The Meaning of Selfies Understanding the use of selfies during the US 2016 Primaries
Henri Ghosn
Contents
*Edgar G. Cruz and Helen Thornham, ‘Selfies Beyond Self-Representations’, 2015.
Scope
The research was conducted over a period of three months,
examining all mentions of the US primary elections which
contained a selfie image.
This report attempts to give a holistic approach to understanding
selfies, taking into account their wider social, cultural, and media
contexts. As such this project moves beyond the framing of selfies
as a narcissistic practice and highlights instead how they promote
“individuality, immediacy, reciprocity, sharing, exchanging,
constant updating, work and commitment”*.
Slides 26 – 28 bring the findings beyond the US Primary Election
and demonstrate how selfies can be used to help companies to
initiate greater conversations
The Meaning of Selfies Slide #
Executive Summary 3-4
Method & Initial Typology 5-9
• Method 6
• Initial Typology 8
Performance 10-20
• Weekly Trends 11
• Overview of Party Lines 12
• Sentiment by Candidates 13
• Democratic Frontrunners 14
• Republican Frontrunners 16
• Comparing Candidate Support 18
• Key Findings Around Hashtags 19
Questions of Intimacy 21-26
• Going to the Ballots 22
• Level of Anonymity 23
• Open Support vs Actual Support 25
Beyond the Politics 26 - 28
• Conclusion of Research 27
• Moving Forward 28
Appendix 30-42
Executive Summary
Moving away from the idea of selfies being an example of modern vanity and narcissism, this research argues that selfies should be understood as a
communication method, allowing users to express themselves and integrate socially as well as generally relate to others.
In the US primary elections selfies have been used for three main different reasons:
To share political ideals and bond with other users who shared a similar view;
To obtain social acceptance and validation, especially by associating oneself with a celebrity figure;
As a response to provocative comments by the candidates intended to undermine their views.
The report also found that:
Selfies were either staged or improvised;
Users decided who and what to include in their pictures, and actively chose which handles to mention as well as which hashtags to use.
Why Do People Share Selfies?
Executive Summary
When looking at differences at a Party level, those supporting Republican views often withheld intimate information, including their identity and details
of their voting intention.
When looking at specific candidates, we found that:
Supporters of Bernie were more likely to be proud and passionate of their support, feeling a part of something exciting. His supporters have
created an online community of people who are riding this wave of excitement for him. As such they want other Bernie supporters to know that they are in
the same club. This was in part due to the fact that many were first time voters as well that the candidate was often described as the underdog in the
Democratic nomination.
There were approximately as many selfies supporting Hillary Clinton as Sanders, yet more Clinton support was driven by campaigners over ordinary
voters. In addition a greater share of Clinton selfies appeared to be lead by her celebrity status, including interest in Bill and Chelsea Clinton.
Trump supporters were the least likely to share their support as well as their decision to vote for him. However those who did often used highly
emotionally charged selfies. Many of the selfies mentioning him attacked both his views and his campaign.
Many selfies mentioning Ted Cruz were taken by voters either during primaries or at caucuses. There was stronger support for his campaign than
Trump’s. However most of his support came from campaigners rather than ordinary voters.
How Did it Play Out?
Method & Initial Typology
Method
* See appendix for detailed query
** This allowed to remove memes and non-organic content. Pictures of users showing their ‘I Voted’ stickers were kept.
The project looked at Twitter posts from 1st January – 31st March 2016 originating from the US, which contained images and either made references to voting or caucusing (i.e. #Ivoted,
#Icaucused, #Iamelectionready) or to selfies and political candidates (i.e. Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz, Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump) or hashtags relating to their campaigns (e.g.
#MakeAmericaGreatAgain or #FeelTheBern)*. Selfie was taken to mean that at least some part of the author’s body was present in the image.
The search was limited to organic posts by removing any retweets, and posts which did not contain selfies were manually removed**. Overall 2,640 mentions were recorded.
