#socialimaging

Digital technology has made our lives easier in many ways. For instance, I can remember taking photos with my Fuji camera, bringing the film to the local pharmacy to get developed and sifting through the photos an hour later, chuckling over the ones you would dare not put in your photo album let alone share amongst friends. Although cumbersome in delivery by modern standards, this process was fundamentally private and you had control over your images.

(Old Film Processing 2006)

In stark difference, images today are taken and uploaded to social media in a few clicks. Mobile devices and software have become so advanced, making the capturing of images effortless. Photo sharing has become all the rage and commonplace amidst users of social networking sites. A Deloitte Global report in fact predicted that during 2016 about 2.5 trillion photos would be shared or stored online (Deloitte 2017).

 There is none more popular social networking site than Facebook for distributing and shaping digital images. It has become synonymous with mobile technology and seen as necessary as a smart phone or email (Hand 2012, p. 174). I admit to posting a photo or two on Facebook. It’s usually done with some degree of trepidation because it’s there for the whole world to see! Therefore, I can only control who sees my images to a certain point. Facebook is after all, is a public platform, and that allows other users to view your profile and images. What gets under my skin is tagging and being tagged on Facebook.

Does the world really need to know that I looked like Iva Davies back in 1986? Sure enough, it’s humorous and most of you will laugh just as I did, but to what at what point does tagging someone or being tagged stop being funny? I know that I am always self-conscious if I am out at a social gathering. I can’t control what images are taken let alone what is posted on social media.

 With the rapid spread of mobile devices there is always someone there to capture that embarrassing or unflattering image (Hand 2012, p. 176), and it is just as likely that they will post it and tag you on social media without considering your thoughts or feelings (Hand 2012, p. 177). Relatively speaking, it is safe to say we really don’t have any control of what goes onto social media,

References

‘35mm Colour Film Processing & Developing’ [image], in Old Film Processing 2006, Film Processing, Old Film Processing, viewed 2 February 2017, <http://www.oldfilmprocessing.com/35mm-bw-colour-Negative-Film-Processing.asp>.

Deloitte 2017, Photo sharing: trillions and rising, Deloitte, viewed 3 February 2017, <https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/technology-media-and-telecommunications/articles/tmt-pred16-telecomm-photo-sharing-trillions-and-rising.html>.

Hand, M 2012, Ubiquitous Photography, Polity Press, Cambridge.

There is no better, surefire way to feel old than to ask a teenager how to use a social media app. I’m fairly tech savvy and have used an array of different social media apps but Snapchat is the one that seems to elude me. I’ve had it for a bit now but I only share pictures with one friend and really couldn’t work out what the big deal is, isn’t is just Instagram? No, apparently is not. One of the biggest differences is that the pictures only stay on your ‘story’ for 24 hours, after that time they disappear and are no longer accessible, and if you send a picture to someone they can open it twice, consecutively before it disappears.  This constant sending pictures back and forth, been to the gym, pic of me in sweaty gym gear, off the beach, pic of me in the car, Christmas celebrations, pic of a champagne bottle. Speigel might spruik it is digital self-expression but isn’t it more like self-indulgence? (Herman, 2014)

(Shutterstock, 2017)

Certainly, the use of social imaging is aiding the combat of self-consciousness felt around images, but I'm not sure they are actually targeting the self-conscious. Over half of Snapchat users are between the ages of 16 and 24 (Statista, 2017), these are the people that have grown up in the digital age. Many of them won't have had the pleasure of dropping off a roll of film, waiting an hour for the express development, only to find a bunch of hideous and blurry photos. These are the kids who for the most part, have grown up with a camera in their back pocket, ready to be whipped out at a moments notice, coupled with the ability to take endless shots in order to get the perfect one. The bigger question is, could this lack of self consciousness be having a negative effect?

