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Lookatus:CollectiveNarcissisminCollegeStudentFacebookPhotoGalleries

InTheNetworkedSelf:Identity,CommunityandCultureonSocialNetworkSites,ZiziPapacharissi(Ed.),2010,Routledge.

By

AndrewL.MendelsonTempleUniversity

&ZiziPapacharissi

UniversityofIllinois–Chicago

Contact(firstauthor)DepartmentofJournalism

2020N.13thStreet,Room316TempleUniversity

Philadelphia,PA19122215.204.5020

215.204.1974(f)amendels@temple.edu

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Lookatus:CollectivenarcissisminCollegeStudentFacebookPhotoGalleries

Inrecentyearsthepopularityofsocialnetworksites(SNSs),suchasFriendster,

MySpaceandFacebook,hasexpanded,enablingacultureofremoteconnectivityforyoung

adultsmaintainingavarietyofsocialtiestoprimaryandsecondarygroupsofcontact.Thisis

especiallytrueforcollege‐ageadultswhouseSNSstostayconnectedwithfriendsandfamily

dispersedacrossremoteornearbylocations.Thesenetworkedplatformsofsociallyoriented

activitypermitanintroductionoftheselfviapublicdisplaysofconnection(boyd&Ellison,

2007;Donath&boyd,2004;Papacharissi,2002a&b;2009).Asubsequentnetworked

presentationoftheselfinvolvesperformativeelements,usingavarietyoftoolsandstrategies

topresenttastes,likes,dislikes,affiliations,andingeneral,personality.Suchaperformative

paletteonsiteslikeFacebookmightincludelistingsofinterestsandfavoritemusic,films,and

books,linkingtogroupssharingpointsofvieworinterests,postingofcommentsand

responses,and,relevanttothispaper,postingandlabelingofphotographsofone’sselfand

one’sfriends.Thepurposeofthispaperistoexaminetheuseofphotogalleriesasan

instrumentofselfpresentationandameansofvisualautobiographyonline.

Photographshavelongservedasignificantfunctionofpreservingbiographical

memories.Albumsofphotographs‐‐fromtintypeandcabinetcardalbumsinthemidandlate

1800stodigitalgalleriesinthe21stcentury–areusedtotellandretellexperiencessharedby

membersofone’sfamilyandbyone’swidersocialcircle.Thesephotographsserveas

mnemonicdevicesforthemomentsthatbondustogether,sparkinglargerconversationswithin

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families(Chalfen,1987).Further,theyallowsus,asBarthes(1981)suggests,tosearchthrough

thepastandrediscoverthetruthofourlovedones.Similarly,themannerinwhichcollege

studentsportraythemselvesandtagothersthroughphotographsonFacebookisa

contemporarymeansofintroducingtheselfandperformingone’sidentity.Howdothephotos

selected,presented,andtaggedhelpreifythismediatedperformance?Ifphotosaretakenfor

thepurposeofbeingdisplayedandtagged,doesthisrendertheexperiencesandthesocial

relationshipspresentedmorereal?Collegestudentsconsciouslyuploadandtagdisplayed

photographs,thusselectingcertainsubjectsandeventstoemphasize.InspiredbyChalfen’s

(1987)examinationof“howweconstruct,manipulate,interpret,livewith,participatein,and

generallyusevisualsymbolicforms”(p.5),weexaminehowvisualimageryisemployedto

presenttheselfandeverydaycollegelifeviaFacebookphotogalleries.Inthisstudy,we

interrogatethephotographscollegestudentspresentofthemselvesasimportantformsof

symboliccreationoftheirworlds.

Self‐presentationandSocialNetworkSites(SNSs)

Ineverydaylife,peopleconsciouslyandunconsciouslyworktodefinethewaytheyare

perceived,hopingtoengenderpositiveimpressionsofthemselves.Thiseffortentails

emphasizingcertaincharacteristics,throughdress,hairstyle,behaviorand/orspeech,while

hidingordiminishingothercharacteristicsperceivedasflawed,dependingoncontext.Goffman

(1959)usestheterm“performance”toreferto“alltheactivityofagivenparticipantonagiven

occasionwhichservestoinfluenceinanywayanyoftheotherparticipants”(p.15).

Contemporaryscholarsfromavarietyofdisciplinesarguethatidentityisperformed,initsmany

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iterations,incontextsthatarebothvirtualandreal,mediatedornot,offlineoronline

(Buckingham,2008;Butler,1990;Turkle,1996).

Researchonself‐presentationhasmovedfromexamininginterpersonalinteractions,to

displaysthroughmassmedia(Mendelson,2007;Meyrowitz,1985)tomorerecentformsofnew

mediainwhichelementsofinterpersonalandmasscommunicationsaremerge,likepersonal

homepagesandblogs(Dominick,1999,Papacharissi,2002a,2002b,Walker,2000).Newmedia,

suchastheWorldWideWeb,allowpeopletheopportunitytopresentvariousformsof

themselvestoothersatadistance.Peopleareabletopostonlythatinformationwhich

presentsadesiredimage.Whilepeoplearepurportedlypresentingthemselves,theyare

presentingahighlyselectiveversionofthemselves.Socialnetworksites(SNSs)presentthe

latestnetworkedplatformenablingselfpresentationtoavarietyofinterconnectedaudiences.

boydandEllisonargue(2007),“SNSsconstituteanimportantresearchcontextforscholars

investigatingprocessesofimpressionmanagement,self‐presentation,andfriendship

perfomance”(p.10).Indeed,SNSsaffordavarietyoftoolsthatpotentiallyextendand

compromiseimpressionmanagement.Insomecases,peoplecreatemultipleversionsof

FacebookorMySpacepagesfordifferentaudiences(notunlikehowwepresentdifferent

versionsofourselvesinface‐to‐facecontexts);oneforpeersandoneforparents.

Socialnetworksitesconnectnetworksofindividualsthatmayormaynotshareaplace‐

basedconnection.SNSs support varying types of interaction on diverse and differing platforms.

Some of the popular SNSs include MySpace, Facebook, Cyworld, LinkedIn, and Bebo, among

others, in terms of millions of users attracted, but also in terms of public attention and

scholarship focus. Even though most SNSs are structured around a profile and a display of

connections or friends, they may vary to the extent that they support additional services such as

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blogging (e.g., LiveJournal), audio/visual content sharing (Flickr, Last.FM, YouTube),

professional orientation (LinkedIn), focus on status updates online and mobile connectivity

(Twitter, Dodgeball), exclusive membership (ASmallWorld), or specific ethnic, religious, sexual

orientation and/or particular content genres (Orkut, CyWorld). Donath&boyd(2004)define

SNSsas“on‐lineenvironmentsinwhichpeoplecreateaself‐descriptiveprofileandthenmake

linkstootherpeopletheyknowonthesite,creatinganetworkofpersonalconnections.

Participantsinsocialnetworksitesareusuallyidentifiedbytheirrealnamesandofteninclude

photographs;theirnetworkofconnectionsisdisplayedasanintegralpieceoftheirself‐

presentation”(p.72).

PeopleuseSNSstopresentaspectsofthemselvestotheirnetwork.Theseexpressions

cansimultaneouslyexpressuniquenessandconnectiontoothers.Thesesitesareabout

establishing,presentingandnegotiatingidentity,throughthetastesandinterestsexpressed

(Liu,2007),thosewhowefriendandhighlight(Donathandboyd,2004),throughthe

applicationsweaddtoourSNSpages,andthroughthepicturesofusandourfriends(boyd,

2004,Donath,2007).Inaddition,theseidentitypresentationsaresupportedbycommentsfrom

otherusers.