The project focused on a randomized representative sample, comprising 10% of all content, or 264 mentions. This sample was later manually coded (see next slide)
Data Collection
Political Campaigns
Mentions of candidates or
voting
Σ= contains selfie
and from the US
Method
Automated tagging and categorisation of posts (based on specific mentions of handles, hashtags and
keywords), was achieved using advanced keyword analysis. These were later reviewed in the sampled
data to remove any inaccuracies due to software limitations, especially its inability to conduct visual
analytics.
Coding included a qualitative approach, reading through content and assessing the impact of shared
opinions and multimedia.
Emotional Engagement was based on the post’s syntax and grammar, as well as the staging of the
picture. Short texts lacking punctuation were tagged as ‘Unengaged’, while mentions using exaggerated
language and punctuations as well as emoticons were marked as ‘Passionate’. Graphic imageries were
also labelled as ‘Dramatic’.
Selfie Objectives were divided into six themes.
• General Boasting included images of users showing off as well as mostly self-centred posts,
• Encouraging Others were tweets which asked users to go vote or support a candidate,
• Humour/ Irony included mentions which re-appropriated hashtags to create new meanings as well as
graphic content or posts who’s objective was to generate highly emotive responses,
• Support for Politicians were selfies which backed a candidate without directly asking others to do the
same,
• All other selfies were marked as Other.
Automated Coding
• Candidate Discussed (limited to Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz,
Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump)
• Hashtags
• Political Party Discussed (limited to Democratic and
Republican Parties)
• Reply Count
• Reply To
• Event (Caucus, Debate, Rally, Primary, Other)
Manual Coding
• @Mentions (differentiating between mentions of political
candidates and others)
• Level of Anonymity (Face, Sticker, Other)
• Emotional Engagement (Unengaged, Limited Emotions,
Emotional, Very Emotional, Passionate)
• Sentiment Towards Candidate (Negative, Neutral, Positive)
• Photo Participants (Alone, In Group, With Candidate, With
Other Politicians, Other)
• Selfie Objective (General Boasting, Encouraging Others,
Humor/Irony, Support for Politician, Other)
Coding
Automated Coding 3: Are the selfies in support of any of the four leading candidates?
Automated Coding 2: Are the selfies in support of a particular political party?
Clinton Sanders Cruz Trump Other/ Not
Stated
15% 24% 7% 9% 45%
Automated Coding 1: What is the political setting of the selfie?*
Democrat Republican Not Stated
43% 23% 34%
Rally Primaries Caucus Other
12% 2% 19% 11%
Debates
56%
Initial Typology
*Caucus: A meeting of the registed members of a legislative body who are members of a particular political party, to select candidates.
*Primaries: A preliminary election to select the candidates for the presidential election. Voters, who are registered members of a
particular political party, cast secret ballots for their preferred candidates.
Initial Typology Range of Emotional Engagement
Unengaged
6%
Limited Emotions
22%
Emotional
52%
Very Emotional
12%
Passionate
8%
Performance
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
Jan 04 Jan 11 Jan 18 Jan 25 Feb 01 Feb 08 Feb 15 Feb 22 Feb 29 Mar 07 Mar 14 Mar 21 Mar 28
Sh
are
of
Can
did
ate
s
Hillary Clinton Bernie Sanders Ted Cruz Donald Trump Other/ Unknown
Weekly Trends: Volume of Selfies Mentioning Candidates
March 1st: Super Tuesday
March 5th: Super Saturday
March 15th: Five primaries and
one caucus for each party
February 1st: First election
event with Ohio caucus
* See appendix for full list of events
Overview of Party Lines While there were 39 Republican voting events compared to 34 Democratic
events, only nearly half as many Republican posted selfies than their
Democratic rivals. This was possibly due to three reasons:
Mainstream media often tended to report Democratic voters as more
unified, and supporters often said that they were proud of their party.
Selfies allowed them not only to boastfully assert their views
and support, but also bond with other like-minded users.
Mainstream coverage was often less kind on the Republican race,
reporting on the negative tones and opinions of the candidates, and
reporting the party as divided. Republican supporters were possibly
embarrassed by their party, and reluctant to share their views.
Twitter is noted to have a liberal bias and is also more widely
used by younger, more diverse and urban populations who may
be less representative of the Republican voter base.
As such selfies strongly amplified existing real-life events, trends and
opinions, and should never be seen as an independent phenomenon.
