Livin' the Life.... Online
Image 1: The Instagram Persona vs. Real Life
Mejia, L. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.popsugar.com/tech/Instagram-vs-Reality-35665113#photo-35665113
Instagram is a prime place for the cyberflaneur. With the detachment from reality and the ability to be anonymous, it is the perfect place for people to live the glamorous life without even leaving their bedrooms. Where Barnes, (1997) would say that the the travelling the internet is a valuable experience "purchased by elite who can afford the leisure and money", I would say that Instagram gives everyday individuals the opportunity to try and replicate the "glam life" without actually living the life.
With the easy accessibility to photos on google, anyone with an Instagram account can crop the photo and add a fancy filter. Add a personalized caption and BAM, to your follows and any onlookers snooping around your account, it's like you were actually there. A single filter can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, just like some simple cropping can change the appearance of a picture (Morris, 2015), as represented by image 1. Planning a holiday based on what you have seen represented on Instagram will only leave you disappointed, as you can see in this article by Hugh Morris in The Telegraph.
The "map" of Instagram is one in which we make ourselves. Through location tags and hashtags we can connect with those around us as well as let them connect with us. These maps can be a true representation of where the person has been or they can serve as false evidence for those trying to give off the persona that they're living the high life. They "reflect as we see "our" world" (Kuttainen, 2016). Find a nice photo of the Eiffel Tower on the internet, crop it to give it a more personal feel, chuck on a filter with a cute caption such as "OMG, Paris is so beautiful today. Having lunch with this beautiful view #ParisAdventures #Europe #DontWantToGoHome" and who's going to challenge you? Nobody... except for the those who actually were in Paris and knew that it was actually overcast and raining all day.
Reference List
Barnes, G. (1997). Passages of the Cyber Flaneur. Otago University. Retrieved from http://www.raynbird.com/essays/Passage_Flaneur.html
Morris, H. (2015). Instagram vs. Reality: How travel photos are a lie. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/Instagram-vs-reality-how-travel-photos-are-a-lie/
Kuttainen, V. (2016). BA1002: Our space: Networks, narrative and the making of place, week 4 notes [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_76323_1&content_id=_2298403_1
The "map" of Instagram is one in which we make ourselves. Through location tags and hashtags we can connect with those around us as well as let them connect with us. These maps can be a true representation of where the person has been or they can serve as false evidence for those trying to give off the persona that they're living the high life. They "reflect as we see "our" world" (Kuttainen, 2016). Find a nice photo of the Eiffel Tower on the internet, crop it to give it a more personal feel, chuck on a filter with a cute caption such as "OMG, Paris is so beautiful today. Having lunch with this beautiful view #ParisAdventures #Europe #DontWantToGoHome" and who's going to challenge you? Nobody... except for the those who actually were in Paris and knew that it was actually overcast and raining all day.
Reference List
Barnes, G. (1997). Passages of the Cyber Flaneur. Otago University. Retrieved from http://www.raynbird.com/essays/Passage_Flaneur.html
Morris, H. (2015). Instagram vs. Reality: How travel photos are a lie. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/Instagram-vs-reality-how-travel-photos-are-a-lie/
Kuttainen, V. (2016). BA1002: Our space: Networks, narrative and the making of place, week 4 notes [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_76323_1&content_id=_2298403_1
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