SNSsaremostoftenusedtoconnectwithindividualspeopleknowfromoffline

environments,ratherthanformeetingnewpeopleonline,differentiatingSNSsfromonline

datingsites(Lampe,Ellison,&Steinfield,2007;Lenhart&Madden,2007).Thenumberof

peoplelinkedtoonSNSsisgenerallylargerthanthosewouldcommunicatewithonaregular

basisandcertainlybeyondthosewhowouldseeone’spersonalphotoalbums(boyd&Ellison,

2007;Donath,2007).LittleoftheresearchintoSNSshasexaminedthepostedphotographs

beyondacknowledgingthemaselementsofself‐presentation.Still,photosplayalargerolein

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howidentityispresented(Dominick,1999).Accordingtoonestudyofteenuseofsocial

networksites,includingFacebook,mostusersdopostphotosofthemselvesandtheirfriends

(Lenhart&Madden,2007),withthisactivitybeingmorepopularwithgirlsthanboys.

Facebook’spublishedstatistics,atpresent,reportover250millionactiveusersandmorethan1

billionphotosuploadedeverymonth(FacebookPressRoom,Statistics,2009).Thephotographs

onaFacebookpagespresentaseriesofperformancesstrategicallychosenbyanindividual.

Thephotographiclifeofyoungadults,includingcollegestudents,isnotmuchunderstood,and

relevantresearchispresentedinthefollowingsection.Thus,Facebookpresentsausefulcase

studyintohowcollegestudentsconstructtheirlivesthroughphotographs.

PersonalPhotography

Personalphotographsarephotographsmadebyourselves,membersofourfamilyor

peergroupforourownuse,notbyprofessionalphotographersandnotformassaudiences

(Chalfen,1981;Slater,1995).TheseimagesarepartofalargersocialpracticewhichChalfen

(1987)referstothisasthe“Kodakculture,”“whateveritisthatonehastolearn,know,ordoin

ordertoparticipateappropriatelyinwhathasbeenoutlinedasthehomemodeofpictorial

communication”(p.10).

Whilewethinkofpersonalphotographsasratherhaphazard,Chalfen(1987)and

Musello(1980)arguethattheyarehighlyritualizedandconventionalized,witharatherlimited

rangeofsubjectsandeventsbeingrecorded.Whilethereistheoreticallyanunlimitedrangeof

subjectstodocument,culturalpracticedictatesarathermorelimitedsetofsubjectsand

moments.Personalphotographspresentideals,emphasizinghowwewishourlivestobe

remembered(Holland,1997).Thepositiveisalwaysrecordedoverthenegative,withmoments

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ofcelebrationemphasized(King,1986;Slater,1995),especiallythoseassociatedwithlifetime

milestones:birthdays,holidays,weddings.AsHolland(1991)argues,theseprivatepicturesare

entangledwithinandinfluencedbylargerculturalstoriesaboutcommunity,familyandgender.

Personalphotographsreaffirm“culturallystructuredvalues”(Chalfen,1987,p.98),through

whatisshown(Orhn,1975).

Relationshipsarealsokeyaspectsofpersonalphotography,demonstratingimportant

bondsbetweenfamilyandfriends.Thereisanevidentiarypurposetopersonalphotographs,

providingproofofexperiencesandrelationshipsforourselvesandforothers(Barthes,1981;

Jacobs,1981).Thesemomentsandtherelationshipsbecomesanctifiedthroughtheir

documentation.Theyaredeemedworthyofrecordingandpreserving.Digitalphotographyhas

expandedtherangeofsubjectsdeemedphotoworthy,withmoreemphasisontheeveryday

andbanal(Okabe&Ito,2003;Murray,2008).Holland(1997)suggeststhat“Picturesofleisure

activitiesincreasinglyincludethecarnivalesque–cross‐dressingforthelast‐nightparty,sidling

uptotheGreekwaiter,thecluboutingwheneveryonewasimpossiblydrunk,therisquénude

image”(p.137).

Thereisnormallyastronginteractionbetweensubjectandphotographerinpersonal

photographs.Thephotographerismostoftenknownintimatelybythesubject,andbothshare

aninterestinmakingphotographsthatemphasizehowpeoplewouldliketobeseen.Further,

personalphotographyisasocialactivity,wherepeopleactivelyposeforeachother.Holland

(1991)arguesthat:“Recordinganeventhasbecomepartofthatevent–andperhapsthemost

importantpart;for”(p.2;seealsoBoerdam&Martinius,1980).Mostsubjectsposedirectly

beforethelens,lookingstraightahead,highlyawareofbeingphotographed.Thephotographer

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holdsthecameraateyelevel,emphasizingthenormalnessoftheviewpoint(Jacobs,1981).

Whilethetechnologyofpersonalphotographyallowspicturestobemadewiththesubject

unaware,thisseldomoccurs(Holland,1991).

Wethereforeconsciouslyandunconsciouslytransformourselvesbeforethecamera,

portrayingaversionofourselveswehopetobe(Barthes,1981;Jacobs,1981;Slater,1995).

Boerdam&Martinius(1980)alsodrawonGoffman:“Peoplegivea‘performance’whenthey

allowthemselvestobephotographed,inthesensethattheymakeallowanceforapublicthat

willultimatelyseethephotograph”(p.109).

Thepresentationofpersonalphotosisalsohighlyritualized.Thesocialprocessdictates

notonlyhowthesephotosaremade,butalsotowhomtheyareshown.Thesearenotmeant

formassaudiences.Theyaremeantforpeoplewhowereknown“personally”tothesubjectsin

theimages(Chalfen,1987;King,1986).Thephotosareproducedforandconsumedbythose

subjectsandphotographersandslightlylargercircleoffriendsandrelatives.Chalfenstates

that:“Orderedcollectionsofhomemodeimageryarerepeatedlytellingthesame‘stories’

accordingtosomemasterscenario‐storiesbasedonthepictorialrenderingandunfoldingofan

interpretationofexperienceddailylifeandthe‘punctuation’ofspecialexperiences”(p.142).

Thesecollections“deliverculturallysignificanttalesandmythsaboutourselvestoourselves”

(p.142).

Mostpeople’sphotographsareediteddependingontheviewingaudience.Some

imagesaredisplayedatwork,someinframesinthehome,someinalbums,andstillothersare

keptforpersonalviewingonlyordestroyed.Personalphotoalbumsaregenerallyorganized

chronologicallyfromoldesttonewest,aswellasaroundspecificevents(Miller&Edwards,

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2007).Albumsarenotstructuredaroundanarrative.AsChalfen(1987)suggests:“Thenarrative

remainsintheheadsofthepicturemakersandon‐cameraparticipantsforverbaltellingandre‐

tellingduringexhibitionevents”(p.70;seealsoHolland,1991).

