NETWORKED PHOTOGRAPHY: SELF -DISCLOSURE IN FACEBOOK PHOTOS

Glm ener Ulagay*, Yelda zkoak**

*Istanbul Arel University, Department of Public Relations and Advertising, Istanbul, Turkey ** Istanbul Arel University, Department of Radio, Cinema and TV, Istanbul, Turkey gulumsener@yahoo.com yeldaozkocak@arel.edu.tr

ZET This study focuses on the role of photography in identity formation on social networking websites. Online social networks users disclose their identity every day and attempt to create a good image of themselves; a process which photos play a crucial role in. Based on a field research on Facebook, the worlds largest photo sharing website, our study aims to explore the tactics used by Facebook users to create idealised images of themselves through photos. Users often take pictures to be published on Facebook. They share them with a semi-public audience and these photos are extremely similar stressing sociability and physical attractiveness. Keywords: Social media, Photosharing, Self-presentation, Visual Culture.

1. INTRODUCTION
With the rise of social media, we argue that photography is now entering into a fourth era (Social Era) following three predecessors (Portrait Era, Kodak Culture and Digital Era

classified by Sarvas & Frohlih, 2011). We are witnessing the emergence of a new photographic culture with the increasing practice of exchanging photographs on social networking sites. Conserving some characteristics of these former eras, social media photography has its own specificity. Social media whose content is created and shared by ordinary internet users may have several impacts on digital photographic practices. Social media photography may be characterized by many trends and purposes: the individualization of photographic practice and content, the amateurism of the photographer, sharing everyday life images, the publication of private images, the use of photos for self-image management, the need for being recognized by other users, establishing or reestablishing social bonds with acquaintances on social networking sites, creating a visual and a semi-public archive of decisive moments. Digital photography gains new dimensions and functions with social media. Jose Van Dijk (2008:60, cited by Pink, 2011: 95) has summarized the evolution of the use of photography as movements from family to individual use, from memory tools to communication devices and from sharing (memory) objects to sharing experiences. Facebook is one of the worlds largest photo-sharing websites; users upload 250 million pictures to the site everyday. Ginger points out that Facebook photos add a uniquely graphical connection between participants, bringing the visual elements of recognition into play, within a social network that lacks face-to-face interaction. According to McKay (2010:481), Facebook generates a compulsion to visibility among users because it offers new ways to display and manipulate images online. Facebook also has a huge effect on amateur photography engendering new photographic practices and visual codes. Sites such as Facebook both amplify and complicate the possibilities of exchange and display, juxtaposition and comment, cultural production and self-shaping that give photographic images their varied social meanings. How does Facebook influence personal photographic practices? People come together to take photos for Facebook; they share these photos with a semi-public audience on Facebook; Facebook also changes what is picture-worthy and new photographic codes appear related to social consensus; most users display a message of how social I am, how beautiful/attractive I am in these photos. Conversations often revolve around Facebook photos whilst clicking directly on the Like button helps to maintain users relationships. Facebook allows every user to create a visual archive of her/his life. With social networking sites, amateur photography, now more than ever, is transforming into a social activity.

2.SOCIAL MEDIA PHOTOGRAPHY & SELF-DISCLOSURE

The internet has changed traditional ways of constructing identities. The bodiless, written interaction, but also the possibility of anonymity in the virtual world now allows users to play different roles and to create different identities. However, social networking sites such as Facebook can be slightly different in that users identities are real, in other words, real personas interact, and users try to create hoped-for possible selves (Zhao, Grasmuck &