Overall selfies were seen as an expression of political support, and not
a reflection of offline intentions. They were understand as a way to
understand emotional support towards candidates.
65% 35%
Democrats Republicans
Share of Selfie Mentioning a Party
44% 56%
Share of Popular Vote by Party Line*
Democrats Republicans
*Vote count as of 1st April 2016
Democratic Results: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/democratic_vote_count.html
Republican Results: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/republican_vote_count.html
Donald Trump
Sentiment by Candidates Our study revealed an interesting phenomenon whereby Republicans were
mocked through humorous selfies intended to undermine their views. This
did not happen the other way around.
This is why selfies mentioning Clinton or Sanders were 100% positive, they
were posted by their supporters or fans.
Sentiment Levels by Candidate
Bernie Sanders
Positive
100%
Hillary Clinton
Positive
100%
Ted Cruz
Positive
60% Negative
40%
Positive
74%
Negative
11%
Bernie Sanders accounted for 56% of all Democratic selfies, while
35% referred to Hillary Clinton. This shows that Sanders’ campaign
has been able to galvanise social media users to a high level. Clinton
ignites less enthusiasm from ordinary millennials.
A greater share of selfies referencing Hillary Clinton were driven by her
and her family’s celebrity status, with 45% of posts featuring a Clinton.
Selfies with Clinton were seen as a way proving a connection to a
highly respected establishment politician. Mirroring celebrity culture,
Clinton acted as an idol and being photographed with her gave people
bragging rights. Evidence shows that Clinton played up to this, happily
posing for dozens of selfies at every rally.
The great majority of selfies mentioning Sanders took place during
solitary activities: for example 56% of the selfies taken either before or
after voting. Some also used photo filters which showed support for the
candidate or took pictures beside “Bernie for President” placards
Contrary to his rival, the pictures acted as rallying cries to convert
others to their cause as a communication method signalling
inclusion in a political movement.
Democratic Frontrunners
Bernie Sanders Hillary Clinton
Selfie Objectives
General Boasting Encouraging Others Humour/ Irony Support for Politician Other0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Bernie Sanders Hillary Clinton
29%
10% 3% 5%
51%
7%
Photo Participants Photo Participants
With Candidate
18%
Other
6%
Alone
60%
In Group
16% With Candidate
33%
With Other Politician
12%
Other
7%
Alone
21%
In Group
26%
33%
5%
52%
5%
Democratic Frontrunners - Verbatim
@BernieSanders @HillaryClinton
Donald Trump generated 39% of all Republican selfies, leaving Ted
Cruz with 30%; 20% of the entries mentioned other candidates.
Despite Trump’s higher share, many of the selfies were posted by
detractors as a sign of protest against his views. Examples included
photos of people posing next to plastic genitals and rubbish bags while
refereeing to “selfie with Trump”. Unique to Trump, the act of taking
and posting selfies not only allowed one to feel empowered, but
was also a vehicle for voicing dissent.
Cruz had more vocal support from selfie takers, although interestingly
the share to come from rallies was low compare to Trump. Trump rallies
may have been better at generating excitement amongst supporters, but
when it came to primaries fewer were willing to disclose having voted for
him. In contract Cruz supporters at caucuses and primaries were vocal
about their support. Similarly to Sanders, the pictures enabled users to
share their political hopes, although there was far less of a
community spirit.
Republican Frontrunners
Selfie Objective by Emotions
General Boasting Encouraging Others Humour/ Irony Support for Politician Other0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Ted Cruz Donald Trump
Donald Trump Ted Cruz
32%
0% 5%
11%
47% 52%
Event Event
Caucus
37%
Debate
5%
Rally
16%
Primary
32%
Other
11%
Caucus
12%
Rally
28%
Primary
12%
Other
48%
32%
8% 8% 5%
Republican Frontrunners - Verbatim
@realDonaldTrump @TedCruz
Comparing Candidate Support
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Passionate
Committed
Unengaged
Cam
paig
ner
Cam
paig
ner
Cam
paig
ner
Cam
paig
ner
Ord
inary
Support
er
Ord
inary
Support
er
Ord
inary
Support
er
Ord
inary
Support
er
% o
f to
tal s
elf
ies
sh
ow
ing
su
pp
ort
or
bo
as
tin
g
43%
57%
65%
35%
53%
47%
30%
70%
Support for Hillary Clinton was mainly driven by campaigners and
political activists, who were over twice as likely to voice their support in a
dramatic fashion than ordinary voters. However ordinary supporters
were louder than campaigners in the case of Bernie Sanders. Clinton
appeared to have the greatest difficulty in attracting the support of such
voters.
