Instagram: The Myth Making Platform
TITLE: Instagram: The Myth Making Platform
ABSTRACT: In today's society, social media has become the primary way in which most people share their lives with each other. On Instagram, people can share their lives and experiences through pictures, videos, and real time updates. Instagram, however, is a heavily mediated and curated platform riddled with signs and clichés. It does not actually represent the user, but instead presents a mythologized version of themselves.
In order to prove this, eleven comparative case studies have been analyzed using a grounded theory method. The data gathered from these case studies have been interpreted using Roland Barthes' semiotic concept of the myth. This study found that the dominant myths on Instagram are that of the professional, the good life, and the sophisticated individual. Through these myths, this study also explores the different ways the social media platform functions as a myth making platform. With this in mind, the study also takes a look the common themes and clichés present on Instagram in its use as a myth making platform.
In a time where the number of people who use social media increases daily, it is important for people to be smart consumers and producers of media content; to understand how content on Instagram is not an accurate reflection of a person's actual lived reality.
KEYWORDS: Instagram, Curation, Semiotics, Myths, Clichés
Chua, P. E. (2019). Instagram: The Myth Making Platform (Unpublished undergraduate's thesis). University of the Philippines Diliman.