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 NashmiEisa.alnashmi@ku.edu.kw

@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