Yet it was Donald Trump who managed to get the greatest share of
ordinary supporters to share selfies in support of his candidacy,
playing to his narrative of being an outside contender rattling the
establishment. They were also the most likely to use dramatic emotions,
demonstrating a strong belief in his political views.
*Committed: Emotional and High Emotions
*Unengaged: Unengaged and Limited Emotions
Emotional
Engagement
Key Findings around Hashtags
Hashtags both enabled the creation of selfies as well as limited their meanings. Not only
did they allow posts to be accessible to a wider audience, they situated selfies into a
predetermined social context. Both the tone of the tweet and image were adapted to the
hashtags used.
A few users re-appropriated hashtags by making ironic or satirical statements. Some also went
as far as to change commonly used hashtags as a sign of protest such as by turning #HillYes
to #HillNo.
Yet while there were several negative hashtags, the use of hashtags remained most popular in
posts showing support for the candidates or the voting process.
Bernie Sandes’ selfie takers were the most consistent in using his #FeelTheBern hashtag,
again reflecting the grassroots activism and community spirit characteristic of his movement.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
% o
f to
tal c
an
did
ate
me
nti
on
s
Most Used Hashtags by Candidate Mentions
56%
40%
26%
12%
5 - 6
5%
7- 10
1%
@realDonaldTrump @TedCruz
Hashtags
*Posts were more than one hashtag were counted for each hashtags used
@HillaryClinton
Number of hashtags
per post
@BernieSanders
Top 3 hashtags*
#ImWithHer (40%)
#iVoted (19%)
#CaucusforHer (12%)
1 - 2
48%
None
21%
3 - 4
26%
Number of hashtags
per post Top 3 hashtags*
#iVoted (12%)
#MakeAmericaGreatAg
ain (12%)
#Trump2016 (8%)
1 - 2
24% None
40% 3 - 4
24% 5 - 6
8%
Number of hashtags
per post #CruzCrew (26%)
#Trusted (26%)
#CaucusforCruz (26%)
1 - 2
32%
None
21%
3 - 4
32%
5 - 6
16%
Top 3 hashtags*
11+
4%
Number of hashtags
per post #FeeltheBern (56%)
#iVoted (50%)
#BernieSanders (40%)
1 - 2
38%
None
16%
3 - 4
43%
Top 3 hashtags*
5 - 6
1%
Questions of Intimacy
Going to the Ballots
Unengaged Limited Emotion Emotional High Emotions Passionate
Selfies of users either about to or having just voted dominated conversations. The #iVoted hashtag was used in
48% of all entries, whereas those which referenced a caucus (e.g. #CaucusforBernie, #CaucusforHer, and
#CaucusforCruz) appeared in 14% of all posts.
General boasting was the most prominent selfie object during primaries and caucuses. However these boasts
revolved around users performing and celebrating their ‘civic duties’. For a lot of users, the act of voting was
more important than the identity of the candidate they supporters.
While primaries represented 56% of all selfies and caucuses 19%, there were both 23 primary events and
23 caucuses. A possible explanation is the fact that Twitter transformed #iVoted into an emoji of a ticked box in
celebration of the primaries. This turned voting into a more shareable occasion.
It was also found that Democratic candidates tended to generate higher emotional levels in selfies.
23%
53%
11% 7%
Selfie Objective by Emotional
Engagement
Emotional Engagement
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Primaries & Caucusing
42%
19%
3% 2%
29%
6%
Level of Anonymity
Looking closer at the use of selfies at both primaries and caucuses, we
found that users partaking in caucuses were more likely to be open
about their support for specific candidates, as were increasingly willing
to show their faces in pictures. This is possibly a result of caucus being
collective events where party members vote openly and connect
through public discussion.
