Growing developments in digital and camera technologies, social media, and mobile phones have paved the way for a new era of photography. The power is now with the people.  Anyone with a smartphone now has access to a camera and along with it, the ability to capture just about anything. Social media has also played an integral role in the rise of personal photography as well as in the formation of visual communities. Whilst beneficial in sharing and pushing creativity, these technologies have led to adverse effects on users. This new way of photography and social interaction is here to stay, so let’s delve further into the world of ubiquitous photography.

Advancements in digital technologies have allowed photography to be a much more shared experience and thus created visual communities. Hjorth (2011) likens the rise of visual networks is in conjunction with the embrace of camera phones from society. This also correlates with the surge of popularity amongst visual social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat. In Australia alone, Sensis (2017) reports that of all social media users, 46% use Instagram and Snapchat trailing closely behind at 40%. The way society interacts with these platforms and the use of digital photography has been of much debate in recent times. Socialization now takes place simultaneously in the ‘real world’ and online. Scholars suggest that digital photography and the platforms they feature on are now ‘becoming part of the ways that environments and socialities are experienced’ (Hjorth & Pink 2013). They later go on to discuss the coexistence of the offline and online worlds, suggesting that they are the very same place (Hjorth & Pink 2013). This can be seen in the ways visual communities use social media during concerts and live performances. Coexistence is evident in the way that whilst audiences are at a concert live, they are also uploading personal videos and photography to social network platforms. The concert experience has shifted from a solely offline live experience to one that incorporates both the offline and online with the assistance of social media platforms. This new type of sociality has allowed a greater connections between users and has greatly shifted the concept of personal imagery. Whilst enhancing experiences and connections, visual communities also harbour adverse effects on users.

Watch this video of Justin Bieber on Ellen and examine the way audiences are experiencing the performance.

Recently there has been much interest in the authenticity and reality of users on visual communities like Instagram and other social media platforms. The sharing and distribution of personal video and photography can now be monetised which makes this interest valid. Essena O’Neill, a former Instagram model, famously chose to expose the truth behind this type of participation in visual communities. Recaptioning countless posts, O’Neill wanted to reveal what actually happened during the process of capturing images she posted on Instagram (Hunt 2015). The young Australian uploaded posts in sexualised positions used to promote brands and as she claimed, was ‘contrived perfection made to get attention’ (Hunt 2015). Instances like this display the effects that visual networks can have on the user themselves but also on their followers. Displaying false body types, such as seen in Essena O’Neill’s posts, can be detrimental to the networks they post to. As O’Neill has shown, whilst visual networking can cause detrimental effects on multiple levels, these technologies provide the perfect platforms to make social commentary.

References Hjorth, L 2011, ‘Locating the online: Creativity and user-created content in Seoul’, Media International Australia Incorporating Culture and Policy, Sage Publications, California, pp. 118 – 127.

Hjorth, L, Pink, S, 2013, ‘New visualities and the digital wayfarer: Reconceptualizing camera phone photography and locative media’, Mobile Media and Communication, Sage Publications, California, pp. 40 – 57.