The construction and deconstruction of "spectacular" subjectivities : a study of the instagram assemblage
Date Issued
September 2022
Author(s)
Advisor
Abstract
Instagram has succeeded in becoming a pervasive part of everyday life for many of its million
users. Although some researchers tend to overlook its significance, as noted by Abidin (2016a),
we should not turn our back on things that may seem trivial or “superficial”, as the familiar is
not necessarily understood (Hegel, 1807/1977). Drawing on the Debordian concept of the
spectacle, the Foucauldian approach of power and principles of Actor Network Theory, this
doctoral dissertation investigates the Instagram platform as a sociotechnical assemblage of
heterogeneous human and non-human actors exploring the power relations articulated on it.
For that purpose, three empirical studies have been conducted focusing on different entities of
the Instagram assemblage, namely i) the platform’s structural elements, such as affordances
and algorithms, ii) discourses on Instagram and iii) Instagram users, exploring the following
master research questions: Which is the ideal use of the Instagram platform? How does
Instagram function as a norm-(re)producing mechanism and how it constructs user
subjectivities? What power mechanisms does Instagram employ? How do users react to these
mechanisms?
The first study employs an interface analysis investigating the Instagram ideal use and
inscribed subjectivities, focusing on the platform's interfaces together with the surrounding
Instagram discourses. The findings show that four types of “ideal” users are prescribed. The
second study focuses on the Instagram algorithms as a recommendation system exploring
whether a filter bubble emerges. Applying the algorithmic auditing method, I have shown that
Instagram algorithms render certain topics much more salient, generating a filter bubble of
commercial and soft topics. Both studies’ results indicate that Instagram closely resembles a
contemporary spectacle, revolving around the aestheticization of everyday life with various
repercussions. Based on the results of the previous studies, in the third study, 15 in-depth
interviews have been conducted with Instagram “ordinary” users to explore how they react to
Instagram power mechanisms. The results show that individuals adopt different using
positions, following, negotiating, opposing and subverting the system. Taking everything into
account, this dissertation concludes by utilizing de Certeau’s approach regarding place and
space to analyze the platforms’ ecosystem and revealing the strategies constructing the
Instagram place, and the tactics transforming it into a space. In the conclusion section, the
notions of voyeur and walker are brought to attention, while the notion of transient is
introduced, contributing to the conceptualization of user agency. The findings of this doctoral
research can be used to inform the design of tools that can strengthen users’ agency as well as
provide directions on how users’ relationships with the platforms can meliorate.
users. Although some researchers tend to overlook its significance, as noted by Abidin (2016a),
we should not turn our back on things that may seem trivial or “superficial”, as the familiar is
not necessarily understood (Hegel, 1807/1977). Drawing on the Debordian concept of the
spectacle, the Foucauldian approach of power and principles of Actor Network Theory, this
doctoral dissertation investigates the Instagram platform as a sociotechnical assemblage of
heterogeneous human and non-human actors exploring the power relations articulated on it.
For that purpose, three empirical studies have been conducted focusing on different entities of
the Instagram assemblage, namely i) the platform’s structural elements, such as affordances
and algorithms, ii) discourses on Instagram and iii) Instagram users, exploring the following
master research questions: Which is the ideal use of the Instagram platform? How does
Instagram function as a norm-(re)producing mechanism and how it constructs user
subjectivities? What power mechanisms does Instagram employ? How do users react to these
mechanisms?
The first study employs an interface analysis investigating the Instagram ideal use and
inscribed subjectivities, focusing on the platform's interfaces together with the surrounding
Instagram discourses. The findings show that four types of “ideal” users are prescribed. The
second study focuses on the Instagram algorithms as a recommendation system exploring
whether a filter bubble emerges. Applying the algorithmic auditing method, I have shown that
Instagram algorithms render certain topics much more salient, generating a filter bubble of
commercial and soft topics. Both studies’ results indicate that Instagram closely resembles a
contemporary spectacle, revolving around the aestheticization of everyday life with various
repercussions. Based on the results of the previous studies, in the third study, 15 in-depth
interviews have been conducted with Instagram “ordinary” users to explore how they react to
Instagram power mechanisms. The results show that individuals adopt different using
positions, following, negotiating, opposing and subverting the system. Taking everything into
account, this dissertation concludes by utilizing de Certeau’s approach regarding place and
space to analyze the platforms’ ecosystem and revealing the strategies constructing the
Instagram place, and the tactics transforming it into a space. In the conclusion section, the
notions of voyeur and walker are brought to attention, while the notion of transient is
introduced, contributing to the conceptualization of user agency. The findings of this doctoral
research can be used to inform the design of tools that can strengthen users’ agency as well as
provide directions on how users’ relationships with the platforms can meliorate.
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