(Time, 2017)

In this new digital era, employers are becoming savvier and using our social media footprint to their advantage. It is now commonplace for employers to check and monitor employee and applicants social media posts, to supplement their employee profiles, and they can be grounds for dismissal and being passed over for a job (ABC, 2014). As with most areas of technology the law has not been able to keep up with the fast paced move into the future and the legality is still a grey area and the implications are still being determined (Fair Work Centre, n.d). Employers argue that an employee is an extension of the company and therefore their social media footprint is also a presentation of the company (SMH, 2016). Even setting your accounts to private will not guarantee safe posting. An employee was found in breach of company conduct policies and had his employment terminated when he posted a crude and threatening facebook rant. Although his account was set to private, employees who were listed as “friends” were able to read the post, breaching the conduct policy (Fair Work Centre, n.d). I guess the moral of the story is if you don’t want anyone to see it don’t post it.

ABC (2014), Job applicants' social media profiles now checked by companies as 'common practice', viewed 30 January, <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-15/social-media-profiles-of-job-applicants-checked/5888908>.

Fair Work Centre (n.d), Social Media and Unfair Dismissal, viewed 30 January <http://www.fairworkcentre.com.au/newsblog/Case-Studies/Social-Media-and-Unfair-Dismissal/>.

Herrman, J 2014, ‘Meet the Man Who Got Inside Snapchat’s Head’, BuzzFeed, 28 January, viewed 3 August 2016, <http://www.buzzfeed.com/jwherrman/meet-the-unlikely-academic-behind-snapchats-new-pitch#3dlvjg2>.

Shutterstock, 2017, New Year and Christmas Celebration with Champagne. Two Flutes and Pouring Sparkling Wine from the Bottle. Holiday Decorations [image],  viewed 30 January, <https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-4821002-stock-footage-new-year-and-christmas-celebration-with-champagne-two-flutes-and-pouring-sparkling-wine-from-the.htm>.

Statista (2017), Distribution of Snapchat users worldwide as of 2nd quarter 2015, by age, viewed 31 January <https://www.statista.com/statistics/315398/snapchat-user-age-distribution/>

Before the internet friends and family shared photos by taking film to get developed and having hard copies in photo albums. As the years went on and the internet became more prominent these photos would be taken digitally and stored and shared online. With the internet everywhere and in the palms of our hands Burgess et al. (2013, p. 3) identified it’s changed the way we capture, remember and communicate personal images of everyday and family life. When using traditional social media such as Facebook, it requires you to live an experience offline and post it later online to relive the moment and have your friends comment which starts the conversation (Herrman 2014). Social media has now evolved with the introduction of Instagram and Snapchat. On both of these apps you are able to share photos in live time. Snapchat started this trend which allows you to communicate with friends through photos, usually a selfie and a small amount of text can be used. This social imaging can be sent to individuals or added to your story for all your contacts to see. I use Snapchat as an easy way to take a quick photo of where I am or what I’m doing or even a pretty picture of me first thing in the morning to say hello to some close friends (lucky friends I know).

(Caleb Harrower 2018)

Social imagining allows you communicate through photos, although you can use social media to be a part of a visual community.  Instagram allows us to follow pages with others who share similar interests. A community I am heavily involved in on Instagram is the “Traditional Tattoo” community. Instagram provides me with a platform to follow traditional tattoo artists and shops from all over the world. I am able to gain inspiration from tattoos they post but also (this is the best part) see if an artist is coming to your city. Instagram has even allowed tattoo artist to promote when they will be a guest artist at another shop and this could be in another state or country. Recently an artist I follow from Perth posted he was coming to Brisbane (where I live). I doubt I’m making it over to Perth in the near future so through Instagram I was able to reach out and book an appointment with him while he was in Brisbane. In traditional tattoo community shops host “flash days”, this is where each artist at the shop will design a sheet of palm size tattoos and you line up in the morning to book in for that day. During these flash days I’ve able to meet in person people I’ve shared tattoo interest with and meet artist I admire.

(Alfred Street Tattoo, 2018)

Reference List

Burgess, J & Vivienne, S, 2013, ‘The remediation of the personal photograph and the politics of self-representation in digital storytelling’, Journal of Material Culture, 18(3), pp. 1-29.

Herrman, J, 2014, ‘Meet The Man Who Got Inside Snapchat's Head’, Buzzfeed, 28th January, Viewed 3rd June 2018. <https://www.buzzfeed.com/jwherrman/meet-the-unlikely-academic-behind-snapchats-new-pitch?utm_term=.urRjgnLYJ#.vhMRpEj1a>

Image 

Alfred Street Tattoo, 2018, Instagram, 19th May. 

