Dissertation about the social life present on Instagram, both online and offline.

1. Instameets in
London
Rafaella
Danon
Schivartche

2. Introduction
1
Ethnography
Insights Conclusion
2
3 4

3. INTRODUCTION
1

4. Guiding
Questions

5. 5
What is the nature, value and impact of
technologies on social life?
How Is Technology
being seen as an
answer to these
social needs?
How is the offline
supporting the
online, and vice
versa?
Why is there a need
to expand one’s
identity and social
life past a socially
ascribed context?

6. How is Instagram bringing together
online and offline spaces of interaction?
How is the platform offering an
alternative social context for its users?
In particular,
And in doing so,

7. THE ETHNOGRAPHY
2

8. OBJECTIVE: to investigate aspects of identity,
belonging and socialization present on Instagram.
FOCUS: to uncover the significance of online and
offline spaces and the nature of the relationship
between space and identity.
ARGUMENT: it is through Instameets that Instagram
has the unique ability to juxtapose online and
offline interactions, providing different liminal
spaces that support the creation of a new social
context in which an alternative lifestyle emerges
through the collective challenging of daily life and
the formation of expressive identities and bonds.
B R I E F C O N T E X T O F T H E S T U D Y
“These past few months have
been a huge whirlwind in terms
of Instagram. It has taken over
so much of my life; I’ve met so
many different people I would
never meet. This community
spirit has been really eye-
opening for me and made me
realise how we are all
connected.” (Informant)

9. Field Sites

10. 10
Unique opportunity to conduct ethnography in
both dimensions
ONLINE OFFLINE
Meetup.com and
Instagram Profiles
Instameets
London
March – August 2014
10 Instameets
20 in-depth interviews + casual conversations

11. 11
Unique opportunity to conduct ethnography in
both dimensions
ONLINE OFFLINE
Meetup.com: information hub, crucial
for understanding how the community
presents and organises itself.
Instagram Profiles: promotes the
Instameets and endorses the London
community by featuring photos taken
during the meets.
Instameets: photowalks occuring in
different locations in the city such
as parks, art centres, underground
stations and special events
occurring in London.

13. W H O A R E T H E I N S T A G R A M E R S ?
2011 Philippe Gonzalez created a blog called
Instagramers with tips about the platform.
Soon afterward he was approached by
fellow platform users asking him to help them
set up local groups and use the
‘Instagramers’ brand he had created. Later
that year, Instagram aficionados in
Barcelona got together for the first Instameet.
Instameets are still an independent entity,
only endorsed but in no way organized by
the platform. In 2014 @igers communities in
+350 cities celebrated their love for
Instagram.

14. @ I G E R S L O N D O N
March 2011: 5-10 people meet and greet at
a park to finally meet those they had been
following and interacting with online for so
long. Today @igerslondon meets have an
average of about 50-60 participants.
@igerslondon is the only community officially
recognised by Instagram however there are
other active groups in the city: @click london,
@bleeding london,@london_only, @london
Characteristics:
• Heterogenous, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic
• Diverse age range
• Informal and creative bonds based on
artistic expression
“Instagramers London forms
part of the global
Instagramers.com network of
mobile photography
communities using the
Instagram app. We plan
meetups and organise events,
providing the London mobile
photography community with
opportunities to meet each
other and take and share great
photographs.” (Website)

15. L O N D O N I N S T A M E E T S
‘A fun, great way of meeting like-minded ’people’ while
walking and taking photos.
Two basic elements are required to become an @iger: an
Instagram profile and some sort of camera device to
work with, preferably a mobile phone.
Three main guidelines to follow: camaraderie, equality
and reciprocity. These unspoken parameters of conduct
are neither formally advertised nor imposed; rather, they
come in the form of actions of politeness and ‘insta-
etiquette.
Members have formed a local and closely linked
community that is built upon aspects of horizontality and
spontaneity, following emotional rather than constraining
guidelines to ensure an open, heterogeneous and non-
restrictive social environment.

16. INSIGHTS
3

17. 17
@igers interact in a continuous and mutually
dependent cycle of motivation and encounter.
@igerslondon use the technology provided by the platform to
extend the possibilities for online encounters and offline
exchanges.
ONLINE
CONTEXT
OFFLINE
DOMAIN
online context
provides the
original opportunity
for encounters
between @igers to
flourish
offline domain
that produces the
content to bolster
the community’s
continuity online
Social activities
occur and
overlap in both
worlds.

18. 18
Instameets are an opportunity for extending one’s social
network and provide an alternative context in which
people are able to discover they have something in
common, be it circumstances, interests, lifestyle, values…
GETTING OUT OF
COMFORT ZONE
Different moments of
change placed these
individuals into a
preliminal state, one
that initiated the
process of separating
them from their
previous lifestyle
MEETING
@IGERSLONDON
Combination of the
inspirational nature of
photography and the
instantly shareable
character of the
Instagram platform.
FLAT SOCIAL LIVES
Mostly participating in
less costly (in terms of
time and money) and
non-challenging (in
terms of learning and
development) social
activities within known
social circles
Comfortable Zone Process of Removal Creative Zone
Dependent State Instameet Independent State

19. 19
Instameets are a ‘moment in and out of time’ and offer a
safe space for social and aesthetic transgressions which are
vital to the existence of the @iger identity and community.
This context of leisure represents liberation from the obligations
prescribed by social institutions and from the forced, regulated
rhythms of work and family life. It also signifies freedom to enter
new symbolic worlds of entertainment and creativity.
Playing with notions of authorship in
the form of Collabs:
creative associations between two
@igers who may or may not have
previously met in person.
Playing with normative
relationship structures.
Friendships form based on
aesthetic taste rather than
age.
“Basically, one person is the owner of the photo
and the other is the editor, meaning the one who
manipulates the image and transforms it by using
other apps. I always like to share these photos and
give the original photographer the credit as well.”
(Informant)
‘When I talk about being younger, maybe
[it’s] not younger in age, but there’s a
‘youthness’ to them – an edgy, younger feel.
This expresses itself in pictures as well.’
(Informant)

20. CONCLUSION
3

21. G L O B A L Y E T L O C A L C O M M U N I T Y
Instagram has had a unique impact on its
participants’ lives:
• through its distinct ability to bring together
interchangeably online and offline
interactions.
• by supporting the creation of an
alternative lifestyle and challenging
previous social conditions.
It is a great example that illustrates the use of
technology as part of a context that
connects people, based in human emotion
as well as creative expression, translated into
elements of individuality, community,
recognition and freedom.
“My family thought it was weird that
I was going to meet people to take
photographs, but it was such a relief
when I found them.” (Informant)
“Now I’m finding my real
community – even if it’s an
international community made up
of people I will never meet or will
physically see once or twice in my
life.” (Informant)

22. THANK YOU!
This presentation is a reduced version of the dissertation submitted by Rafaella
Danon Schivartche in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
M.Sc. in Digital Anthropology (UCL) of the University of London in Sep. 2014.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
License.