TheproductionandpresentationofpersonalphotographsconnectswithCarey’s(1975)

notionoftheritualviewofcommunication:“Inaritualdefinition,communicationislinkedto

termssuchassharing,participation,association,fellowship,andthepossessionofacommon

faith”(p.6).Thesetypesofphotoshelpbuildandsustainsocialgroupsbycommunicating

sharedvaluesandstories.Theseimagesplayanimportantroleinperpetuatingmemoriesfora

group,callingupmomentsforreflectionandreminiscence.Theyarethevisualmyths,capturing

thebestmomentstobetoldandretold,orasSturken(1999)says,photosare“anartifact[s]

usedtoconjurememory,nostalgia,andcontemplation.”(p.178;seealsoHirsch,1999).

Littleresearchhasexaminedthephotographicworldsfromtheearlyadulthoodtimeof

lifeafterhighschoolgraduation.ThisiscertainlybecausethealbumsChalfenexaminedwere

controlledbyparentsandnottheyoungadultsthemselves.Tinkler’s(2008)overviewof

researchonyoungpeople’sphotographicpracticesechoesthis.Shesuggests“Untilrecently,

however,mostchildrenhadlittlesayoverhowtheywererepresentedinamateur,commercial

orinstitutionalphotographs”(p.258).Shegoesontoargue:“Today,youngpeoplefromacross

thesocial‐classspectrumhaveawiderrangeofopportunitiesforphotographicself

representationduetotheavailabilityofcheap…cameras”(p.258).Digitaltechnologyhas

placedcamerasandphotographsinthehandsofalmostall.AndFacebook,Flickr,Snapfishand

othersitesallowforsharingofphotographseasilywithothers.

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Innetworkedenvironmentsthatblendprivateandpublicboundaries,likesocial

networksites,personalphotographscantraverseamultiplicityofaudiences,towhichthese

photographicnarrativesareofvariablecoherenceandrelevance.Yet,sincetheyallemanate

fromtheego‐centeredbasisofsocialnetworksitelikeFacebook,theyinadvertently

communicatecontentofaperformativenaturetoavarietyofaudiences.Inordertobetter

understandtheworldsandaccompanyingnarrativescollegestudentsvisuallyconstructfor

themselves,ouranalysisisguidedbythefollowinggeneralthematicquestions:Whatkindsof

visualnarrativesdocollegestudentsconstructthroughthedisplayofphotogallerieson

Facebook?WhatarethedefiningelementsofthevisualrhetoricpresentedbyFacebookphoto

galleries?Finally,whatsenseofselfispresentedviathevisualstorytellingmediaofFacebook?

Byexaminingvisualdepictionsofbehaviorsbroadcasttoasimultaneityofpublicandprivate

audiences,wehopetobetterunderstandthenatureofidentitiesthatareperformedononline

spacesonthebasisofexperienceslivedoffline.

Method

Wechosetoanalyzecollegestudents’photosqualitativelyusingmethodsbasedin

visualanthropologyandsemioticsinordertocapturetherichnessoftheimages,inadditionto

themoresubtleaspectsofthepresentations.Thisqualitativeanalysiswasguidedprimarilyby

Chalfen’s(1987)“event‐componentframework”foranalyzinghomemodeformsof

communication.Thisframeworkcontainstwoaxes—eventsandcomponents—eachmadeup

offiveelements.TheeventsChalfendetailsare:Planning–“anyaction(s)inwhichthereisa

formalorinformaldecisionregardingtheproductionofaphotographicimage(s)”(p.20);

Shooting:on‐camera–“anyaction(s)thatinsomewaystructurestheperson(s)orthing(s)that

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“happens”infrontoftheoperatingcamera”(p.21‐22);Shooting:behindcamera–“any

action(s)notinfrontofthecamerabywhichinsomewaystillstructurestheuseandoperation

ofit”(p.22);Editing–“anyaction(s)whichtransforms,accumulates,eliminates,arrangesor

rearrangesimages”(pg.23);andExhibition–“anyaction(s)whichoccursaftershooting,in

whichphotographic…imageryisshownandviewedinapubliccontext”(p.25).Weadopted

Chalfen’saccompanyingdefinitionofpublicas“anyaudiencethatconsistsofmorethanthe

picture‐takeroreditor”(p.25).Wefocusedonthelastevent,theexhibition,inouranalysisof

photoalbumsaspresentedthroughFacebook.Wealsoemployedhisfivecomponentsofhome

modeimagery,asaguideforouranalysis:Participants–thisconcerns“identifyingpeoplewho

takepictures,appearinpictures,andlookatpictures”(p.27);Topic“describesimagecontent

intermsofthesubjectmatter,activities,events,andthemesthatarepresentedinpictures”(p.

29);Setting“referstowhenandwhereaparticularcommunicationeventtakesplace”(p.30);

Messageform–“thephysicalform,‘shape’orkindofpicture”(p.31);andCode“includesthe

characteristicsthatdefineaparticularmessageformor‘style;ofimageconstructionand

composition,”focusingontheconventionsthatdefinethenatureofthephotographicimages

(p.32).Inaddition,Chalfensuggeststhatthevisualaloneisnotenoughtounderstandhow

theseformsofcommunicationareused.Scholarsmustalsoexamineverbalinformation

includedwiththeimages,suchascaptionsortitles.Tothisend,weexaminedvisual

identificationsofphotographedsubjectsor‘tags,’andcommentaryaccompanyingall

photographs.

InadditiontoChalfen’sframework,thisanalysiswasinformedbysemioticanalysis,

whichattemptedtoqualitativelyplacecontentinalargerculturalcontextofmeaning,looking

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forrecurringpatternsofpresencesandabsence(Hall,1975;Rose,2001).Thechoiceofone

subjectoveranotherframesourunderstandingofanevent.Thus,itisalsonecessaryto

considerwhatwasnotchosenforinclusioninthephotographs(Fiske1990;Szarkowski1966;

Trachtenberg1989;vanLeeuwen2001).Choicesofwhattoincludeareonlyoneaspect;we

mustalsoexaminehowthedifferentchoicesarecombined.Meaningiscreatedbythe

relationshipsamongthepresentsigns(Fiske1990).Theentirebodyofworkmustbeexamined

toascertainthesepatternsofrepresentation.Whilepeoplearetheoreticallyfreetorecordand

postpicturesofanything,therearelimitationsbasedonthesenormsorconventionsofwhatis

acceptableorreasonable.BasedonChalfen,weexaminedtheParticipants,Topics,Setting,

Form,Code(aesthetics),asrevealthroughthephotosexhibitedwhenclickingontheprofile

link,“SeePhotosof”.

ParticipantsinanonlinesurveyonFacebookuses(Papacharissi&Mendelson,2008)

werecontactedbyagraduateassistantforthepurposeofaccessingtheirphotos.The

participantswereinformedthattheirphotoswouldbekeptconfidential.Allphotosofthose

agreeingtoparticipateinthisportionofthestudywerecollectedbyproducingportable

documentfilesoftheirphotopages.Forthisstudy,weexaminedthe“photosof”eachperson

togetasenseofhowcollegestudentsareportrayedbythemselvesandtheirfriendsthrough

theprocessesofpostingandtaggingphotographs.Thisexaminationdidnotfocuson

specificallyonthealbumseachpersonposted,butontheoverallcollectionofphotosfeaturing

thepersonwhosepageswewereexamining.Currently,thearchitectureofFacebookgroupsall

taggedphotosofapersontogether,regardlessofwhethertheyarepostedbythesubjectorby

others.Whenasubject’sFacebookpageopens,thereisalinkundertheirprofilephotowhich

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says,“ViewPhotosofme,”containingalltheimagesweanalyzed.Basedontheabovemethod,

theleadauthorexaminedeveryphotographfoundwhenclickingonthe“Photosof”fromthe

student’sFacebookhomepageandeverycommentpostedaboutthephotos,producingatotal

N=20,962photosexamined,andN=13,543commentsanalyzed.

