Commodification of the Self on Instagram

Identities are constantly reshaped and reconstructed due to steady interactions with one's social environment. Within our visual information culture images become of great importance to consumers, especially in the field of fashion. They use pictures as style guides and information source to adapt their own identities. The image machine Instagram offers a platform where individuals can interchange their styles, attitudes and personal contents. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to investigate how individuals consume other users' fashion performances on Instagram and in how far this form of consumption leads to identity co-constructions. By means of a grounded theory approach and in-depth narrative interviews valuable insights of 11 respondents of the Generation Y have been gathered. The study found a theoretical framework that implies identity co-construction. As a function of content and performance of the users five various behavior patterns could be identified during the consumption of others' performances on Instagram.Identities are constantly reshaped and reconstructed due to steady interactions with one's social environment. Within our visual information culture images become of great importance to consumers, especially in the field of fashion. They use pictures as style guides and information source to adapt their own identities. The image machine Instagram offers a platform where individuals can interchange their styles, attitudes and personal contents. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to investigate how individuals consume other users' fashion performances on Instagram and in how far this form of consumption leads to identity co-constructions. By means of a grounded theory approach and in-depth narrative interviews valuable insights of 11 respondents of the Generation Y have been gathered. The study found a theoretical framework that implies identity co-construction. As a function of content and performance of the users five various behavior