FROMSELFIESTOMEDIAEVENTS:HowInstagramUsersInterruptedtheirRoutinesaftertheCharlieHebdo Shootings
Dr. Eisa Al NashmiCollege of Arts - Department of Mass Communication
Introduction• MediaEventsTheory:whenamajornewsstorybreaks,traditional
andnewformsmediaexperiencean“interruptionofroutine”• Traditionalmedia:regularprogrammingisreplacedbyextensive
coverageofevent,attractinglargeaudiences• Onlinemedia:ahashtagbeginstotrendcapturingtheattentionof
theonlinecommunity• Previousresearchononlineuserreactionstomediaeventsfocus
ontextualreactionsfromTwitter• Thisstudyacknowledgesthatthenewmediaenvironmentis
diverse• Researchersneedstoexploresocialmediaplatformsbeyond
Twitter,andanalyzedifferentformsofuser-generatedcontent,suchasphotosandvideo.
• Instagramhas600MillionuserssurpassingTwitter• ThisstudyisthefirsttoanalyzevisualpostsonInstagraminthe
frameworkofMediaEventsTheory• Specifically,itanalyzedvisualpostsinreactiontotheCharlieHebdo
incident,oneofthemostdiscussedandcoveredtopicsin2015onbothtraditionalandsocialmedia
ResultsGeneral• Majorityoftheposts(53%)werephotographsfollowedby
illustrations(42%)andmixed(5%)• Postsalmostevenlydistributedbetweenoriginal(48%)and
non-original(46%)images,with(6%)codedascannotdetermine
• Mainframe:morethanathirdoftheimageswerecodedasdefiance(35%).Journalism(19%),demonstration(12%),emotion(11%),andterror(10%)framesfollowed.PhotoscodedasFranceandotherwereseentheleast(7%)
• Regardingtimeofposts,numberofpostsstartedincreasingthefirsttwodaysandbegandecreasinginthelasttwodays.
• MostuserswereyoungandapoliticalVisualDifferencesBasedonTime
VisualDifferencesBasedonLocation
Dr. Eisa Al [email protected]
@ealnashmi
Objectives• Seehowtheconceptof“interruptionofroutine”figuredinonline
reactionstomediaevents• Understandhowthiseventsignaledanimportantshiftinaudience
interactionsonInstagram• Analyzehowfactorsliketimeofpostandlocationofusersplayed
inthevisualdiscoursepertainingtothemediaevent• Findouthowthisinvestigationcouldextendmediaeventstheory,
whichhaspreviouslygivenmoreattentiontotraditionalmediathantoaudiencereactionstomajornewsevents
AbstractThis study looked at how Instagram users’ visual posts changed in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo incident, one of the most covered and online-trending news events of 2015. Through a quantitativecontent analysis of 1,000 images posted in the four days following the shootings, the study found that Instagram users interrupted their routines when they began posting images about the incidentrather than the selfies or personal photos that typically make up Instagram’s fare. The study also found that most posts originated from outside France immediately after the incident, while Frenchusers posted more in the later days. Moreover, the visual analysis revealed that Instagram users shifted from a reactionary mode in the first few days to an informative and visual citizen journalistmode in the final days as they posted newsworthy images of events pertaining to the Charlie Hebdo shootings.
MethodsAquantitativecontentanalysisof1,000imagespostedinthefourdaysfollowingtheshootingSample• CollectedInstagrampostswith#JesuisCharlie and#CharlieHebdo• Morethan20,000images• Arandomsampleof1000wereanalyzedbytwocoders
UnitofAnalysis
Inter-coderReliability- Holsti’s (1969)formula:• .87forwhentheunitofanalysiswastheimageitself• .91forwhentheunitofanalysiswastheprofile
ImageasUnitofAnalysisType:
• Photo• Illustration• Mix
Source:• Original• Non-Original• CannotDetermine
Frame:• Journalism• Defiance• Demonstration• France• Emotion• Terrorism• Other
ProfileasUnitofAnalysisGender:
• Male• Female
Organization
Age:• Under30• 30-50• Over50• NotApplicable
Location:• France• OutsideFrance
The Most Circulated Images on Instagram in the Aftermath of Charlie Hebdo
ReferencesCharlieHebdoTimeline:HowEventsHaveUnfolded.2015.The
Guardian,January9Couldry,Nick,AndreasHepp,andFriedrichKrotz.2010.Media
EventsinaGlobalAge.London:RoutledgeDayan,Daniel,andElihu Katz.1992.Mediaevents:TheLive
BroadcastingofHistory.Cambridge,Massachusetts:HarvardUniversityPress
Gaudin,Sharon.2015.“InstagramSurgesPastTwittertobecome2nd BiggestSocialNetwork.”ComputerWorld,September23
Liebes,Tamar,andJamesCurran.1998.Media,Ritual,andIdentity.NewYork;London:Routledge
Mortensen,Mette.2015.“ConflictualMediaEvents,EyewitnessImages,andtheBostonMarathonBombing.”JournalismPractice 9(4):536-51
Nusca,Andrew.2015.“HerearetheWorld’sMostTalked-AboutTopicsin2015.”Fortune,December9
Conclusion• Instagramusersexperiencedaninterruptionofroutineasthey
beganpostingimagesabouttheincidentratherthantheusualselfiesorpersonalphotos
• Whileitisthenormtopostoriginalphotosontheiraccounts,userswhowerenotinproximitytoeventspertainingtotheincidentsresortedtounoriginalimagesthatwerecirculatingaroundsocialmedia
• Inthefirsttwodays,mostoftheuserscamefromoutsideFranceandtookonareactionarymodebyusingangleslikedefiance,journalism,emotionandterrorismintheirimages
• Inthelaterdays,themajorityofuserscamefromFranceandtookamoreinformativeapproach:theywerepostingnewsworthyimagesofdemonstrationsandeventshappeningintheaftermathoftheshootings
Examples of Original Instagram Posts Created or Photographed by the Users
Day 1 Day2 Day3 Day4
Image Source(N=936)Original 42% 40% 56% 69%
Non-original 58% 60% 44% 31%(X2=(3,N=936)=48.23,p=.000)
Frame(N=1000)Journalism 12% 26% 19% 11%Defiance 43% 36% 35% 25%
Demonstration 8% 4% 8% 32%France 7% 6% 7% 8%
Emotion 17% 9% 12% 8%Terror 8% 12% 9% 9%Other 4% 6% 9% 7%(X2 =(18,N =1000)=143.25,p =.000)
France WorldDay(N=653)
1 47% 53%2 40% 60%3 51% 49%4 54% 46%
(X2 =(3,N =653)=8.246,p =.041)ImageSource(N=621)
Original 68% 47%Non-Original 32% 53%
(X2 =(1,N =621)=27.232,p =.000)
ExamplesofOriginalInstagramPostscreatedbytheUsers
TheMostCirculatedImagesonInstagramintheAftermathofCharlieHebdo