Analysis

Beforegoingfurtherintothequalitativeanalysis,webeginwithsomedescriptiveresults

fromtheclose‐endedsurveyofcollegestudents(n=333)fromwhichthissamplewasdrawnin

ordertoprovideadescriptivesenseofthepopularityofphotopostingandtagging.Women

reportedhavingmorephotosontheirpages(4.36vs.3.48,ona1to5scale;F(1)=38.18,p=

.000),beingmorelikelytopostphotos(3.22vs.2.51;F(1)=47.26,p=.000),andmorelikelyto

tagphotosthanmen(3.02vs.2.5;F(1)=20.6,p=.000).Further,thesizeofone’ssocialgroup,

asdefinedbythenumberoffriendsparticipantsreportedhavingwaspositivelycorrelatedwith

thenumberofphotosapersonreportedhaving(r=.39,p=.000).Finally,thenumberofphotos

correlatedmoststronglywithmaintained(r=.23,p=.000)andbondingsocialcapital(r=.20,p

=.000)measures,reflectingtheextentofpasttiessustainedandclosetiesstrengthened

respectivelyonFacebook.Aswewillsee,thecollegestudents’photographsarefocusedmost

stronglyonsocialrelationships.

Qualitativeanalysis

Eighty‐ninestudentswhoparticipatedintheabovesurveywerewillingtohavetheir

photosmorecloselyexamined.Thissampleincluded37malesand52females.Forthisgroup,

thenumberofphotosrangedfrom1to1,523(mean=236;sd=3.11;median=124),whilethe

numberofcommentsrangedfromzeroto1,348(mean=152;sd=2.11;median=83).Not

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surprisingly,womenhadmorephotosofthemselves(whetherpostedbythemselvesorothers),

averaging337tomen’saveragenumberofphotosof93(t(58)=4.6;p=.000).Likewisewomen

(mean=213)hadmorecommentsabouttheirphotosthanmen(mean=66;t(69)=3.9;p=

.000).Thenumberofphotoswashighlycorrelatedwiththenumberofcomments(r=.716;p=

.000).Becausethesestudentswereenrolledinanintroductorymasscommunicationclass,

mostwerefreshmenorsophomores.

TheresultsofthispaperareorganizedaroundChalfen’scategoriesofanalysis:the

subjectmatterpresentinthephotographs(participants,topicsandsettings)aswellaswhat

subjectmatterdoesn’tshowuporshow’supverylittle;thebehaviorofsubjects;the

photographicaestheticsoftheimages;theorganizationofthephotographsandfinallyan

analysisofthecomments.

Analysis–Participants,topics,settings

Relationshipsarethedominantsubjectmatterinallthephotographs.Thevastmajority

ofthephotosareofpairingsorgroupsoffriends,mostlyofthesamegender,posingforthe

cameraatformalorplannedevents,suchaspartiesorsportingevents.Thisincludesphotos

takenbyaseparatephotographerandthoseshotbyoneofthesubjectsholdingacameraout

tophotographhimorherselfwithafriendorfriends,andwasthenormforbothmenand

women.Menweremostoftenphotographedwithmalefriends,andwomenwithwomen.

Thedominanceofthesame‐sexsubjectsinphotoscanmoststronglybeseeninhigh

schoolpromphotosencounteredintheanalysis.Whiletherewerephotosofapersonposing

withhisorherdate,pinningonaboutonniereorcorsage,orgroupshotsofaseriesofcouples

posinginfrontofahouse,thevastmajorityofphotospresentedeithergroupsoffemale

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friendsposingintheirdressestogether,orgroupsofmalefriendsposingtogetherintheir

tuxedos.Thebondingofsamesexfriendsevenatacouples’eventwasofthemostimportance.

Similarly,highschoolgraduationoccasionsoftenfeaturedimagesofthesubjectposingwith

samesexfriendsintheircapsandgowns.

Theprevalenceofsame‐sexgroupphotosdoesnotimplytheabsenceofphotosof

peopleoftheoppositesextogether.Atpartysettings,bothmaleandfemaleparticipants

photographedwithmembersoftheoppositesex,posinginaplatonicmanner,ortogether,in

largegroupphotosfeaturingeveryonepresentattheparty.Butoverall,photographsrevealed

theimportanceofone’speergroup,mostoftenfortheseunderclassmen,membersofthe

samegender.Pictureswithmembersoftheoppositesexwereposedinmuchofthesameway

asthosewithsamesexfriends.Theyrevealedmostlyfriendshipsoverromanticconnectionsor

evensignificantflirtation.

Onceapersonhasasignificantotheroftheoppositesex,thecontentoftheposted

photographsdochange.Inthosecases,therelationshipbecamethemainfocusofthe

photographicnarrative,throughthefrequentpostingofpicturesofthecouplealone(takenby

athirdpartyorbythemselvesholdingacameraout),orposingwithagroupofoneofthe

partner’ssame‐sexfriends.Theromanticrelationshipswerealsodemonstratedandconfirmed

visuallythroughtheamountofphysicalcontact,usuallyreflectedthroughsittingontheother’s

lap,huggingeachother,andheadstogether.

Certaineventswererepeatedwithinandacrossthroughmostofthecollegestudent

photocollections.Thesemostlyincludedtypicalplannedhighschoolandcollegeactivitiesor

rituals:parties,roadtripswithfriends(tothebeach,toNewYorkCity),dancesandproms,

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school‐yearholidays(suchasHalloweenandSt.Patrick’sDay),collegesportingevents,and,toa

lesserextent,professionalsportingevents,andhighschoolgraduation.Therecordingand

postingofasubject’sparticipationinthesocialritualsofcollegeiscentral.Forexample,aseries

ofagroupofmalefriendspaintingtheirchestinteamcolors,eachwithaletteroftheschoolon

hischest,wasphotographed,bothduringthepaintingprocessandattheactualsportingevent.

Still,almostanymomentsharedbyfriendsisworthytoberecorded.Severalotherphotos

depicteddrivinginacarorridingonthesubwayorwalkingsomeplaceoreatingatafastfood

restaurant.Friendshipswereconfirmedthroughtheinclusionofroadtripphotos,showing

friendsposingonthebeachinswimmingsuits,atsitesinthelocationbeingvisited,suchas

TimesSquareinNewYorkCity,orinrestaurantsaroundatable.

Partiespresentedbyfarthemostcommonsettingforphotos.Theseweremostoften

posedphotographsofgroupsoffriends,oftenwithbottlesofbeerorplasticcupsinhand.

Occasionallytherewerebottlesofhardliquorshown.Fewphotosshowedcigarettesmoking.

Drugusageorparaphernaliawerealsonotpresent.Becauseoftheagegroupunderstudy,bars

werelessoftenthesettingfordrinking.Still,therewaslittleornoefforttohideoravoid

photographingunderagedrinking.Infact,itwasmostoftenblatantlyincludedintheframe,by

holdingthebottleorclassuphighorouttowardthecamera.