Social imaging – now you’re speaking my language! As I confessed in my first post, I am a social media addict, and a large part of this is maintaining various aspects of social imaging on Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook. Posting images across the various platforms has become a large part of my daily life. In fact, among my social group we often joke that ‘if you didn’t take photos to later post on Instagram, did it actually happen?’ and similarly ‘if you didn’t Instagram a picture of your meal then did you really eat it?’ This is a view that seems to be shared by many as Evan Spiegal discusses: “Internet Everywhere means that our old conception of the world separated into an online and an offline space is no longer relevant. Traditional social media required that we live experiences in the offline world, record those experiences, and then post them online to recreate the experience and talk about it.” (Herman 2014) In this same article, Nathan Jurgenson goes on to describe a “tension between experience for its own sake and experience we pursue just to put it on Facebook” (Herman 2014) And I couldn’t agree more. Sadly I can think of several times when I have been out with friends and our main focus is to capture just the right amount of photos for sharing on our social media rather than being present and enjoying the experience.

However the type of content I choose to post across the various social media platforms does vary. The content I post on Snapchat is often menial, day to day dribble and live action videos of random daily things and nights out. What Snapchat offers over other platforms is an ephemeral social media which eliminates the concern of content being permanently available (Swinburne 2017) and therefore I am less rigid with the content I share. Social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat are ‘networked visualities’ which enable ‘visual chit chat’ among friends and creating a sense of community (Swinburne 2017). On Instagram, photos I post are more thought out and planned because of their permanency on my profile. Which leaves Facebook that I now reserve to share important events mainly for family or for staying in touch particularly with those family members across the world. The variation in the content I share across my different profiles is subtle but it gives me a sense of structure and comfort with what I am sharing and where. As noted by Evan Spiegel “you are the sum of your published experience” (Herman 2014) and therefore, the importance of what I post and where is essential to shaping my social self. These visual social media platforms allow me to control which aspects of myself I would like to portray (McCosker & Wilken 2014, p.292) and allow me to  ‘choose, construct, interpret, negotiate, display who [we] are to be seen as’ (Slater 1997 as cited in McCosker & Wilken 2014, p. 292).

Example of one of my Facebook posts - The post is with my niece and shared for the benefit of other family to view and share

Example of an Instagram Post - this selfie with a friend was taken to portray an image of our friendship I was comfortable with, along with a caption to suit. The image is controlled and ‘staged’.

Example of a Snapchat post - a completely random, meaningless event of eating a taco. The image is less ‘poised’ with a simple caption intended to portray nothing more than the fact that I was well, eating a taco!

REFERENCES

Herrman, J 2014, ‘Meet the Man Who Got Inside Snapchat’s Head’, BuzzFeed, 28 January, viewed 3 August 2016, <http://www.buzzfeed.com/jwherrman/meet-the-unlikely-academic-behind-snapchats-new-pitch#3dlvjg2>.

Swinburne Online 2016, ‘Week 9’, Visual Communities and Social Imaging, Swinburne Online viewed 10 January 2016

Week 9 - Visual communities and social imaging 

As popular as ever, the ‘selfie’, an arms-length mobile phone camera self-portrait shared via social media, has changed the world of communication (Swinburne Online, 2016). As of August 2013, Instagram was covered in more than 36 million photos tagged #selfie and 98 million tagged #me - it’s no doubt the ‘fad’ has become contagious (Humphrey, 2013). 

The world-wide phenomenon has even influenced technology, with the introduction in 2010 of the front-facing camera with the iPhone 4 (Humphrey, 2013).  

Martin Hand defines personal photography as a “inextricably part of personal life - whether the individual taking pictures, the images we use to represent ourselves, the pictures we collect for ourselves, or the sharing of pictures with others as part of personal communication” (2012, p.5). 

While it can be argued that the ‘selfie’ is a healthy influence to encourage self-expression and confidence, the negative impacts including self-obsession, the need for social approval and the pressure of portraying the “perfect life” online cannot be ignored. A research study from Harvard University revealed that social media users ‘”get a bigger neuro-chemical buzz from sharing information about themselves than sharing information about others” (Humphrey, 2013). But what does the goal of gaining a ‘like’ do to the self-esteem and self-image of social media users?

