Progress Notes: Week 14

This week my main task was to create my website. I started with my home page, laying out my motives to do this project and my initial research questions. Moving down on the first page, I show my data and methods and layout of who my interviews were with, and the total number of survey responses. The second page of the website includes a conversation on Social media and Identity formation at large. On this page, I brought into conversation several of my primary sources. First I provided a definition of social media from Caleb Carr and Rebecca Hayes. Next to this, I gave a brief overview of the growth of social media, leading to where Instagram stands today. The second subsection highlights Erving Goffman and The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. This was important to my research in providing context to how individuals perform every day and two this plays out on social media. The last section focuses on the idea of curation on Instagram and how this serves as a key mechanism online. My next website page highlights the key findings from my survey. The last subsection focuses on open-ended responses from students that provided interesting accounts of how they view Instagram today. My final page of the website showcases the interview data. First, I share the respondents’ reasons for acquiring Instagram accounts. Next, I discuss students’ shifts in purposes for using Instagram and what content they post. The next section shares result from how students display identity and self-present on Instagram. Finally, the last subsection analyzes how being a Bowdoin student plays into students’ Instagram usage and interactions. My next steps are to finish the website and complete my research portfolio. I am also trying to figure out the best way to weave in my primary sources with my data throughout the website.

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