The advent of social media has generated substantial discourse among academics on the concepts of the “self”, the “persona” and the role social media plays in the forming of these two concepts. For me personally, social media platforms -notably Instagram- serves as a channel for the process of my own individual persona production. In being a content producer myself, and currently producing my own music, Instagram through its distinct features which enable self-expression to a target audience, has particularly been beneficial for my own online persona in developing and promoting the content I’m producing.     

Instagram’s filters and editing features has particularly motivated me to create a curated and selective online persona. Thus, this is why I use the images displayed on my Instagram to portray a professional and reliable image to the public.

Instagram’s “stories”, paradoxically, serve to reaffirm this persona. The paradox lies in the fact that Instagram “stories” (a feature which originated on the platform) are images and short videos where you can add music and other useful content to your own benefit. Supposedly, the aim of this feature is to allow the presentation of a more authentic identity for a brief period of time. However, for myself, these stories serve as a means of curating an even more family friendly image. This new image facet, while not strictly professional, is likely to appeal to the same target audience i.e. my already present music audience, friends and family. It is also likely to appeal to an international audience with a similar set of values. This is in line with the value dimension of persona as discussed by Moore, Barbour and Lee (2017). Here the goal is the approval of one’s micro public which in turn strengthens one’s self identity. This approval is further strengthened through other acts.

Instagram tags serve to announce the tagger’s presence to a specific audience from which the tagger seeks approval. Tagging facilitates what certain academics have termed “presencing” in which the tagger announces their presence within a specific social context to their online social network (Meese et al., 2015, p.1819). The role of tagging with reference to an image as a means of communication is made especially poignant when one considers the specificity it entails. All things being equal, a tagged individual is guaranteed to see the post in which they were tagged. Ideally, this will prompt the individual to display approval in some way, usually by liking the relevant post or leaving a comment. Thus, this feature has further benefited myself in connecting with others and developing my online persona, as by using these tags, attracts an audience in which engages with similar content to my own, and additionally helps build up my audience.    

Though, Instagram, as a social medium, allows for my own creation of an online persona. This persona is mediated and assisted through the filters, editing, stories feature and tagging options available on the platform, which allows me to develop and cultivate my own individual image to my audience. Furthermore, Instagram allows me to present a sense of self and provide a likeable image to my audience.   

Reference List

Barbour, K., Marshall, D. and Moore, C., 2014. Persona to persona studies. M/C Journal, [online] 17(3). Available at: http://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/841 [Accessed 2 September 2020].

Meese, J., Gibbs, M., Carter, M., Arnold, M., Nansen, B. and Kohn, T., 2015. Selfies at Funerals: Mourning and Presencing on Social Media Platforms. International Journal of Communication, 9, pp.1818-1831. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/viewFile/3154/1402 [Accessed 2 September 2020]

Moore, C., Barbour, K. and Lee, K., 2017. Five Dimensions of Online Persona. Persona Studies, 3(1), pp.3-7.