However voters casting their ballot in support of Sanders were the
most likely to not only reveal their decisions but also their identities,
with four times as many mentions than Clinton. This again reflects the
community spirit engendered by his supporters.
When it came to caucusing, Republican supporters more likely to
disclose their decisions by three folds compared than in the case of
primaries, and Clinton supporters jumped by four folds. Interestingly
there was little difference with Sanders supporters.
Primaries
Sanders Cruz Clinton Trump Other None
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Anonymity By Candidate Support
Caucusing
24%
4% 6% 2% 7%
57%
Sanders Cruz Clinton Trump Other None
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Anonymity By Candidate Support
23%
12%
25%
6% 13%
21%
Face Sticker Other
Level of Anonymity – Verbatim Primaries Caucusing
Open Support vs Actual Support
Looking at the specific candidates, users who supported contested
candidates were less likely to reveal their identity. Indeed while 24% of
all primary selfies supported Sanders, the candidate only received 18%
of all votes. On the other hand, while Trump only generated 3% of the
Primaries selfies, he actually amassed 22% of all votes.
This demonstrated that users had control over how much information
they were willing to share in their pictures. As such it was understood
that individuals have become increasingly self-aware on social
media, and that selfies were reflective performances in which the
author is both aware of their audience and actively decides how
much information they are willing to share.
Popular Primary Vote Support,
Both Primaries and Caucuses*
Explicit Support in Selfie Posts,
Both Primaries and Caucuses
Sanders, 18%
Cruz, 16%
Clinton, 25%
Trump, 22%
Other, 19%
Sanders, 48%
Cruz, 12%
Clinton, 20%
Trump, 6%
Other, 14%
*Vote count as of 1st April 2016
Democratic Results: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/democratic_vote_count.html
Republican Results: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/republican_vote_count.html
Beyond the Politics
Main Conclusion
50% of selfies at primaries and
caucuses did not reveal
voting intentions
Voters on social media
remain cautious about
sharing their information
51% of selfies at primaries and
caucuses did reveal the
poster’s face
Selfies were used as
a communication tool
between the voters
3x more likely to reveal their
voting intentions
However in group situations
voters were
of selfies contained at least
one hashtag
75%
84% vs 40% selfies mentioning Sanders
having at least one hashtag
than selfies mentioning
Trump. Sanders created the
strongest ‘we-feeling’.
Selfies reflected
existing social
tensions
44% vs 23% mentions of Democratic
candidates compared to
Republicans, mostly due to
differences in mainstream
coverage
52% of selfies mentioning Trump
were humorous or sarcastic
as a means to protest
against his rhetoric
Know Your Brand Strategy
Bernie Sanders
Strong connection with the political message
Solid organic support and strong engagement
with his views, suggesting high potential for
word of mouth
Hillary Clinton Very strong brand identity especially with existing
advocates, especially for its ability for status
conformal
Group feeling amongst supporters
Donald Trump
Very strong brand identity with weak ties with voters
Strong emotional response from voters, often likely
to be negative
Ted Cruz
Weak brand identity with weak ties with
potential voters and negative response to
candidate engagement
Promotions of brand and campaigns led by already
existing advocates.
Equal levels of organic and advocate support
on social media
High levels of mentions
Low awareness
Strong increase in support in group settings
Increase in support in group settings
High awareness and consideration online, with
little conversion into votes.
