Instagram and the Art of Curation

• Author(s) / Creator(s)

  • Courtney Marion Wagner

• Purpose: To examine the role that reflective, conscious curation of body-image-related Instagram
  content has on users and the suitability of participant diaries in collecting this information.

  Methods: Three female Instagram users took part in a qualitative phenomenological study where
  they completed participant diaries on curating the content of their personal Instagram accounts.
  A debrief interview took place after the journaling concluded. Data was then separated into
  significant statements and coded into themes.

  Findings: Data presented in this study demonstrates the benefits of this practice experienced by
  the participants indicating that this is a useful skill for social media users to be aware of and
  develop as it can have a real-world impact. However, participants are limited by the structural
  restrictions of Instagram itself.

  Conclusion: While Instagram’s structural limitations impact individual content curation, it was
  found that users were also applying the skill to areas beyond body image-related content.
  Findings may also be applied to future digital literacy strategies and initiatives.

• Date created

  2022-08-01

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Instagram
  • social media
  • content curation
  • phenomenology
  • participant diarires
  • social comparison theory
  • cultivation theory
  • digital literacy
  • body positivity

• Type of Item

  Research Material

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-bm2m-st14

• License

  Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International