Theimportanceofpartiesisreflectedintheprevalenceofcertainholidays,suchassuch

asHalloweenandSt.Patrick’sDay,bothholidaysassociatedwithpartiesanddrinking.Thevast

majorityofstudentshadphotosofHalloween,mostoftenposingbeforeapartyinone’s

apartmentorresidencehallincostumewithone’ssamesexfriends.Outfitswereimportantfor

St.Patrick’sDayaswell,asphotosrevealthetypicalbrightgreenshirtandgreenpartyhats.

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Apparelbecomesimportanttothevariousritualsofcollegelife.Costumeswerenaturally

prominentinHalloweenpartyphotos,greenoutfitsforSt.Patrick’sday,whilesportingevents

photosfeaturedsubjectsdonningteamwear,displayingteamorcollegeaffiliation.Photos

wouldtypicallybetakeninsaidoutfitsbeforehandatone’sapartmentordorm,onthesubway

orinacargoingtotheevent,tailgatingbeforehandintheparkinglotandsittinginthestands.

Theseritualsofcollegelifeseemedlargelygenderneutral,beingequallycommonfor

maleandfemalephotographedsubjects.Incontrast,avisiblegenderdividebecameapparent

in“hangingout”photos,thatisphotosofrelaxationor“downtime”inone’sapartmentor

dorm,incasualclothing,suchassweatsandt‐shirts(i,e.,notdressedtogoout),mostoften

againwithmembersofone’sgender.Womenweremuchmorelikelytohavephotosofthese

moments,andtheseincludedlaughingtogether,eatingpizza,dyingsomeone’shairandjust

talking.Anothercommonphotoforwomenwasthereflectionshotwithanotherfriendina

bathroommirror.Thiscouldbeinanapartmentbathroom,butthiswasalsoseeninbar

bathrooms.Mostoftenthesepresentedaseriesofatleastthreeorfourphotoswiththe

subjectsplayingwithposes.Somewomenproducedthesemirrorphotographsofjust

themselves.Menwerelikelyonlytohavepicturesofactualformalevents.

Portraitsofthesubjectsalonewerepresent,thoughtheydidnotoutnumberphotos

withfriends.Portraitswerebothtakenbythesubjectbyholdingoutacamera,byusinga

mirrororbyusingacomputercamera.Somemenandwomen,wouldplaywithposesof

themselves,postingaseriesofphotosmadeatthesametimewithdifferencebodypositionsor

facialexpressions.

18

Certaintypesofsettingswerenotencounteredoften,althoughitbearsrepeatingthat

thephotosofeachsubjectarenotnecessarilyallthephotostakenofthissubject,butonlythe

selectionofphotosthathavebeenpostedandtagged.Withthisinmind,mostofthestudents

displayednoimagesofthemselveswithfamilymembers,specificallywithfamilymembersof

oldergenerations,includingparentsorgrandparents.Similarly,fewpeoplehadphotographs

withveryyoungchildren.Thefewcaseswhereparentsappearedwereatfamilyfunctionssuch

asholidaypartiesorweddingsorofparentssocializingwiththesubjectandhis/herpeergroup.

Inonecase,amotherandfatherwereplayingbeerpongwiththeircollege‐ageddaughterand

herfriendsattheirhouse.Familymembers,whentheydidappear,weremoreoftentoshowup

inphotosbeforecollegestarted,upthroughthesummerbeforefreshmanyear.Afew(though

veryfew)newbabypictureswerepresent,intheformofchildrenofsiblings.Olderpeopledid

appearedintheformofacelebrity,anathlete,orservicepersonnelataresortorrestaurant

withwhomthefriendsareposing.

Negativeevents,suchasillnessesorseriousaccidentswereabsentfromthesegalleries.

However,other,lesssomberyetembarrassingor“bad”photosremained,evenwhensomeone

commentedthatthiswasawfulorthattheycouldnotbelieveaphotowasposted.Thefactthat

theimagesandthecommentswereseensuggestthatthecommenterwasnotconcerned

enoughtoremovetheimage.Oneexampleisofaseriesofagirldancingcrazilywithadrinkin

herhand,lickingagirl’sfaceandlickingthetopofagirlfriend’schest.Thefactthattheimage

remainspostedsuggestsshedidnotfeelthiswastooembarrassingtotakedown,possibly

containingsometypeofmeaningforherandherpeergroup.Toanotherembarrassingphoto,

thesubjectcommented:“Badhair!!!!DESTROY!DESTROY!”Similarly,anotherperson

19

commentedonadifferentphoto:“LMAOheyhey.ithoughtwehadanunderstandingthatthis

nightneverhappened.shush,[nameremoved]babe.tryingtofindourburiedsecrets.”Despite

theprivatenatureoftheeventdescribedandtheinformationrevealed,thesepictureremain

onpublicdisplay,suggestingthattheirpublicitysurpassesthestateddiscontentor

embarrassmentbroughtonbythedisplayedimage.

Landscapesandcityscapeswithoutpeopleinthemwereseldomposted.Landscapes

wereseeninphotosofthesubjectorthesubjectandfriendsposingintheforegroundofa

widerimagewhileonatrip,thusdocumentingthesharedexperienceofbeingsomeplace

together.Mostofthetravelimageswerelikewiseimagesofthesubjectwithhisorherfriends,

forexample,posingwithcharactersatDisneyWorldalongwithfriends.Mostofthesubjects

neverappearedwithanimals,whetherpetsfromtheirparent’shouseorpetstheyownin

school.Thislatterexampleisnotsurprisingsincemostofthesubjectswerestilllivinginadorm

wherepetsarenotallowed.Finally,imagesofstudentsinclassesorotheracademiccampus

buildings,orstudyinganywherewereabsent,thusvisuallyremovingtheacademicsideofthe

collegeexperiencefromthecollegebasedpresentationoftheself.

Analysis–Behavior

Beyondsubjectmatter,welookedatthetypesofactivitiesandbehaviorssubjectswere

pursuinginthephotos.Whatbecameimmediatelyapparentwasthatsubjectswerealmost

alwaysawareofandinteractingwiththecamera/photographer.Therewerefewcandidphotos

takenorphotoswherethesubjectswerecaughtcompletelyunaware.Mostofthebehavior

wasintentionallyphotographicinwhatwouldbeconsideredaformalpose,standingand

smilingfacingthecamera.Subjectsweremostoftenphysicallyclosetoeachother,withparts

20

oftheirbodiestouchingandtheirheadsleaningintoeachother.Whereaswomenweremore

likelytobehuggingsomeoneinthephotowiththem,menwouldmerelystandphysicallyclose

toeachotherorhavetheirarmsaroundeachother.Buteventhisdifferencediminishedat

parties(presumablythroughthepresenceofalcohol),asmencanoftenbeseenhuggingas

well.

Furthermore,therewasmuchexaggeratedbehaviordirectedtothecamera,reflecting

avarietyofposesandaplayfulattitude.Thiswasapparentthroughbroadgestures(e.g.,arms

upabovethehead),exaggeratedposesandfacialexpressions,suchaslargegrinsorlaughing,

stickingoutone’stonguesatthecamera.Otherbehaviordirectedatthecamerawasovert

drinking,whichincludedbeingphotographeddrinkingwithafriend,playingdrinkinggames

suchasbeerpongordrinkingfromaliquorbottle.Mostofthesestudentsareunderage,and

didnotappearoverlyconcernedwiththeillegalityofunderagedrinking.Thefewcandidphotos

weretypicallyofplayataparty,includingdrinkinganddrinkinggames,dancingandplaying,

ofteninaserieswhereatleastoneimageshowinganawarenessofthecamera.Peoplewere

alsophotographedoutsideofpartysituations,justgoofingaroundwithfriends,playingoutside,

jumpingonafriend’sback,orlaughingwithfriends.