Offline support seems stronger as evidenced by
votes and increased declaration of support in group
setting
Strong awareness and consideration online and
high offline conversion rate
Very high level of awareness and high consideration
offline, with high conversion rate. Very low
consideration online
Appendix
Popular Vote Total
Vote count as of 1st April 2016
Democratic Results: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/democratic_vote_count.html
Republican Results: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/republican_vote_count.html
Methodology
Boolean Search Query
("pic.twitter”) AND ((((country:us AND site:(twitter.com) AND ((((picstitch OR memyselfandi OR myselfandi OR selfietime OR selfie OR selstagram OR instaselfie
OR selfienation OR shamelessselefie)) AND (election2016 OR SuperTuesday OR VoteUSA OR Rockthevote OR IVoted* OR makeamericagreatagain OR bernie
OR muslimsforbernie OR nohillary OR feelthebern OR blackberners OR berniesandersforpresident OR bernie4president OR Bernie2016 OR Hillary* OR Trump*
OR Cruz* OR bernbabybern OR donaldtrump* OR raceforthewhitehouse OR sanders OR "Donald Trump" OR "Hillary Clinton" OR "Ted Cruz” OR Republican OR
democrat OR "voting sticker" OR republicans OR democrats OR demdebate OR repdebate OR whichhillary* OR 2016election OR bern* OR icacused OR
caucuse OR caucused OR MakeDCListen OR Imwithher OR feelthebern OR gopdebate OR democtraticdebate OR themostqualifiedmanintherace OR primaries
OR VTforbernie OR gop OR tedcruz OR clinton* OR thehildabeast OR votesmart OR ATimeForTruth OR TedCruz OR WhyImNotVotingForHillary OR
LibertynotHillary OR stopberniesanders OR proudamerican OR takebackamerica OR bringbackthemiddleclass))) OR (hashtags:(Icaucused OR Ivoted OR
iamelectionready ) OR ((hashtags:(picstitch OR memyselfandi OR selfietime OR selfie OR selstagram OR instaselfie OR selfienation OR shamelessselefie)) AND
(hashtags:(election2016 OR HillYes OR SuperTuesday OR VoteUSA OR IVoted* OR makeamericagreatagain OR bernie OR muslimsforbernie OR nohillary OR
feelthebern OR blackberners OR berniesandersforpresident OR bernie4president OR Bernie2016 OR Hillary* OR Trump* OR Cruz* OR bernbabybern OR
donaldtrump*OR raceforthewhitehouse OR Imwithher OR gopdebate OR democtraticdebate OR themostqualifiedmanintherace OR getoutandvote OR
getouthevote OR primaries OR VTforbernie OR gop OR tedcruz OR clinton* OR icacused OR thehildabeast OR votesmart OR ATimeForTruth OR TedCruz OR
WhyImNotVotingForHillary OR thedonald OR nevertrump OR demdebate OR democraticsocialism OR ifeelthebern OR foramerica OR sanders* OR
primaryelection OR berntheinternet OR hillno OR notrump OR whichhillarycensored OR fucktrump OR berndownforwhat OR presidentialelection OR
2016election OR whichhillary* OR bernorburst OR hillaryforprison* OR feelthebern OR conservative OR MakeDClisten OR LibertynotHillary OR
stopberniesanders OR proudamerican OR takebackamerica OR bringbackthemiddleclass OR demdebate OR bernie))))) OR ((hashtags:(picstitch OR
memyselfandi OR selfietime OR selfie OR selfies OR selstagram OR instaselfie OR selfienation OR shamelessselefie) OR selfi*) AND
(at_mentions:(berniesanders OR sentedcruz OR tedcruz OR hillaryclinton OR realdonaldtrump OR Sensanders)))) NOT (hashtags:(selfish* OR selfinterest) OR
selfinterest OR selfish* OR "send us" OR "tweet us" OR ebay OR kendal* OR kardashian OR ellen OR fallon OR "share with us" OR "tag us" OR site:(goo.gl OR
ebay.com) OR links:(goo.gl OR ebay.com) OR hashtags:cashfollowtrain OR RT)))))
Search Query
Voting Events January 2016
N/A N/A
February 2016
Iowa Caucus – Democrats & Republicans February 1st
New Hampshire Vote – Democrats & Republicans February 9th
Nevada Caucus – Democrats
South Carolina Vote – Republicans February 20th
Nevada Caucus – Republicans February 23rd
South Carolina Vote – Democrats February 27th
March 2016
Alabama Vote – Democrats & Republicans
Alaska Caucus – Republicans
American Samoa Caucus – Democrats
Arkansas Vote – Democrats & Republicans
Colorado Caucus – Democrats & Republicans
Georgia Vote – Democrats & Republicans
Massachusetts Vote – Democrats & Republicans
Minnesota Caucus – Democrats & Republicans
North Dakota Caucus – Republican
