Identity presentation on Instagram : An study on individuals’ experiences and attitudes towards their identity performance on Instagram

In recent years, the internet has exploded of images. Not at least in the popular photo-sharing network Instagram as one of the fastest growing social network for the moment. Millions of people around the world share pictures and expose themself for friends and family. We were therefore interested in which experiences and attitudes users have towards their identities in relation to their self-image and self-presentation on Instagram. Furthermore, whether they in general have a primary interest in using Instagram as a tool to experiment with images to present their identity on Instagram, in which way they approach their Instagram follower’s expectations on how they present themselves on Instagram and if they are aware of any strategies in their self-presentation on Instagram. The result of this study is the fact that our respondents thinks that they do not intend to have a primary interest in experimenting with images on Instagram to present their identitiy, it is rather something that comes naturally in how they present themselves on Instagram. The primarily purpose of using Instagram do not appear to be for satisfying an experimental need in self-presentation on Instagram. It is rather to satisfy a social need. Following, it has emerged that they seems to have a varied self-awareness in terms of strategies and reasons for self-presentation and that they are significantly influenced by their followers expectations on their identity presentation.