Martin, 2008:1817-1818). Facebook privacy settings allow users to manage their identities, to decide what information to share about themselves and with whom. Many researchers have investigated the role of photography in social media analyzing social media photographs and borrowing Goffmanian terms such as identity construction, selfdisclosure (Morgan, Snelson & Elison-Bowers, 2010; Lasen & Cruz, 2009), impression management (Wang et al., 2010; Peluchette & Karl, 2010) and narcissism (Sessions, 2009; Mendelson, 2010). From this perspective, every picture uploaded, and every post we share on social networking sites, help to construct our identity and exhibit idealized images of ourselves. According to Zhao et al. (2008), uploading a photo on social networking sites is a performance of self-presentation. Pictures give others more complete information about our lives than that which can be provided by words; preferences, tastes, lifestyles and so on. In this sense they are objects used to differentiate ourselves from others. In a bodiless communication environment, photos are a substitute for the body. We believe that communication on Facebook creates its own social conventions. Bourdieu (1998) points out that the photography cannot be delivered over to the randomness of the individual imagination; rather, he suggests that via the mediation of the ethos, the internalisation of objective and common regularities, the group places this practice under its collective rule. These conventions for Bourdieu, belong to the collective, not to the individual, and while he acknowledges that the explicit intentions of the photographer are represented in photographs, he insists that photographs express the system of schemes of perception, though and appreciation common to a whole group (cited by Pink, 2011: 94). Similarly, Sontag (2008:19) states that pictures always tell us what is picture-worthy and create a habit of seeing. As a social ritual and group practice, social media users rely on social conventions created by the social context of communication within the social networking platform. Facebook creates its own visual ethos. Users often take pictures to be published on Facebook, and share them with a semi-public audience. The content of these pictures often runs along the same theme stressing sociability, physical attractiveness, need for recognition (Like button), appropriateness to social norms and so on. This article also attempts to determine the conventions around Facebook pictures. We argue that pictures exhibited on Facebook photo galleries are chosen according to common values and norms via communication between users.

3.PRESENT STUDY:
To better understand and highlight the role of photography and the phenomenon of photosharing in social media, we have developed a research project with a three-fold methodology: We use mixed research techniques; firstly we conducted an online survey in June-July 2011 in order to explore the photographic practices of Facebook users, before continuing with in-depth interviews and a visual analysis of Facebook profile photos. In this paper, we only present the preliminary findings from the online survey. Two research questions were asked at the beginning of the project: 1- What kinds of photos do Facebook

users share? What kinds of photos do they prefer not to share? 2- What strategies do users follow to create an idealised image of themselves? An online questionnaire was circulated on Facebook in Turkey between June-July 2011 and filled out by 707 respondents (694 were taken into consideration). The questionnaire consisted of six sections: (1) demographic items including gender, age, academic major, current city, ownership of ICTs and access to the Internet (2) users Facebook experience (3) photographic practices (frequency of taking pictures, sharing pictures on Facebook, pictures theme etc.) (4) conversation around photos (5) profile photo information (6) users perception regarding their representation in Facebook photos. We analyzed users activities such as photo-making, photo-sharing and commenting on photos on Facebook according to several variables (gender, age, education, ICTs ownership, social capital etc.).

4.FINDINGS:
4.1 Users profile: 4.1.1 Demographic items

The female number was almost equal to the number of male respondents (49.9% vs. 50.1%). 83% of respondents were under the age of 30 whilst 4% of respondents were 13-17 years old; 48.9% of them were 18-24; 30.8% were 25-30; 15.2% were 31-44 and 1% were in the age range of 45-59. Only one respondent was over 60 years old. 48% of respondents had a university diploma and 14.1% had a Masters or Ph.D. degree. This indicates that the education level of respondents is higher than the countrys average. 4.1.2 Access to ICTs and Facebook use: The response to the question Which communication tools do you own? was as follows: mobile phone (84%), PDA (41.3%), PC (53.3%), laptop (83.5%), digital camera (73.4%). 78.3% of respondents stated that they connect to the internet via mobile phones. Most respondents were experienced Facebook users. Only 5.6% of respondents had started to use Facebook since 2010. 23% of them had actually used Facebook before 2007, 38.7% since 2007, 23.3% since 2008, and 9.7% since 2009. 55.5% of respondents had more than 300 friends. The percentage of users with more than 500 friends was 24. Respondents exist with their real persona on Facebook; 97.1% of respondents mentioned that they had signed up to Facebook with their real name. 69% of respondents had not attended any photographic classes, meaning that most of them can be considered as amateur photographers. In sum, respondents belong to a social group with a high social status and experienced Facebook users (young, well-educated, having access to ICTs).

