video
6pm-7pm: 2 posts.
About: self-workout video, happy birthday
7pm-8pm: 15 posts. Intel ad.
About: Niner football, couple, New York(x2), snow(x3), wedding photo, selfie(x2),
friends, to be honest, museum, art
8pm-9pm: 22 posts. Whisper app ad, amazon ad, square space ad
About: selfie(x4), quote, couple(x2), Hornets game, friends(x2), Carrie Underwood
concert(x2), video shooting a gun, dog, woman crush Wednesday(x2), to be
honest, national girls sports day (gymnastics), cheer stunt video, workout
selfie
9pm-10pm: 4 posts.
About: national girls sports day (volleyball), one-year anniversary, selfie, friends,
10pm-11pm:18 posts. Groupon ad
About: mirror selfie with friend, basketball team photo, selfie(x3), one-year anniversary,
photo of mountains, thankful for a friend(x2), self portrait, work out progress
picture, surfing, birthday party, photo of child, signing day, quote, wrestling
11pm-12am: 10 posts. Mint ad
About: thankful for boyfriend, self portrait, cat, sorority, quote, couple, hornets game,
friend in jail, volleyball jerseys,
On Wednesday February 3th, there were a total of 157 posts on my timeline from 8am-12am. I
follow 966 other users. I found that the majority of these photos were posted from 3 pm to 5pm,
7pm to 9pm, and 10pm to 11 pm. Since I did my observation on a Wednesday, the most used
hashtag was #wcw which stands for woman crush Wednesday.
Here is an example of a #wcw from my friend Ethan Hall:

Assignment One

Kristen Jo Kaylor, 2016

The photo above is to give you a visual of what Instagram looks like and what a woman crush
Wednesday is.
Observation Two:
Monday Feb 1, 2016
8am-9am: 5 posts.
About: Man crush Monday(x2), friends, quote, selfie
9am-10am: 9 posts. Victoria Secret ad.
About: friends, family, selfie(x3), man crush Monday(x3)
10am-11am: 8 posts. TV ad.
About: mirror selfie, man crush Monday(x2), happy birthday, selfie(x2), friends
11am-12am: 6 posts.
About: friends(x2), quote, summer picture, family, Man crush Monday
12pm-1pm: 6 posts.
About: skiing, sisters, happy birthday, selfie(x2), man crush Monday
1pm-2pm: 9 posts. Chipotle ad.
About: Man crush Monday, selfie, mirror selfie, friends, boyfriend, happy birthday,
family(x2)

Assignment One

Kristen Jo Kaylor, 2016

2pm-3pm: 9 posts.
About: friends, selfie(x3), self portrait, man crush Monday(x3), dad
3pm-4pm: 12 posts. movie ad
About: Man crush Monday(x4), wrestling team photo, boyfriend, family, happy birthday
(x2), house, couple
4pm-5pm: 19 posts. Taco bell ad and cam newton t-shirt ad
About: selfie(x4), mirror selfie, girlfriend, family(x2), man crush Monday (x5),
friends(x4)
5pm-6pm: 11 posts. movie ad.
About: selfie, friends(x3), man crush Monday (x3), family, hiking, skiing
6pm-7pm: 12 posts. Amazon ad. Pandora ad
About: summer, happy birthday(x2), family(x2), girlfriend, man crush Monday (x4)
7pm-8pm: 13 posts. Spotify ad.
About: man crush Monday(x4), selfie(x3), friends, family(x2), quote, before and after
pictures
8pm-9pm: 17 posts. 7 eleven ad.
About: family(x2), dad, self portrait(x2), man crush Monday(x5), summer, friends(x3),
bowling, running
9pm-10pm: 3 posts. Words with friends ad.
About: summer, friends
10pm-11pm: 3 posts.
About: man crush Monday, friends, skiing
11pm-12am: 1 post.
About: man crush Monday
On Monday February 1th, there were a total of 136 posts on my timeline from 8am-12am. I
follow 966 other users. I found that the majority of these photos were posted from 8-9 pm. Since
I did my observation on a Monday, the most used hashtag was #mcm, which stands for man
crush Monday. Here is a #mcm from my friend Brooke Carswell:

Assignment One

Kristen Jo Kaylor, 2016

Observation Three:
Sunday Feb 7, 2016
8am-9am: 3 posts.
About: selfie with a friend, photo of city, happy birthday
9am-10am: 5 posts.
About: selfie, self portrait, fans, happy birthday, panthers
10am-11am: 5 posts.
About: shoes, skyline, selfie(x2), drums
11am-12am: 17 posts.
About: photo of a friend, babys heart beat graphs, wrestling state champion photo, self
portrait(x2), happy birthday(x3), volleyball team supporting panthers, brother,
friend, mirror selfie for Super bowl Sunday, mom and son supporting panthers,
dabbing for the panthers at work, Peyton Manning, selfie, dabbing for panthers
with brother
12pm-1pm: 13 posts. Turbo tax ad.
About: friend(x3), photo of tree, happy birthday, orientation counselors, food,
boyfriend, college prom, girlfriend, selfie, shout out to a friend, 14 month
anniversary
1pm-2pm: 15posts.

Assignment One

Kristen Jo Kaylor, 2016

About: friend, selfie(x2), happy birthday, mirror selfie, self portrait, self portrait for
panthers, selfie for panthers(x2), family, son for panthers, ducks for duck
season,
volleyball team, self portrait for operation self love, friends cheering for
panthers
2pm-3pm: 13 posts. Poptart ad. Subaru ad.
About: selfie for panthers, boyfriend, happy birthday, friends(x3), cousin(x2), fishing
tournament, throwback with dad for panthers, national pancake day is coming
3pm-4pm: 8 posts. Turbo tax ad.
About: friends, mirror selfie, dad, Panthers v Broncos picture with friends, selfie with
friends(x2), throwback for panthers, dabbing for panthers with friends,
4pm-5pm: 5 posts.
About: Super bowl with friends, super bowl with cheer squad, friends for panthers, self
portrait dabbing for panthers, selfie for panthers
5pm-6pm: 19 posts. Clothing store ad. Snowboarding ad.
About: wrestling championship, friends for super bowl, selfie Sunday, self portrait for
panthers(x2), friends for panthers(x7), selfie for panthers, selfie with son,
daughter for panthers, family for panthers, selfie with son for panthers
6pm-7pm: 11 posts. Turbo tax ad.
About: friends for panthers(x4), brother, selfie for panthers, self portrait for panthers,
couple for panthers, beer, dabbing for panthers
7pm-8pm: 8 posts.
About: friends for panthers(x4), couple for super bowl, couple for panthers, couple(x2),
8pm-9pm: 27 posts. T mobile ad. 7 eleven ad. Episode ad.
About: friends for panthers(x9), roommate, selfie for panthers, volleyball team, self
portrait for panthers, boyfriend, bike ride, selfie Sunday, state champion
wrestling, super bowl Sunday with family, selfie(x3), couple, friends(x2),
volleyball team photo,
9pm-10pm: 18 posts. Pay pal ad
About: teammates for panthers, cat, friend, mirror selfie, cousins, friends for
panthers(x2), cam newton(x2), selfie for panthers, Steph Curry at the panthers
game, dabbing for panthers, self portrait, daughter for panthers, Luke
Keuchly, family for panthers
10pm-11pm: 11 posts. Headspace ad.
About: friends for panthers(x5), self portrait(x2), selfie, car, dog
11pm-12am: 10 posts. Shopkick ad.
About: couple for panthers(x3), mirror selfie for black history month, girlfriend, flowers,
hiking, friends for panthers, happy birthday,
On Sunday February 7th, there were a total of 149 posts on my timeline from 8am-12am. I follow
966 other users. I found that the majority of these photos were posted from 8-9 pm. Since I did
my observation on Super bowl Sunday, an overwhelming amount of posts were related to the
panthers. My friend Kat Barrow has a picture from a Panthers game that she posted about the
Super bowl which many other posts from this day resembled:

Assignment One

II.

Kristen Jo Kaylor, 2016

The Interview:

Interviewee: Brooke Carswell, 19 years of age

Note: Brooke uses the term emojis this is an emoticon on phones that you can put into text.
How many times do you post on Instagram per week?
o I post on Instagram around one time a week.
How many (compiled) hours do you spend looking at Instagram daily?
o I would say I spend at least one hour a day scrolling through Instagram
What is your favorite part about Instagram?
o My favorite part about Instagram is being able to edit my own photos quickly
and easily using the filters.
When do you look at Instagram?
o I generally look at Instagram when I am bored.
What is your least favorite part about Instagram?
o My least favorite part about Instagram is when someone tags me in a picture
that I look ugly in.
What is your thought process before posting a photo?

