the impact of instagram on friendships and the presentations of self

We have split our questions into three separate catagories. One section focuses specifically on identity and how the portrayal of one on Instagram can change how one views themselves and how it can change their relationships with others. In order to see how Instagram is able to create these changes, it is important to look at the history of the application along with the implementation of new features that further emphasize changes in friendship dynamic. This brings us to our final set of questions which look at how the quality of relationships change over time. Additionally we look at a socioeconomic perspective to see if their are any discrepancies as a result of different cirsumstances.

1. How are personal identities shaped and expressed in Instagram?
   • How has this changed over time?
   • Today: to what extent are we more comfortable blurring the lines of reality and fantasy online?
2. What is the history of Instagram (when was it established, by whom, where, how, with what funding?)
   • How did these features (close friends stories, switching accounts feature, muting stories) develop/evolve over time?
   • Were there external pressures for making these changes?
3. To what extent, and in what ways, does Instagram affect the quality of our interpersonal relationships?
   • What role does the “finstagram” play in mediating and maintaining relationships?
   • How has this changed over time?
   • What role does income and/or social standing play?

academic/scholarly

Zitman, Jordyn. "Instagram Co-founders Talk Facebook, Adding features,'tech breakup.'" UWIRE Text, 2019. Link to article Keywords: “Origins” “Selling to Facebook”

Rong Peng, Dong Sun, and Wei-Tek Tsai. 2014. Success factors in mobile social networking application development: case study of instagram. In Proceedings of the 29th Annual ACM Symposium on Applied Computing (SAC ’14). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 1072–1079. Link to article Keywords: “Instagram case study” “Success factors in app development”

Alhabash, S., & Ma, M. (2017). A Tale of Four Platforms: Motivations and Uses of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat Among College Students? Social Media + Society. Link to article Keywords: “Comparing social media platforms” “Uses and gratifications”

Instagram Unfiltered: Exploring Associations of Body Image Satisfaction, Instagram #Selfie Posting, and Negative Romantic Relationship Outcomes, Journal Article in “Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking” 2016. Link to article Keywords: “self image” “selfies” “associations of instagram use”

Fake Instagrams For Real Conversation: A Thematic Analysis of The Hidden Social Media Life of Teenagers, Journal article published by the Journal of Adolescent Health. 2019. Link to article Keywords: “finstas” “emotional catharsis” “safe space”

Let me be at my funniest: Instagram users’ motivations for using Finsta (a.k.a., fake Instagram), Journal article published by The Social Science Journal. 2018. Link to article Keywords: “motivations” “finsta vs rinsta”

The App Generation : How Today's Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy, and Imagination in a Digital World , Book published by Yale University Press. 2013. Link to ebook Keywords: “interviews” “apps and intimate relationships”

Teens, Social Media & Technology, Survey completed by Pew Research Center. 2018. Link to article Keywords: “U.S. teen data” “survey answers”

Instagram #Instasad?: Exploring Associations Among Instagram Use, Depressive Symptoms, Negative Social Comparison, and Strangers Followed. Journal article in “Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking” 2015. Link to article Keywords: “online questionnaires” “demographics” “Social Comparison Rating Scale”

Online and offline social networks: Use of social networking sites by emerging adults. 2008. Journal article published in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. Link to article Keywords: “Online communication” “Interconnection” “Intimacy” “Friend networks” “Emerging adults”

general news/analysis sources

Rise of a Tech Giant: The History of Instagram. Telegraph.co.uk, 2015. Link to article Keywords: “Rise” “tech giant”

Kuchler, Hannah. Instagram Unfiltered. FT.Com, 2015. Link to article Keywords: Silicon Valley, celebrity influencers

Seetharaman, Deepa. Management -- Boss Talk: A Copycat? no, Call it Competition --- Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom Values a Format's Execution Over Originality. Wall Street Journal, 2017. Link to article Keywords: “relevance” “instagram stories” “snapchat”

Me Vs. My Social Media Self: Why Gen Z is the Saddest Generation Article written for Refinery29. 2017. Link to article Keywords: “depression” “identities” “personal use”

Why Fashion Influencers Are ‘Pivoting’ To Anxiety Article written for Refinery29. 2019. Link to article Keywords: “mental health” “social responsibility” “influence”

Ormerodis, Katherine. The Reality Behind My Instagram 'Perfection': Social-Media Star Katherine Ormerodis a Poster Girl for Healthy Living. but Her 23,000 Followers Don't See the Torment it's Taken Her to Get there. here, She Reveals the Truth. Stella, 2017, Link to article Keywords: “opinion” “personal experience” “facade”

In Defense of the Finsta: How My Secret Instagram Saved My Sanity . Article published by Rewire. 2019. Link to article Keywords: “opinion” “personal experience”

How Youth Are Reinventing Instagram and Why Having Multiple Accounts Is Trending. Article by Berkman Klein Center For Internet & Society, Harvard University. 2018. Link to article Keywords: “youth’s (ages 12–18) engagement on Instagram” “group reflection on the social dynamics” “personal story around the social aspects of Instagram” “roundtable conversation”

How wealthy kids’ use of social media sets them up for a more successful future. Article published in The Washington Post. 2015. Link to article Keywords: “Teens use of social media” “Income differences and smartphones” “predominantly Latino, some black and Asian participants”

technology/finance focused publications

Ross, Christopher. Instagram by the Numbers; with the News of CEO Kevin Systrom Stepping Down, an Overview of the World-Conquering Platform He Co-Founded Wall Street Journal (Online), 2018. Link to article Keywords: “co-founder” “world conquering platform”

Wolfe, Alexandra. Kevin Systrom --- the Instagram Chief Executive on His Company's Past and Future Wall Street Journal, 2016. Link to article Keywords: “founder” “expansion”

Spangler, Todd. A SAFE PLACE Variety, vol. 338, no. 2,2017 Link to article Keywords: “rivals” “platform strategy”

Carman, Ashley. Instagram almost named its ‘Close Friends’ feature ‘Favorites,’ but translation problems stopped it. The Verge. 2019 . Link to article Keywords: “Close friends feature” “User behavior”

Godlewski, Nina. Instagram Update: What are ‘close friends’ on instagram? How to use new story sharing feauture. 2018. Link to article Keywords: “close friends” “how to use”

‘Close Friends’ For a Monthly Fee, Article written for The Atlantic. 2019. Link to article Keywords: “close friends” “monetization” “intimacy”

Recreating Facebook on Instagram, Article written for The Atlantic. 2019 Link to article Keywords: “college students” “community”

Instagram almost named its ‘Close Friends’ feature ‘Favorites,’ but translation problems stopped it, podcast transcript for The Verge. 2019. Link to article Keywords: “close friends” “privacy” translation”

Fake Instagrams are one of the last refuges of the authentic online self.Podcast interview transcript on The Verge. 2018. Link to article Keywords: “reporter interview”, “Instagram’s interests”

Instagram Users Will Soon Be Able to Switch Between Accounts With One Tap. News article on Motherboard (via Vice). 2016. Link to article Keywords: “Google trends data” “first reports of switching accounts”

Distilled From Burbn, Instagram Makes Quick Beautiful Photos Social (Preview). News article on TechCrunch. 2010. Link to article Keywords: “idea for Instagram” “social photo sharing” “app launch”