The Instagram Groupies

There are over a billion users on the Android and Iphone App known as, Instagram.

Similar to other social media sites, commenting and liking are enabled in this feature. What separates Instagram from these other sites is that here, you can find a place to aesthetically  tell your own story in the form of a picture. Like Twitter, Instagram is infamous for hashtaging, which is a method in getting your pictures noticed by others. For example you might have baked some amazing chocolate chip cookies you find noteworthy. You might then- upload a picture of these delicacies and then hashtag something like, #bestcookieseva! Which in turn would come up on the international feed of bestcookieseva, for anyone searching, bestcookieseva. Make sense?

So what's all the hype about creating these stories through pictures?

Devon FitzgeraldRalston author of Where You At? Composing Idenity Through Hyper-Local Narrative, would represent this place of something of a “Digital Neighborhood”. Instagram can be described as a digital space where the community of it’s followers forms this virtual community, and metaphorically speaking, “ evokes community, familiarity, shared space and often an assumption of shared values.” (Ralston on Digital Neighborhood).

This type of space, does forgoes Ralstons Pothole Paradox, http://ccdigitalpress.org/nwc/chapters/ralston/relevance.html

 

This meaning that certain information might be interesting to you- but maybe not the rest of the world. Actually it is likely that some of us are guilty of this type of paradox, or know someone who is.  For Example someone who’s instagram is covered with selfies, which takes away from the story telling aspect of your life and puts the emphasis on you, the self centered, narcissist whom obviously thinks it’s a great idea. In reality no one wants to see your face on the Instagram every other day. #letmetakeaselfie, is a fad I hope will die out very soon. 

However, you can see for yourself just how this digtial neighborhood continues to grow strong.
Take a look at what the hastag"selfie" is generating now>> http://web.stagram.com/tag/selfie

This is a world of people who consistantly identify with this type of fad, or community. Kind of strange thought to think people are conformed to thinking that this type of thing is a place of belonging.

In some cases, people make fun of the fad by becoming this kind of person    http://instagram.com/selfie, Whom clearly finds this to be a joke. 

Whatever type of hashtag you become, you are indubitably submitting yourself to the digital community. And if your on instagram then you are a member who is composing their idenity through the hyper-local hashtag of your choosing.

Written by: Taylor Cameron