PB2A: "I'm Going to Instagram It!"

Throughout my college career, I have read my fair share of scholarly articles. As a Communication major, I’ve not only had to find sources pertaining to class material, but also to support my own research. It is no secret that scholarly articles can be somewhat boring and tough to read through. This can be especially true when the subject matter is dry and the researchers use jargon you aren't entirely familiar with. However, the article “I’m Going to Instagram It! An Analysis of Athlete Self-Presentation on Instagram,” by Smith and Sanderson, was surprisingly different. It was easy to understand and more importantly, easy to see conventions and patterns in contained. 

More often than not, academic writing—whether it be a research paper, persuasive essay, or even an email to a professor—takes on a formal and professional tone. “I’m Going to Instagram It!” follows this convention and many others typically found in scholarly articles. Academic publications always begin with a detailed title that gives readers a clear idea of the topic being presented. In this particular title, readers can easily gather a rough idea of the who, what, where, and why of the paper. Immediately following the title is an abstract, which is basically a summary of what is to come in the rest of the article. It briefly discusses the author’s main points and basic findings. Following the abstract is a multitude of different headings and subheadings.These can vary from article to article, but will always appear in a scholarly publication in some form or another. In “I’m Going to Instagram It!” each subheading focuses on one aspect of the researcher’s hypothesis. For example, the first subheading titled Self-Presentation is dedicated specifically to defining the meaning of self-presentation and what it entails. After defining the different variables, the article continues into the method section, which is an in depth explanation of the research process. This includes how the sample was obtained, how the data was collected, and how the research was coded. After the method comes the results. This is where it can get especially hard for readers to follow along. The results section is filled with a lot of numerical data and little explanation as to what it actually means. Luckily, the discussion immediately follows the results. This is where the researcher makes sense of the results and answers whether or not the research questions or hypothesis was answered. Throughout the entirety of the paper, the researcher references other works and publications. In doing this, the researcher is able to support their ideas with already existing ones, as well as build credibility. These references are compiled into a list, and are put at the end, completing the publication. 

“I’m Going to Instagram It!”—much like most scholarly articles—was organized in a way that made it easy to follow and find information. At the end of the Literature Review section, Smith and Sanderson posed three research questions:

• RQ1: How were Goffman’s gender displays shown through Instagram photos by athletes as a form of self-presentation?
• RQ2: What were the differences between the gender displays in the self-presentation behaviors of the athletes?
• RQ3: What themes emerged from the captions used by the athletes in their Instagram photos?

The questions are arranged in this way to distinguish them from the rest of the text and to make it easy to go back to if need be. Some of the findings of this publication were that women were much more likely to partake in Goffman’s idea of ritualistic touching—touching another person or object— than were men.This behavior has been deemed feminine in the past and continues to be supported in such a way. Researchers also found that athletes posted more full length shots than expected. Past research has shown that power is linked to close-framed shots, such as a headshot. However, an athlete’s body and physique can often times be attributed to power and skill level. Athletes work hard to maintain their body and want to show it off.

There are many components that need to come together in an academic publication, and each section plays an integral role in the overall product. In my opinion, the discussion is the most important part of not only “I’m Going to Instagram It!” but also any scholarly work. While the early sections give readers much needed background information, and the results show the actual findings, the discussion is what brings everything together. This is where Smith and Sanderson draw conclusions and present their ideas based off of the data. Each research question is fully answered in the discussion, leaving readers with no doubts as to the purpose and discoveries of the article.

Even though many scholarly publications can be boring and tough to read, some such as I'm going to Instagram it, aren't so bad. It was interesting to look at this work from a different perspective than the one I usually would read it from. It wasn't about understanding everything, but rather finding the conventions and asking myself why they exist.

References

 Smith, L., & Sanderson, J. (2015). I'm Going to Instagram It! An Analysis of Athlete Self-Presentation on Instagram. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 59(2), 342-358.