Womenweremorelikelytostrikeposesthatwereflirtatiousorsexy.Womenoften

posedinexaggeratedsexyposeswitheachother,showinglegorexaggeratingtheircleavage.

Theyalsoweremorelikelytocanttheirheadstogetherforapose.Theirsexyposeswereoften

recognizedandcomplimentedthroughcommentsfrombothmaleandfemalefriends.

Manystudentsgenerallyhavedevelopedclearwaysofposingforphotographsbythe

endoftheirhighschoolyears.Thisisespeciallytrueforwomen.Thereareoftenseriesof

21

imagesofwomenaloneorwithfriendsinanon‐eventsetting,practicingposing.Mirrorshots

allowimmediatefeedbackonhowoneisposingbeforethecamera.Inoneexample,ayoung

womenpracticesposing,aslightarchtoherback,handonhip,headslightlycanted,eveninself

shots.Thisbecomesherconsistentposesthroughoutcollegeimages.Anotherguyisreferredto

incommentsasalwaysbeingin“picturemode”,haveaspecificlookforthecameraevenin

casualsituations.

Therewasseldomovertsexualbehavior,includingfewphotosofpeoplekissingonthe

lips.Liptolipkissingwasanindicatorofamoreseriousrelationship,andlimitedtothosewith

significantothers.Ontheotherhand,thekissingofanotherperson’scheekwasverycommon,

bothacrossandwithinthesamegender.Kissingonthecheekwasalmostalwayshighly

exaggeratedandcomical,withlaughteronthefacesofbothpeople.Whilethiswasvery

commonforwomen,mencouldalsobeseenkissingthecheeksofwomenand,toalesser

extent,men(thelatterwasusuallyatapartyandthusfollowingtheconsumptionofacertain

amountofalcohol).Thecheekkissseemedtoindicateasignofclosefriendship.

Sexualbehaviorofanysortbetweennon‐seriouscoupleswasnotphotographed.There

wasonlyonephotographthatshowedamalesubjectatadistancekissingagirl.Comments

revealedthiswasaone‐timeoccurrence,withnoothersuch“hookups”documentedand

posted.

Analysis–Aesthetics

Themajorityofthephotoswerecenteredandtakenstraightonwiththesubjects

posed,lookingatthecamera/photographer.Thisisnotsurprisinggiventhatmostofthe

photographerswerenotprofessionalsandtheywereusingpoint‐and‐shootcameras.What

22

wouldbeconsideredmoresophisticatedcomposition(e.g.,ruleofthirds,selectiveuseoffocus,

foregroundframing,etc.)wasseldomseen.Mostweretakenatamediumtoclosedistance,

thuslimitingtheamountofbackgroundinthephotos.Thecontextofthephotosmaterialized

largelyinthemindsoftheparticipantsandviewers.Onepartytendstolookmuchlikeanother

tooutsiders.Captionscanrevealcontextualinformationidentifyingaspecificparty,butlike

familyphotocollections,captionsweren’talwaysincluded,beyondthetaggednamesofthe

subjectsinthephotos.Thedistancebetweenthesubjectsandthephotographermainly

dependeduponthenumberofpeopletobeincludedinthephotographs.Themajorityofgroup

shotswereasinglehorizontallinefacingthecamera:themoresubjectsthefurtherbackthe

photographerhadtostand.Widershotswereusedwhenproofofasharedexperiencewas

needed,suchasawidershotwithafootballstadiuminthebackgroundorawidershotof

friendsposinginTimesSquare.

Anothercommonaestheticformatwasthe“selfshot”,holdingthecameraoutto

captureone’sselfand,attimes,friends.Thephotographer/subject’sarmwasthusseen

extendingtothecorneroftheframeandthisoftenledtoaslightlytiltedhorizonline.Theact

ofincludingothersinaself‐shotphotodemonstratesbothacertainspontaneity(wemust

capturethismomentnow)andconfirmstheclosenessofthefriends(Iwanttotakeaphoto

withyou).Whereasaphototakenbysomeoneelsecouldbesetup,selfshotphotosrevealeda

greateragencyindeterminingthesubjectmatter.

Webcamshotswereoftenmanipulatedusingthedistortioncontrolsoftheimage

capturesoftware.Theseallowforidentityplaybystretchingorcompressingone’simage.Often

Webcamphotosappearinaseries,revealingdifferentfacialexpressionsineachshot.Finally,

23

photoswhichwerebadlycomposed,suchasthosewherepeoplewerecutoffortitled,and

thosewhichwereunder‐orover‐lit,werestillposted,assumingthecontentwasofinterest.

Peoplewouldstillbetaggedinaphoto,evenifonlypartofthemcouldbeseen.

Analysis–Organization

SimilartoWeblogsthephotographsofeachsubjectwereinareversechronological

order,withthemostrecentimagesfirst.Further,likemostfamilyphotoalbums,therewasno

clearstructurednarrative,butpictureswerejustorganizedaroundtime.Unlikemostfamily

albums,whicharebasedaroundasinglephotographer,the“photosof”eachpersonare

collective,basedonalltheimagespostedbythesubjectandhisorherfriendsthroughtags.

ThecurrentarchitectureofFacebookgroupsallpicturestaggedwithaperson’snameunder

profilepictures,althoughindividualsdohavetheoptionof‘untagging,’andthusremovingtheir

name,butnottheirimage,fromthephotograph.Inmostfamilyalbums,thephotographeris

notofteninthealbumorcollectionasoften.WithFacebook,thesubjectisofteninthemostof

thephotosinacollection.

Thecollectivenatureofthisphotocollectioncancreateadeviationfromchronological

orders,dependingonwhendifferentpeoplepostpicturesfromthesameevent.Further,

peopleoftenpostintentionally“nostalgic”photosfromchildhoodorevenearlierinhighschool,

beforeFacebook.Aswewillseeinthenextsectionexaminingcomments,friendsreacttothese

imagesinanostalgicway,remembergoodtimestogetherinthepast.

Finally,inallphotos,thecamerabecomespartoftheevent.Anumberofpeoplehave

andusecameras,asevidencedbythenumberofpeoplepostingimagesfromthesameevent.

Thus,thereisacertaintriangulationofthefriendshipcircle,sincethesamegroupingsappear

24

throughthelensofmultiplecameras.Thisistrueforallevents,eventhemostformalsuchas

proms.Moreover,thephotographerisclearlyknownbyandamemberofthesocialcohort

depicted.Posesthatwouldbeunlikelytoanunknownphotographerarequitecommon;

includingthehamminessandflippingoffthephotographerinjest.

Analysis–Comments

Thecommentspostedbyfriendsreinforcegroupcohesivenessandcloseness.

Commentsaretiedtothepictures,nottotheindividual,meaningthateveryonetaggedinthe

photoswillhavethesamesetofsharedcomments.Thegroupnatureofcommentscanbeseen

throughtheconsistentuseofnicknames,referencestoinsidejokesorpastevents,statements

ofaffectionandcompliments,andgentleribbingofeachother.Alltheseexamplesare

understoodbythoseintheknow.Thecontextoffriendshipallowsforstatementsthatthose

outsidethegroupcannotmakeorwouldpossiblyfindoffensive.Commentsallowfriendsto

relivethepicturedevents,emphasizingthesharedgoodtimes.Examplesofthisinclude

statements,suchas“OMGTHISISSOSWEET!irememberthis!Wewereinterviewedddddd!”

