“Spectacular” User Subjectivities on Instagram: A Discursive Interface Analysis

Authors

  • Lydia Kollyri Cyprus University of Technology
  • Dimitra L. Milioni Cyprus University of Technology

Keywords:

Instagram, interface analysis, spectacle, ideal user, aestheticization

Abstract

Instagram has succeeded in becoming a pervasive part of everyday life for many of its million users. Drawing on the Debordian concept of the spectacle and principles of Actor Network Theory, we approach Instagram as a sociotechnical assemblage, examining how it functions as a norm-(re)producing mechanism and how it constructs user subjectivities, analyzing both the platform’s design and the surrounding discourses. Four types of “ideal” users are prescribed: (1) spectators, (2) producers of spectacular content, (3) sociable users, and (4) consumers of commodities and aspiring influencers. Based on this analysis, we argue that Instagram closely resembles a contemporary spectacle (“Spectacle 2.0”), whose key logic is the aestheticization of everyday life.

Author Biographies

Lydia Kollyri, Cyprus University of Technology

Ph.D. Candidate

Dimitra L. Milioni, Cyprus University of Technology

Associate Professor in Media Studies.

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Published

2022-11-14

Issue

Vol. 16 (2022)

Section

Articles

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