Contextual Essay

This essay provides contextual background to the development of this project by considering how the contemporary ubiquity of camera-enabled smart-phones, and social media, have mediated our practical, social, and emotional consumption of photography.

In 1977 Susan Sontag described the practice of photography as “almost as widely practiced an amusement as sex and dancing” (Sontag, 1966 p.5) Sontag’s writing in her collection of essays, On Photography, often appears clairvoyant in her critique of social attitudes and behaviour concerning the practice, but none more so than the above statement. Today, it could be suggested that the practice of photography has become far more widely practiced than either of these delights.

The portability of the modern smart-phone coupled with its ability to create, store, and share digital photographs, has enabled owners to document and share practically any aspect of their lives, the consequences of which upon photographic practice have been profound (Miller, et al., 2021 p.28).

Social media platforms have evolved into vast image and information sharing platforms (Edosomwan, et al.,2011) that have stimulated large increases in image creation (Hand, 2020). Contemporaneously, the traditional intimacy of sharing images from a physical photograph album has been virtually replaced by infinitely available public journaling. But whilst the availability and format of the photograph have been transformed, behaviour surrounding the sharing and viewing of some types of image has changed very little (Le Moignan, et al., 2017).     

Family photographs posted on social media frequently replicate the values shown in traditional photograph albums. Images are biased towards the idealised and are both created and curated to deliver an impression of the perfect family. Feedback is highly positive, and supportive, providing social affirmation and recognition. This procurement of reassurance and positive declarations from friends, family, and even the community, has become a form of social rite for many parents (ibid, 2017 p. 4935-4938).

Possibly the most noteworthy development in social media over recent years has been the meteoric rise of the selfie. The Oxford Dictionaries declared “Selfie” word of the year in 2013, due to an apparent 17,000%  increase in usage over the preceding twelve months (BBC, 2013). Researchers, Senft and Baym, define the “selfie” as both a photograph created for the purpose of sharing on social media, where the photographer is also the photographed, and the practice of communicating with others on social media photographically (Senft and Baym, 2015 p.1589). As a footnote to their definition, they offer a cautionary note,

“Although the selfie signifies a sense of agency… selfies are created, displayed, distributed, tracked, and monetized, through an assemblage of non-human agents”(ibid., 2015p.1589).  

A commonly expressed motivation for the posting and viewing of selfies on social media is narcissism. Dr. Sanja Kapidzic, maintains that narcissistic individuals are more likely than others to post personal photographs and to like and comment on others (Kapidzic, cited in Sheldon and Bryant, 2016). Sheldon ascribes this behaviour to an attempt to garner popularity through the posting self-promotional images and appearing to “like” the posts of others (Sheldon and Bryant, 2016). Additionally, they cite Buffardi and Campbell, who  suggest that narcissists,

 “function well in the context of shallow relationships and highly controlled environments where they have complete power over self-representation” (Buffardi and Campbell, cited in Sheldon and Bryant, 2016).

Devadas Menhon PhD. concurs with Buffardi and Campbell’s position, adding that the medium's seductiveness is enhanced by features such as filters that can artificially improve images (Menhon 2022).

Senft and Baym are critical of these findings, eschewing the simplistic labelling often adopted by news media and some academics, they point out that far from being constrained to mere narcissistic indulgences, selfies are used for a multitude of purposes including, for example, politics, comedy, propaganda, advertising, commemoration, and protest. They found that in marginalised communities the young used selfies to exercise free speech, self-reflection, and to form strong connections with others (Senft and Baym, 2015 p.1589). The selfie also improved female agency over representations of femininity and self-identity (Frosh, cited in Senft and Baym, 2015 p.1595).

It is recognised that feelings of belongingness and agency are fundamental to human wellbeing (Hodges and Gore, 2019) but social media does not afford them equally to all. Writer and academic Zeynep Tufekci reminds us that, “humans want to belong and fit in, and… they care deeply about what their fellow humans think”(Tufekci, 2017 p.25) It is therefore unsurprising that the quantity and quality of social media feedback carries a disproportionately higher subjective relevance for individuals suffering from low self-esteem than for users with high self-esteem (Diefenbach and Anders, 2022 p.204)  

A great deal has been written about the negative impact on mental health associated with prolonged social media consumption  Yang, Wang and Haig suggest a causative link between upward social comparisons made on social media with low self-esteem (Wang, Yang, and Haig, 2016), whereas others are more circumspect, suggesting that individuals with low self-esteem should consider reducing their social media consumption (Vogel et al., 2014 p.221) (Wang, et al., p.7).

Any sense of agency imbued by selfie posting on social media is transient. The relatively open nature of social media risks personal images being shared or reused by others, even appropriated by nefarious actors for negative purposes, without the owner's knowledge or permission (Senft and Baym, 2015 pp.1598 – 1601).

Smart-phones and social media have made photography more available, far easier, and more convenient for the average person. The photographic image, which, to be fair, has always possessed the capacity to communicate a message, has been hugely successful on social media as a new method of mass communication. Now that a single image has the potential to be seen by millions, people are using photography as a medium for free speech, identity creation, political commentary, protest, and much more.

However, as with all meaningful change, along with newfound benefits there may also be, suboptimal outcomes. The evolutionary advances in digital technology and social media have been so swift that they have outpaced much of society’s ability to fully understand the implications, and governments' facility to anticipate and legislate against potentially negative consequences.  

For some, social media encourages narcissistic tendencies, for others prolonged consumption is potentially harmful. For the unfamiliar, or poorly informed, personal agency and privacy are at risk of being undermined through poor security, unwitting mistakes, or deliberate abuse by immoral actors.

This project’s response to these risks, follows the advice of Devadas Menon, in utilising entertaining content and humour (Menon, 2021 p. 9) to comment upon the negative aspects of self-promotion and the risks associated with posting personal images publicly on social media.

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BBC, 2013. ‘Selfie’ named by Oxford Dictionaries as word of 2013 [Viewed 25/11/2024]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24992393

EDOSOMWAN, S., et al.,2011. The History of Social Media and its Impact on Business. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 16(3), pp. 79-91.

HAND, M., 2020. Photography meets Social Media: image making and sharing in a continually networked present. The handbook of photography studies. Routledge, pp.310–326

KAUFFMAN, L. et al., 2024. Instagram reels versus image posts in radiology education. Current problems in diagnostic radiology,

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MILLER, D. et al., 2021. The global smartphone: Beyond a youth technology. UCL Press

SONTAG, S., 1979. On photography. London: Penguin

HODGES, J.M., GORE, J.S., 2019. Social Connections and Well-Being: With Whom Do You Identify and Why?. Psychol Stud 64, 436–446

VOGEL, E.A., et al., 2014. Social comparison, social media, and self-esteem. Psychology of popular media culture, 3(4), p.206.

WANG, J.L., et al., 2017. The mediating roles of upward social comparison and self-esteem and the moderating role of social comparison orientation in the association between social networking site usage and subjective well-being. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, p.771.