(sic).Therearealsoreferencestolongingormissingmembersofone’sfriendshipcircleawayat

otherschools,suchas,“awwImissthis”or“Imissyouguys”.Commentsreinforcethegroup’s

participationincollegerituals,forexamplethisseriesofcommentsaboutposingwithalcohol:

Persona:“water???”

Personb:“ifthat’swhatyouliketocallit…”

Personc:“andmommyanddaddythinkyoursoooinnocent.notfair”

Personb:“that’swhyi’mthefavorite:)”(sic)

25

Peoplealsoreliveembarrassingmomentsthroughcomments,especiallyrelatedto

behaviorwhiledrunk,suchascrazinessandpassingout.Forexample,“…leftthatshirtatmy

cribwhenupassedoutinabush…”(sic).Or“Whatsthatmarkonmysweatshirt?”inreference

toastainfromthrowingup.

Manystatementsreflectadesiretobeincludedinthegroup,whethertobeincludedin

theeventpicturedortobetaggedifoneispictured.“cansomeonepleaseexplainwhynoone

taggedmeinthis!!!!”or“….itstillmeansurassneedstogetthehellzzdowntherewoman.”

Thislastquotesupportsthegroupoffriendsthroughtheirabsence,byexpressingthedesirefor

theleftoutindividualtocomevisit.

Typically,thesamerecurringgroupofpeoplewilltendtocommentonthephotos,again

demonstratingthetightnessofthesocialgroup.Commentsarenotalwaysaboutthecontentof

thephotos.Thephotosoftenbringuptheopportunityforanextendedconversationabout

individualsinthesocialgroup.Theconversationssparkedbyaphotocanencompassmany

postsextendingoveraperiodoftime(evenmorethanayearbetweenthefirstandlast

commentonaphoto).Commentscontinueadialogueforthoseataspecificeventandthose

whowerenottherebutarepartoftheextendedsocialnetwork.Thus,thesephotocollections,

likeFacebookingeneral,allowvicariousparticipationinfriend’slivesevenatadistance.People

usecommentsandthephotostokeepupdatedontheirfriends,suchas“wtfbrowhenwas

this?”(sic).Photoscanbeusedtolinkupwithmoredistantfriends–“adorable!howyabeen

chica?”

Discussion

26

Carey(1975)emphasizedaritualviewofcommunication,whichhelpsfostercommunity

integrationthroughthesharingofcommonexperiencesandvalues.Thisisclearlycentralto

whatisrevealedinthecollectionsofFacebookphotosofcollegestudents.Thecommonalityof

theimageswithineachstudent’scollectionandbetweenallthestudentsdemonstratesthat

whiletheoutfitsandlocationschange,thetypesofeventsdocumentedandthenatureofthe

posesdonot.Thesamestoriesaretoldandretoldinthesephotographs.Theseimagesare

highlyconventional,bothintermsoftheirsubjectmatterandtheiraesthetics.Theseimages

recordsocialritualsofcollegelife,withlittleoftheacademicside.

TheseFacebookphotosdonotnecessarilyrepresentallphotostakenbyorofaperson.

Thesemerelyrepresentthoseimageswhichastudentorafriendhaschosentopostandtagfor

others.Thus,thesephotosrepresentastrategicrepresentationofasocialgroupandsociallife

incollege.Morethananythingthesephotosallowcollegesstudentstospeaktoeachother

visually,playingouttheircollegelivesforeachother.Thesephotosestablishproofofan

authenticcollegeexperience,onefilledwithfriendsandtheritualsofcollegelife,drinking,

sports,andtheclosenessofapeergroup.Theydomorethanmerelydocumenttherituals.This

isreadilyapparentbynoticingwhatislacking,imagesofparentsandimageswithoutfriends.

Thesephotoshelpconfirmone’sindependencefromfamilyandchildhood.

Theseimagesdemonstratetheprimacyofrelationships.Thephotosareallaboutthe

connectionamongcollegestudents,andfortheseprimarilyfirstandsecondyearstudents,

amongthoseofthesamegender.Thisechoesotherauthorswhohavearguedthatfriendsare

especiallyimportantformembersofGenerationY(Huntley,2006),especiallysame‐sexfriends.

Itisinterestingtoseethechangeinfocusofthephotosasaseriousrelationshipwithamember

27

oftheoppositesexoccurs.Imagesofthecouplebegintodominate.Chalfen(1987)hadpointed

outthatcollegelifewasabsentinthealbumsheexamined.Thisstudyallowsaglimpseatthe

transitionfrombeingpartofafamilytoanindependentphotographicentityinone’sownright.

Further,thetransitiontoacouplereflectedthepossiblebeginningsofafamilycollectionof

photos,focusedaroundadyadandnotalargerpeergroup.Forthelargerpeergroup,images

ofembarrassmentaswellasjoydrawfriendstogether,helpingsupporttheauthenticcollege

experienceandthebondone’sfriends.Closefriendsareexpectedtosharebothpositiveand

negativemoments,andonlyclosefriendswouldappreciateanddecodeembarrassingimagesin

thecorrectspiritofgroup‐bonding.Theseimagesaretheequivalentofthegentleribbingseen

inthecomments.Further,openinguponeselftopotentialridiculedemonstratesthetrust

extendedtoone’speergroup.

Proofoftheclosenessofone’speergroupisconfirmedbyboththequantityandnature

ofpicturesdisplayed.Theclosertherelationshipssharedamongfriends,themorefrequently

theyappearinphotoswithastudent.Likewise,themoretheyappear,themoretheir

friendshipisconfirmed.Theposesandmomentsalsorevealtheclosenessoffriends.For

women,thisincludedmomentsofinformalhangingoutinone’sresidence.Forbothgenders,

thisincludedphysicalcloseness(includinghuggingandcheekkissing)andexaggeratedposes.

Physicalclosenesswasmoststronglyseenwhenastudententeredaseriousrelationship

Physicalclosenessindexesemotionalcloseness.

Asstatedearlierandconsistentwithpreviousworkonpersonalphotographs,the

meaningoftheseimagesisconstructedlargelyinthemindsoftheviewersandisintendedfor

membersofone’ssocialgroup.Contextualinformationaboutlocationandtimewaslargely

28

absent.Thesephotosfacilitatetherecallofalreadyexistingmemories,asevidencedbythe

postingofolderphotographsfromchildhood,whichrequirednocaptionwasneeded.Members

ofthepeergrouprecognizedandrespondedtothesenostalgicphotos.Byunderstandingthe

meaninginthephotos,thecohesivenessofthesocialgroupwasenhanced.Contextual

elements,throughbackgrounds,arede‐emphasized,suggestingtheprimacyofthehuman

relationshipsandtheexistingknowledgeintheheadofviewersrequiredfordecodingthe

images.Facebookimageswereclearlyappropriatedbyaclosedgroup,usedtoreinforce

membershipandcohesiveness.Groupmembershipaffordsafullunderstandingoftheovert

andlatentmeaningsofphotos,andsubsequently,identifyingtheseovertandlatentmeanings

potentiallyenhancedone’ssenseofbelonging.