4.2 Taking pictures for Facebook: Only 14% of respondents admitted to taking a picture everyday. 24.8% stated that they took a picture every few days, 19.5% once a week and 27.3% monthly. It seems that taking a picture is not a daily activity for Facebook users in Turkey. There is also a correlation between age and photographic practice: the older they are, the more often they take pictures. 59.2% of respondents between the ages of 13-17 took pictures monthly; 48.3% of respondents between the ages of 25-30 took pictures once a week or more often and 23.8% of respondents between the ages of 31-44 took a picture everyday. The frequency of taking a picture also depends on another variable: social capital of Facebook users (how many friends they have). In general, the more friends users have on Facebook, the more likely they are to take pictures. 69.6% of respondents stated that they took a picture everyday, 59.9% of them took one every few days and 47.8% of them took pictures every week and had more than 300 friends on Facebook. 51.2% of respondents taking photographs monthly had less than 300 friends. For the most part respondents tended to document travel experiences and social events such as trips to a new city/country (86.7% photograph always and very often); special events such as birthdays, parties, concerts, weddings (76.9% photograph always and very often); going out with friends (68.2% photograph always and very often); happy moments (58.5% photograph always and very often). Respondents demonstrated that they did prefer not to take pictures when they were alone or with their boy/girlfriends. 21.2% of respondents admitted to sometimes taking a picture when they were alone, with 34.4% stating that they did this rarely and 32.4% stating that they never did this. Again, 37% of respondents sometimes took a picture when they were with their boy/girlfriend, with 21.1% stating that they did this rarely and 11.8% never. Both male and female users preferred not to take pictures when they were with their boy/girlfriend. 78.2% of respondents were of the opinion that they preferred to upload pictures to Facebook which showed them striking a pose. This rate rose to 80.8% for female users and dropped to 75.3% for male users. The more friends that Facebook users have, the more they believe that pictures should be uploaded onto Facebook. While 83.5% of respondents with more than 500 friends thought about Facebook when striking a pose, only 65.4% of respondents with 50-100 friends admitted to thinking of Facebook whilst having a picture taken. In addition, it was found that profile photos are generally taken by friends or acquaintances. 78.3% of respondents claimed that their profile photos were taken by friends or whoever was beside them during the photographic activity. Only 13.6% of users took their own profile picture, thus taking pictures is a social activity. 4.3 Sharing photos in Facebook: Only 5.2% of respondents uploaded pictures everyday onto Facebook. 4.5% of them uploaded every few days and 8.4% uploaded pictures weekly. Most of them stated that they shared photographs a few times a month (27.6%), monthly (32.4%) and every 3-4 months or

rarely (22%). Users uploaded more photos as their number of friends increased. 61.5% of Facebook users who had between 50-100 friends uploaded pictures monthly or rarely and 76.9% shared only 5-10% of pictures. 11.4% of respondents with more than 500 friends uploaded photos every week, 32.5% a few times a month and 25.3% monthly. It was evident that Facebook users are highly selective when uploading pictures. 57.2% of respondents stated that they upload only 5-10% of their pictures, with 21.5% of them stating that they upload only 25% of their pictures. There was a significant difference between sexes, but young users uploaded more photos than older users (36% of the group of 13-17 years old uploaded 5-10%, 36% of them 25%, 62% of 25-30 year olds uploaded 5-10%, 69.2% of the group of 31-44 uploaded 5-10%). Number of friends was another variable, as respondents with more than 500 friends were found to upload more photos than other users (45.5% of them shared 5-10%, 22.4% shared 25%, 15.2% shared 50% and 15.2% shared 75-80). Connecting to the internet via mobile phones can also be considered as a variable. 84.6% of respondents who shared 75-80 % of pictures were connected to the internet via mobile phones; 77.8% of respondents who shared 5-10% of pictures were connected to the internet via mobile phones. 4.4 Photographic content: 4.4.1 Photos as a proof of sociability What do Facebook users disclose in their pictures which give us an idea of how they distinguish public issues from private issues. Facebook users display photos describing more socialized and amusing moments of their lives; they do not like to share family or business photos. The most shared photographs on Facebook are usually taken at special events such as birthdays, parties, concerts, weddings (70.6%); going out with friends (69.3%); visiting a new city/country (67.8%), holiday pictures (59.9%). Sport photos (7.2%), business photos (26%), pictures with boy/girlfriend (26.6%), family photos (28.3%) and pictures on which users appear alone (32.7%) are rarely shared. Female users (35.1%) share more family photos than male users (20.7%). With regards to the question What kind of pictures do you prefer not to share on Facebook?, many respondents replied that they did not like sharing private photos such as nude photos or photos in which they were wearing a swimsuit, or with their boy/girlfriends. They also specified their desire to not display family photos, or photos taken whilst they were drinking alcohol. It seems that they consider Facebook as a public space; they do not like to share photos which do not conform to social norms. 4.4.2 Profile photos composition Facebook users are not avatars and communicate with their real persona. 67.3% of respondents noted that only themselves appeared on their profile photos. 6.2% of them appeared with their boy/girlfriend or husband/wife, and 6.1% of them with their friends. 34.1% of respondents used the over-the-shoulder shot in their profile photos, 25.2% used the waist-

