This week I conducted more interviews with two Bowdoin first years. Both students commented that their friends have said their Instagram accounts are good portrayals of who they are in person. I found it interesting that students were able to create an opinion prior to meeting their friends and that their assumptions were fulfilled for the most part. One first-year also explained that some friend groups in her grade formed on Instagram before arriving at Bowdoin. This made me think of ways that community can be formed virtually and then translated into the physical. I also wonder if forming friendships online first vs. in person first has any impact on the preservation of friendships in the long run. The second student, however, did not follow anyone on Instagram themselves before arriving. They only followed people if they followed them first. They said this was due to the fact that they felt it was weird to follow people you haven’t met in person yet and that they rather form an opinion of someone through physical interaction rather than online.
This week I also began outlining my google website. My initial idea was to emulate the Instagram layout in some form, creating post-like graphics to present data. So far my website will include a homepage going over my research questions and methods, the second page will focus on identity formation at large and social media and self-presentation. I will bring into conversation some of the sources I have collected over the semester that focus on the role of social media in self-image. The other two pages of the site will present my key findings from my survey and interviews with students. My next steps are to continue building the website and collecting sources.