Assignment One

III.

Kristen Jo Kaylor, 2016

o First I think about how much I truly like the picture and how many likes I
think it will get. Then I pick a filter that makes me look good because I don't
really care how it makes the other people look. Finally, I caption it with a cute
phrase and cute emojis or something really simple. Then I post.
How much time do you put into choosing a photo to post and a caption for it?
o Usually it only takes me about five to ten minutes to make a caption for my
post. At most it would take me twenty minutes. The caption usually isn't too
hard for me, the filter on the other hand, is difficult.
Analyze
There are some unwritten rules that every Instagram user should follow when posting
and captioning a photo. A caption should not be too long, never reach the limit on
characters when posting a photo. A term many people use is Insta-worthy which
basically means the quality of the picture has to reach a certain standard before it is
posted. Dont get photo-happy, your followers do not want to see more than three
photos from your day. Pick one hashtag, dont caption your photo with a ton of
hashtags, no one will read all those. Dont post a selfie every single day, people will
unfollow you if thats all you post. Keep it PG, your followers do not want to see your
inappropriate content. Be nice, Instagram is not a place to cyberbully.

To have an Instagram, a user must be 13 years old.

There are different hashtags or topics for certain days. (Selfie Sunday #ss, Man Crush
Monday #mcm, Woman Crush Wednesday #wcw, Throwback Thursday #tbt)

Selfies are posted often

When a big event around your followers (such as the Super bowl) happens, many
people post photos expressing their thoughts (or the team they cheer for.)

Every day I observed someone I followed posted a photo for someones birthday.

Each day that I analyzed had one of its top amounts of posts from 8pm-9pm.

I only follow people who I know or have at least met before

I took a poll (on twitter) that had 62 people respond. In this poll I asked two
questions. Here are the results:
o How many times do you post on Instagram per week?

15 percent of those 62 people never post on Instagram

60 percent of those 62 people post once a week

Assignment One

Kristen Jo Kaylor, 2016

18 percent of those 62 people post twice a week

7 percent of those 62 people post three or more times a week

o How many (compiled) hours do you spend on Instagram a day?

45 percent of those 62 people spend 0-1 hours on Instagram

26 percent of those 62 people spend 1-2 hours on Instagram

15 percent of those 62 people spend 2-3 hours on Instagram

14 percent of those 62 people spend 3 or more hours on Instagram

Works Cited:
Bloomingdale, Hayley. "The Instagram Rules: The Good, the Bad, and the Very Boring." Vogue.
Vogue, 26 Aug. 2015. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.
Graber, Diana. "3 Reasons Why Social Media Age Restrictions Matter." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 08 Oct. 2013. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.
IV.

Chart

Search Terms
History of the Selfie
What We Instagram

Cyberbullying

Hashtags on
Instagram

Sources I Can Access Based on These Search Terms

Saltz, Jerry. "Art at Arms Length: A History of the Selfie." Art at
Arms Length: A History of the Selfie (2014): n. pag. 26 Jan. 2014.
Web. 09 Feb. 2016.
Hu, Yuheng, Lydia Manikonda, and Subbarao Kambhampati. What We
Instagram: A First Analysis of Instagram Photo Content and User
Types (n.d.): n. pag. What We Instagram: A First Analysis of Instagram
Photo Content and User Types. Web. 09 Feb. 2016.
Hinduja, Sameer, and Justin W. Patchin. "Cyberbullying Prevention
and Response." Cyberbullying: Identification, Prevention, & Response
(2014): n. pag. Cyberbullying: Identification, Prevention, & Response.
Oct. 2014. Web. 09 Feb. 2016.
Highfield, Tim, and Tama Leaver. "A Methodology for Mapping
Instagram Hashtags | Highfield | First Monday." A Methodology for
Mapping Instagram Hashtags | Highfield | First Monday. N.p., 05 Jan.
2015. Web. 09 Feb. 2016.

V.
Propose
Doing the observations made me realize how many photos I see daily on Instagram. After
seeing how much time todays youth puts into social media is interesting to me. I want to see
if there are any benefits to using Instagram as opposed to other social media. I also want to

Assignment One

Kristen Jo Kaylor, 2016

explore the idea of if there is a right way to use Instagram. I will continue my project to
find the answers to all of these questions.