Thephotosportraycollegestudentssuspendedinsociality,perpetuallybondingwith

friendsandtoastingthebestoftimes.Eventsareopportunitiestoconnectwithfriends,andby

representingthosemomentsinpostedFacebookphotosreinforcesthebondsofthe

relationships.Whileonegameblursinanotherandonepartyintoanother,thephotographsof

themtellalargerstoryoftheimportanceofsharedexperiencesofcollegelifewithone’s

closestfriends.Onceposted,thesephotographscreateinstant“goodolddays,”uponwhich

friendscanreminisceandfeelnostalgic,eveniftheeventoccurredjustlastnight.Formen,the

socialityendsatformalevents,emphasizingtheimportanceof“drinkingbuddies,”forwomen,

socialityexistsinbothformalandinformalmoments.Women’sfriendshipsarebuiltasmuchat

partiesastheyareloungingindormrooms,reinforcingpreviousworkontheimportanceof

girl’sbedroomcultureinestablishingidentityandfriendships(Nayak&Kehily,2008).

29

Becausepicturesarepostedbymultiplepeople,thephotogalleriesaredynamic.These

collectionsofphotosarepotentiallyalwayschanging,thuspresentingaconfluentplaneof

activityuponwhichperformancesoftheselfareenacted,and‘tagged’.Justaspeopleremove

individualsfromtheirhomephotoalbumswhendivorcehappens,Facebookcollectionscanalso

changeasindividualsremovephotos.Thisactionremovesthephotosfromthecollectionsofall

whoaretaggedonthephotos,aswellasthecommentsattachedtothephotos.Thus,the

convergentnatureoftheplatformallowstheseperformancestoconstantlyevolveandforever

eludepermanence,astheyaresubjecttothemultipleredactionsofnumerousaudiences.This

convergentcontextsimultaneouslyreferencesspacesandevolvesbeyondspace,presenting

whatdeCerteau(1984)hastermedamovingmap,uponwhichvisualdepictionsofmemories

arepiecedintonarrativesthroughthepracticeof‘tagging.’Thefluidcontextuponwhich

performancesoftheselfareenactedaffordsreflexivelyshapedpersonalnarrativesoftheself,

whichareindicativeofwhatsociologistshavedescribedasaconstantstateoffluxorliquid

modernity(Bauman,2005;Giddens,1990).

Interestinglyenough,theaestheticsandtheformofthedisplayedphotosplacetheself

ormultiplesubjectsatthecenter,frequentlythroughcameraplacementthatmayappear

awkwardorunprofessional.Theemphasisontheselfishighlightedbytheabsenceof

contextualinformation,mediumtoclosedistance,limitedbackground,awarenessofthe

cameraandbehaviorsproducedspecificallyforthecamerabyasingleorseveralsubjects.The

totalityofthesebehaviorsreflectacollectivelyperformednarcissism,throughwhichasingleor

multiplesubjectsexhibitself‐referentialbehavior,thatisthenexponentiallytagged,re‐tagged,

commentedandreferencedinfurtherintrospectivemomentsthatculminatetogroup

30

cohesion.Thesetracesofnarcissismarepresentinphotographsthatcontainasingle,two,or

multiplesubjects;thethemeincommon,reflectiveofnarcissism,istheconnotedenamorment

withthesubject,dyad,orgroupphotographed.

Giventhegeneralcontentofthesevisualgalleries,whicharestructuredaround

articulatingindividualautonomyandsignalingindependencefromfamilyandaffiliationwith

peergroups,itwouldbemoremeaningfulandaccuratetointerpretthesenarcissisticlapsesas

asteptowardself‐reflectionandself‐actualization,ratherthaninstancesofuncontrollableself‐

absorption.Lasch(1979)connectednarcissisticbehaviorstohedonistictendenciesreflectiveof

amaterialisticculture,butalsoclarifiedthatwhilenarcissisticbehaviormaybestructured

aroundtheself,itisnotmotivatedbyselfishdesire,butbyadesiretobetterconnecttheselfto

society.Alternatively,inSennet’s(1974)terms,narcissism“takestheideaoftheinvoluntary

disclosureofcharactertoitslogicalextreme,”thusaffordingidentityplayandtheperformative

extremesthatweidentifiedinthisstudy.Moreover,theaestheticsofthesephotographsreflect

whatMitchell(1995)callsmeta‐photography,thatis,photographsthatrevealtheprocessof

picture‐making.Thesemeta‐photographsdemonstratethemannerinwhichthecamera

becomesanextensionofthebodyfortheseyoungpeople,mostexplicitlydemonstratedinthe

self‐shotphotographs.Inadditiontothenarcissisticovertones,theformofthesepicturesis

aimedatfurtherblurringthelinebetweenproducerandsubject,throughgroupphotosin

whichpicture‐takersandpicture‐posersdynamicallyrotate,andaudiencesviewingthephotos

participateinphotographicmeta‐constructionsthroughcommentingandtagging.

Thisstudysuggestssomeinterestingdirectionsforfutureresearch.First,itbuildsonthe

literatureofpersonalphotographybyexaminingthemorepublicuseofpersonalphotographs

31

onsocialnetworksites.Mostoftheliteratureonpersonalphotographyhasfocusedonhow

andwhatpeoplepresentinthemoreprivatesettingsofthehome.TheInternet,asothermedia

havebefore,blursthedistinctionbetweenprivateandpublic,thusupsettingconventionsof

storytellingandmnemonicrecollectionviaphotography.Second,thispieceexpandsonInternet

studiesofself‐presentationbyfocusingmorecloselyonthephotographicrepresentation

peopleofferofthemselves.Finally,thispapersattemptstoplacethephotographic

presentationcollegestudentsofferinthecontextofalargervisualyouthculture.

OfcoursethesamplestudiedislimitedtoFacebookphotosandisnotmeanttobe

representativeofallcollegestudents.Stilltheconsistencyofthephototypesallowsustodraw

conclusionsabouthowcollegestudentsusephotostospeaktoeachothervisually.Future

researchcouldattempttotrackthechangingnatureandusesofthesephotographic

repositories,followingasmallersampleofcollegestudentsastheyphotographicallymove

throughcollegeyearsandbeyond.In‐depthinterviewswouldhelpgainunderstandingofthe

rolesthatphotographsplayinthesestudent’slives.Theseinterviewsalsocouldhelp

differentiatepeoplewhopostamanyphotosfromthosewhodonot.

Facebooktaggedphotographspresentmorethanrandommomentsinaperson’slife.

Theypresentasuspendedtakeoncollege‐lifesociality,throughacollageofscenescelebrating

theself,groupcultureandmembershipthatareplayedoutoverandoveragain.Thesame

scenesarerepeatedinavarietyofphotographedoccasionsaswefindthemcomfortingand

reassuring.Theyprovidevisualevidenceofsocialnetworks.Picturesrevealthetransitionfrom

highschooltocollege,buttheydomorethandocument;theyallowphotographedsubjectsto

proveorconfirmthesemilestonesforeachother;theyvalidatethesenseofarealcollege

32

experience.Facebookpicturesarewherecollegestudentsvisuallyplayouttheirlivesforeach

other,demonstratingtheiridentityascollegestudent.Thesepracticesserveasperformative

exercisesofidentityandbelonging,simultaneouslydeclaringandcorroboratingshared

experiences.

33

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