A Picture is worth a Thousand Words: A Study on Millennial Women’s Curation of Self on Facebook Profile Pictures

Abstract

The human-computer interaction works in a Mixed Realty (MR), and the Facebook Profile Picture is one such function of MR (Rajan, 2018). Facebook users engage with profile pictures, which is the first component of a user's Facebook profile. This study shows that millennial women (between the ages of 18 and 25) curate and commodify (Kasch, 2013) their Facebook self-presentations. The aim of these millennial women is to have a unique digital identity by consciously showcasing elements like attractiveness, lifestyle, and clothing through profile pictures. Images are often used for gaining a sense of celebrity status evoked through user's interactions (likes, comments, etc.) with these images. In such social media spaces, women feel pressured to represent themselves as 'hot' or 'sexy' in order to gain attention for the representation of self. Women are also conscious that their images evoke a range of affect amongst their users. This includes feelings of sexual arousal and the users' attempt to communicate this through sexually explicit messages (verbal/visual). Such affect, informed by patriarchy, predetermines the patterns of self-presentation and perception of female bodies (Bordo, 1993). This study uses a combination of in-depth, qualitative interviews and self-assessment survey questionnaires to understand the curation behind the profile picture of millennial women in Bangalore. This study conducted survey of 117 millennial women between 18 and 25 years of age in Bangalore. This paper studies the process behind women's choices of images, the purposes they are consciously aimed at, and the affect-inducing power of engagement anticipated with these images. A modified version of Goffman's (1976) framework of Gendered Advertisements is used to analyze millennial women's Facebook profile pictures. This study observed that women apply elaborate processes to achieve the 'perfect' profile picture. The profile picture serves multiple purpose for the user including the assertion of one's class, commodification of the self and curating the self based on societal expectations. These millennial women were often aware that these images are embedded in patriarchy, and evoke affective response from their users.

Redes sociales digitales y violencia simbólica. Instagram y la imagen de la mujer

“…De esta manera, se observa cómo las imágenes se producen para su consumo y son los mismos usuarios quienes ratifican sus significados. En otros estudios se ha visto cómo las imágenes publicadas en redes sociales digitales generan ideales de belleza imposibles de alcanzar y afectan la propia autopercepción (Rodríguez y Bellón, 2021;Rajan, 2018;Brown y Tiggeman, 2016;Lowe-Calverly y Grieve, 2021). En este artículo el objetivo es más específico, mostrar que los perfiles de mujeres más valorados, que por cierto, todas ellas son celebridades del espectáculo ubicadas en Hollywood, refuerzan la dualidad de la mujer para la familia y la mujer objeto hipersexualizada.…”

Visual literacy in consumption: consumers, brand aesthetics and the curated self

“…To engage comprehensively with these visual compositions by consumers, it was necessary to move beyond brand symbolism, semiotics or concepts of social status to examine the self-conscious management of a visually-curated self (Hogan, 2010; Rajan, 2018). Here, curation involves the conscious and creative use of visual elements (such as colour, line and shape) in designed objects and artefacts (such as clothes, shoes, bags and household wares) in the communication of a visually sophisticated self.…”

“…Here, curation involves the conscious and creative use of visual elements (such as colour, line and shape) in designed objects and artefacts (such as clothes, shoes, bags and household wares) in the communication of a visually sophisticated self. It also refers “to an ongoing digital process of organizing, assembling and editing one’s images, text, etc., to construct a self-presentation that exists in the digital sphere” (Rajan, 2018, p. 177). In an increasingly virtual social environment, the achievement of a successfully curated self naturally depends on visual literacy and the deployment of both brand design elements and abstract design language by consumers.…”

A closer look at appearance and social media: Measuring activity, self-presentation, and social comparison and their associations with emotional adjustment.

“…Regarding the first theme of activity related to imaging sharing, research has focused on posting “selfies,” or use of image intensive applications, but this area also tends to capture the second theme of investment and preoccupation, given that the measures used in this research can also involve concern with self-presentation via enhancing photos (Brown & Tiggemann, 2016; Cohen, Newton-John, & Slater, 2017, 2018; Holland & Tiggemann, 2017; Joiner, Brosnan, Duffield, Gavin, & Maras, 2007; Kim & Chock, 2015; Kim & Park, 2016; McLean, Paxton, Wertheim, & Masters, 2015; Rajan, 2018; Rutledge, Gillmor, & Gillen, 2013). For example, in one study of 339 university women with a mean age 18, the focus was on appearance-related social media consciousness (Choukas-Bradley et al, 2019).…”