Psychologist Diana Parkinson suggests that the constant display of what we ‘have’ tends to be born from insecurity and a need for external validation (Stylist 2016). Particularly around this time of year, it’s hard to ignore the posts boasting of a work promotion, a new ‘healthy lifestyle’, a new home purchased, or Christmas holiday happy snaps across social media. January is usually the time of year when people are most anxious to project that image of “perfection”. 

A short film titled, ‘What’s On Your Mind’ illustrates just this - the story of a man faking working out, enjoying the nightlife and quitting his job, all in an effort to gain ‘likes’ from his friends online. With more than 10 million views, the 2014 video has since gone viral. 

Psychologist Dr Richard Sherry has warned that rise of visual communities and social imaging can lead to feelings of shame and worthlessness, adding that social media has the power to ‘undermine the coherence between our real, lived lives and memories’ (Telegraph Media Group Limited, 2015). 

So I plead - the next time you go to upload a photo or ‘selfie’, take a minute to ask yourself whether you’re portraying your “real self” or your “ideal self”. There is beauty in being able to look back and reflect on life through photo and images - but make sure we’re looking back on YOUR LIFE. Rather than focusing your attention and effort into meeting the social pressures of portraying that “perfect life”, use your time and effort to achieve the goals that will “align your real self with your ideal self” (Green, 2013). By doing so, you’ll find a real sense of fulfillment as your goals lead you to becoming the best “real” you.

References:

Green, K 2013, The social media effect: are you really who you portray online?, The Huffington Post, viewed 11 January 2016, <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/r-kay-green/the-social-media-effect-a_b_3721029.html>. 

Hand, M 2012, Ubiquitous photography, Polity, pg. 5.

Humphrey, K 2013, As popular as ever, selfies are changing the way we communicate, Star Tribune, viewed 10 January 2016, <http://www.startribune.com/as-popular-as-ever-selfies-are-changing-the-way-we-communicate/219856941/>. 

Stylist 2016, The psychology of selfies, viewed 11 January 2016, >http://www.stylist.co.uk/people/the-psychology-of-selfies#art?>. 

As a model I have had to use Instagram and Facebook to post pictures of myself. My agency stressed to me that this is a very important part of the job as it helps to promote yourself to clients and supporters. It allows you to portray messages and ideas (e.g. As I am a plus size model I use my Instagram to promote body love and diversity in the fashion industry - http://instagram.com/remiclare/). 

Photos used to be shared to friends and families, not millions of people around the world. With digital, mobile camera technologies and social media platforms, photography becomes ubiquitous giving rise to new forms of personal photography.

I often share images on Instargram from other people's accounts if they have great pictures of models or funny images. I always make sure I tag or reference the account I reposted the photos from. However there have been instances where companies have taken photos off Instagram and used them to sell products. For example below. Clothing store Mango took an image from Tuana's account and put it on a t-shirt without asking or paying him.

http://instagram.com/p/VT_MOHk7Or/

Selfies - The age of narcissism

The selfie is usually defined as an arms-length mobile phone camera self-portrait shared via social media and is a prominent part of the rise of ubiquitous photography and social imaging. It has inspired songs as well as special equipment to help take better selfies. Personally I believe that the obsession with the perfect selfie has made people more narcissistic. It is a kind of self expression but does not really express one's true self, just the self they want to portray to whoever is viewing the selfie.

Many people get so caught up in sharing photos of themself online that they gage their self worth through how many "likes" they receive on their photo. The formation of identity and understanding of self is now affected, to a greater degree,through the popularity or feedback on certain aspects of the user’s life that they are willing to share.

Snapchat 

Snapchat is like an instant messaging service that sends photos rather than words (although you can write and draw on your pictures). It is a way of communicating visually rather than verbally.

The selfie makes sense as the fundamental unit of communication on Snapchat because it marks the transition between digital media as self-expression and digital media as communication (Speigel in Herrmen, 2014).

Because of the fleeting nature of snapchat photos, it is popular with people that are self conscious of themselves or people that want to send a message that cannot be stored or shared with others.

Of course there is always screenshotting....

Sources

Herrman, J. (2014) ‘Meet the Man Who Got Inside Snapchat’s Head’ BuzzFeed.