“You take fifty photos, delete forty nine and use one”: A qualitative study of adolescent image-sharing practices on social media

There has been an exponential increase in the number of images created, shared and viewed across social media. Using exploratory qualitative methodology, the present research seeks to understand image-sharing on social media amongst adolescents; an important social media user group. Thirty five adolescents (Age M = 14.75; SD = 1.34; Female N = 21) from the UK, participated in semi-structured focus groups. Recordings from focus groups were transcribed verbatim and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Three themes were derived from the data: (1) Presenting and Viewing Socially and Physically Attractive Selves, (2) Maintaining Offline Relationships, and (3) The Importance of Visible Quantifiable Feedback. These themes encapsulate the diversity and complexity of adolescent image-sharing practices, which must be considered within the context of adolescent identity and relational development, and peer-group/cultural norms. The implications of these findings are discussed within