Oklahoma Vote – Democrats & Republicans
Tennessee Vote – Democrats & Republicans
Texas Vote – Democrats & Republicans
Vermont Vote – Democrats & Republicans
Virginia Vote – Democrats & Republicans
Wyoming Caucus – Republicans
March 1st
Kansas Caucus – Democrats & Republicans
Kentucky Caucus – Republicans
Louisiana Vote – Democrats & Republicans
Maine Caucus – Republicans
Nebraska Caucus – Democrats
March 5th
Main Caucus – Democrats
Puerto Rico Vote – Republicans March 6th
Hawaii Caucus – Republicans
Idaho Vote – Republicans
Michigan Vote – Democrats & Republicans
Mississippi Vote – Democrats & Republicans
March 8th
Virgin Islands Caucus – Republicans March 10th
Guam Republican Convention
Washington DC Republican Convention
Northern Mariana Islands Caucus – Democrats
March 12th
Florida Vote – Democrats & Republicans
Illinois Vote – Democrats & Republicans
Missouri Vote – Democrats & Republicans
North Carolina Vote – Democrats & Republicans
Northern Mariana Islands Caucus – Republicans
Ohio Vote - Democrats & Republicans
March 15th
American Samoa Republican Convention
Arizona Vote – Democrats & Republicans
Idaho Caucus – Democrats
Utah Caucus – Democrats & Republicans
March 22nd
Alaska Caucus – Democratic
Hawaii Caucus – Democratic
Washington Caucus – Democratic
March 26th
January 2016
Fox Business Republican Debate January 14th
NBC News Democratic Primary Debate January 17th
CNN Iowa Democratic Town Hall January 25th
Fox News Republican Debate January 28th
February 2016
MSNBC Democratic Debate February 4th
ABC News/IJReview Republican Debate February 6th
PBS Democratic Primary Debate February 11th
CBS News Republican Debate February 13th
CNN Republican Debate February 25th
March 2016
Fox News Republican Debate March 3rd
CNN Democratic Debate March 6th
Univision Democratic Primary Debate March 9th
CNN Republican Debate March 10th
Televised Debates
Celebrities
Other Politicians
Media/ Journalists
Friends
Informers VS Me-Formers* It is important to understand selfies as a communication method within wider social media.
Initial findings showed a strong case for me-formers, or posts which focused solely on the user’s
personal views and/or activities, rarely mentioning friends or other followers in their posts.
Yet the high volume of me-formers does not mean that political selfies are an egotistical act. Over 30% of the
selfies were retweeted by other users, with 9% of them shared over ten times.
As a general rule selfies which showed strong support for a candidate or robust beliefs were most likely to be
shared and commented on, whereas those expressing negative opinions or failing to name a specific candidate
were less likely to be retweeted.
The act of tagging handles was also understood as a performative act, where users actively decided to
include their selfies in a conversation and increased their exposure. 47% of all posts contained at least
one @mention, and references to candidates’ handles were most common (31%); @mentions allowed one to
open a dialogue both with the candidate and their supporters.
This proved the existence of what sociologist Theresa Senft coined as ‘network reflective solidarity’
based on weak-ties, or fleeting connections based on shared political sentiments. While users stood in
solidarity around common beliefs, they did not have to commit to or meet other people who shared
their ideals.
@Mentions per post
Number of Replies per Post
Replies
No Mentions Candidates
Organizations Other
53%
31%
5% 4%
3% 2%
1%
None 1 – 2 3 – 4 5 – 6 7 – 8
9 – 10
88% 8% 2%
1%
<1%
Independent post
94%
In reply to a
previous post
6%
Informers VS Me-Formers
Acknowledgement - Illustrations
Slide 5: http://markamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/trump_crowd_ft.jpg
Slide 9: https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_1484w/2010-2019/Wires/Online/2016-02-28/AP/Images/DEM2016...
Slide 18: http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/bernie-sanders-michigan-RTS9X4X.jpg
Slide 22: http://www.msnbc.com/sites/msnbc/files/2015-03-23t153532z_1090786939_tb3eb3n17ayqf_rtrmadp...
Slide 25: http://newshour-tc.pbs.org/newshour/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/photos-2013-08-12-voting_booth.jpg
