Visual Intimacy on Social Media: From Selfies to the Co-Construction of Intimacies Through Shared Pictures

Abstract

This article is based on a study that analyzes the use of pictures to build and convey intimacy through social media interactions across two platforms of different genres: Badoo (dating/hook-up platform) and Facebook. The study explores what kinds of pictures participants (aged 25-49 years) consider to be intimate and whether they disclose those kinds of images through these platforms. My discussion moves from the photographs (often portraits and selfies) that participants choose to disclose in order to (re)present themselves on the network to the topic of negotiating the publication of pictures with other users. Participants mainly identified as intimate sexy pictures and images showing sexual orientation or relationships status. In the context of Badoo, double sexual standards were found to be a key issue in the disclosure of sexy pictures. For Facebook, associated intimacy and censoring of images, with revelation of sexual orientation, publication of relationship status, and sharing of emotions with wider or unintended audiences, were the main topics discussed. Using in-depth interviews and user profile analysis, the aim of this article is to understand the roles of images within public intimacy practices in different types of relationships across two distinct social media platforms.

Rethinking the relationship between pedagogy, technology and learning in health and physical education

“…Although, as Rosen (2010) suggests, the social relevance of DigiTech could act as a type of leverage to engage young 2 An application programme is a computer programme designed to perform a group of coordinated functions, tasks, or activities for the benefit of the user people in learning, there are significant risks to young learners and on this point we agree with the arguments of Gard, Lupton and Williamson. Health-related -extending to medical -DigiTech has the potential to have a profound positive or negative impact on young people's learning about health, physical activity and the body, both within and outside of formal education experiences. On the negative side of the argument, the social construction of particular body ideals is evident in the popular practice of taking and posting 'selfies' (Miguel, 2016;Warfield et al, 2016). Extending 'old media', selfies exaggerate the self-presentation of filtered, gendered, ideal and 'perfect' bodies because they are socially constructed, actualized and re-enforced through online networks (Warfield et al, 2016).…”

I Am the Agenda: Personal Salience, Agenda Selfying and Individual Name Building in Hybrid Media Settings

“…Mediated attention has been closely associated with tourism experiences. Miguel (2016) discusses the role of selfies in conveying perceptions of intimacy as a distinct form of seeking attention. Hart (2017) examines why young people engage in risky behaviors by sharing selfies of themselves naked online.…”

A autoapresentação dos portugueses na plataforma de online dating Tinder

“…A componente visual, contrariamente à componente escrita, ajuda mais rapidamente na criação de uma impressão e ao contrário dos textos contribui significativamente para atrair potenciais parceiros (De Vries, 2007). Estudos anteriores, como (Cash el al.., 2004;Humphreys, 2006;Siibak, 2009;De Vries, 2010;Toma & Hancok, 2012, Casimiro, 2015Chappetta, 2016, Miguel 2016) demonstraram não apenas importância das fotografias, assim como deste tipo de autoapresentação, e encontraram diferenças entre géneros e idades. Figura 1: Percentagem de fotos identificáveis versus não identificáveis -n = 701…”

“…Apesar da rede em estudo se tratar de uma plataforma de encontros e namoro online, e como tal poder existir uma expectativa relativamente à natureza das fotografias e exposição do corpo, apenas 9,8% dos utilizadores da amostra exibe o corpo e, mesmo assim, essa exibição foi comedida e muitas vezes consequência do próprio contexto da fotografia (na praia ou na piscina). É importante ter em conta as affordances da própria rede e como é que o perfil é construído e qual a imagem e mensagem que os utilizadores desejam transmitir, recordese os resultados dos estudos de Miguel (2016) onde utilizadores com fotografias sexy eram descartados.…”