Mediatization as a consequence of self-presentation on social networks: publishing norms and their influence on Instagram users

Diploma thesis Mediatization as a consequence of self-presentation on social networks: publishing norms and their influence on Instagram users explores how Instagram and its affordances are able to change the behavior of its users, focusing on the aspect of photo sharing and related publishing norms. The aim of this work is to find out the practices which users do with photos and because of them before sharing them on Instagram, but above all it is about deeper understanding of the detected behavior and exploring whether and how such behavior interferes with users' lives. Within the theoretical part, the reader is acquainted with the development of the image, the origin of photography, its manipulations and changes in the digital era. Furthermore, the thesis presents visual social networks, the principles of Instagram operation and findings from current studies on the topic of self-presentation on social networks. In the last part, I deal specifically with Instagram photography, its types, methods of editing and sharing, based mainly on two current studies on this topic, the authors of which are Lev Manovich and Elisa Serafinelli. The second half of the thesis presents the research methodology, its design, results and final summary