Identity, Images and

Visual Communication

Vandra Caldwell
• Social media has transferred over
time
– Expression through words, now
photographs
• Moments captured are “picture
perfect”
– Largely manipulated/slightly
tweaked
• Cropping, filters, photo editing
tools
• Society focuses on portraying a
“picture-perfect lifestyle”
– Motivation to keep seamless self-
presentation on social networks
• Purpose of the paper:
– To analyze self-presentation on
Instagram (considered teen’s most
important social network)
• What we share
• How we share
• Why we choose to share
– Unveil whether or not these social
interactive decisions are conscious or
subconscious
• Explore these means by looking at nature of
identity, images and visual communication
• Social Network Site (SNS) Paradigm Shift:
– Photo sharing first exposed as way to store images
online
– Digital photography advanced with use of camera
phones
• Reshaped the meaning of photo sharing
• Camera phone images evolved into form of
communication
– Now a resource that strengthens social connections (e.g. FB,
Twitter and Instagram)
– Exchange of personal photos
• Trace of people’s personal networks
• Sense of belonging
– Instagram allows for such communication
• Images are fragments of one’s life
– Exist to be viewed, commented on, and exchanged
– Affirm identities
– Mark collective groupings
• Instagram images can broken down
– Eight types of photo categories
1. Selfies
2. Friends
3. Food
4. Captioned photos
5. Pets
6. Activities
7. Gadgets
8. Fashion
– 46% of users’ photos are Selfies and Friends
• Instagram used for:
– Self-promotion
– Networking purposes
• Selfies
– Support for identity
expression
– Communicates gratifying
message from sender
• Social Network Site (SNS) Paradigm Shift
• Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) and
Images
– How do individuals who have a positive perception
of themselves portray positivity online?
– Are their motives intentional to receive
gratification?
• Conscious or subconscious?
– What photo alteration techniques are used to create
a picture perfect scene or selfie?
• Identity and Visual Communication
– Why do users choose to post positive fragments of
his or her life on SNS?
– What types of photos are shared that enhances
the perception of self-worth or identity?
– Do individuals post images that receivers perceive
as negative?
• The Future of Selfies
– Will self-portraits remain as an outlet to
communicate identity that allows users to receive
gratification?
• Analyzed/Deconstructed scholarly journals,
books, and blogs, utilized group and one-on-
one discussions
• Resources:
– UNO’s Criss Library Database
– Google Scholar
– The Social Media Handbook (Hunsinger and
Senft)
• Discussion:
– Little research examines SNS Instagram
– Ethics of false self-representation
– Consciousness of what is posted to gain gratification
• Limitations:
– Cyberbullying on Instagram
– How to properly use the site
– How to gain followers
• Future Research:
– Awareness of:
• How users portray themselves
• Sense of belonging by gaining followers
• What the sender thinks the audience expects from him/her
• How the sender perceives others
– How it all correlates
Hu, Y., Manikonda, L., & Kambhampati, S. (2014). What We
Instagram: A First Analysis of Instagram Photo Content
and User Types. Eighth International AAAI Conference on
Weblogs and Social Medio, 595-598.

Scifo, B. (2009). The Sociocultural Forms of Mobile Personal

Photographs in a Cross-Media Ecology: Reflections Starting
from the Young Italian Experience. Technology & Policy
Knowledge, 22(3), 185-194. Retrieved October 10, 2014.

Staff, M. (2014, April 9). Instagram Now Tops Twitter,

Facebook as Teens Most Important Social Network.
Retrieved November 22, 2014.