up shot, whilst 19.1% showed the whole body and 15.3% only the face. 4% of respondents exhibited only a part of their body and 2% only a part of the face. 57.3% of respondents who only showed their face in profile photos were women, whilst 58.5% of respondents who showed their bodies were men. The older the user is the more likely they are to employ the over-the-shoulder shot. Facebook users do not like to upload close-up shots for their profile pictures. They generally prefer shots which emphasise their social relations. 63.3% of respondents stated that they look at the lens whilst 65.3% of them said that they smiled whilst the photo was being taken. Moreover, 69% of women looked at the lens and 76.3% of them smiled; 57.7% of male users looked down the lens and 53.8% smiled. In addition, 44.4% of respondents between 13-17 years old stated that they did not smile. Not looking down the lens and not smiling creates a cool effect which is generally preferred by male users. Respondents replied to the question How do you look at your Facebook profile photo? as follows: natural (55.4%), warm/sincere (45.9%), beautiful/handsome (44.2%), pretty (39.7%), attractive (23.1%), stylish (19.5%), cool (17.2%), emotional (8.7%), melancholic (4.7%), ugly (4.4%), angry (3.1%) and sad (2.3%). Facebook users profile image generally conforms to social norms. In this sense, we can argue that Facebook users create an idealized image of themselves in profile photos. Facebook is a platform for users to disclose their positive images. 4.4 Conversation around pictures: Facebook photos reinforce relationships. Indeed, 41% of respondents stated that they expect comments on their photos from other users. Despite 48.3% of respondents stating that they did not care about having comments on their photos, 55.8% of respondents believed that they were more likely to receive comments if they shared more photos. The proportion reached 59.5% for female users and dropped to 51.8% for male users. Circle of friends was also found to have an impact on expectation. The more Facebook friends the user had, the greater the expectation. While 38.5% of respondents with 50-100 friends expected picture comments, 64.8% of respondents with more than 500 friends expected comments. Users were of the opinion that the more photos they shared the more comments they would receive. 72.4% of respondents who shared pictures weekly or more often expected comments. This percentage dropped to 54.9 for those who shared pictures a few times a month or less often. 53% of respondents liked it when their friends tagged them in Facebook photos. Discussion Despite the fact that one of the consequences of digital technologies is the increase in people taking photos and the rapid and immediate sharing of these photos (Van House,

2011: 127-128) this research has shown that either taking pictures or sharing pictures on social networking sites is not yet a daily activity for Facebook users. Facebook users can potentially take a picture whenever they want as almost all users are equipped with digital cameras or mobile phones with cameras; however, taking a photograph and sharing it on Facebook is still reserved for festive moments and social activities in Turkey. Many factors may play a role in this fact: the enduring spirit of Kodak culture, technical difficulties encountered when uploading pictures, considering personal photographs as a part of private life and not having the motivation to share them. Firstly, Facebook has changed the picture making process. People photograph more when they socialize with their friends; they strike a pose for Facebook; and the pictures they create are collective images to be shown to others who are not there ( a mediated presence according to Villi & Stocchetti, 2011: 107) rather than memory objects to be reserved for interpersonal relations. Facebook users care about how they look in the photographs they share. Two issues are stressed in Facebook photos: having a good physical appearance and an active social life. Secondly, sharing photographs on Facebook requires some knowledge of Facebook ethos regarding sociability. Users are highly selective when uploading photos; they emphasize their sociability by sharing high points of social life and festive photos. The main message these photos carry is that I am not alone, I am social, funny and happy. They are kinds of social images of self. Sociability has become an ethos of Facebook photographic activities. In addition, most Facebook users prefer not to share family/business photos or pictures taken with their beloved. Facebook is considered as an alternative communication platform by users. Facebook users communicate their sociability by exchanging photographs. Thirdly, photographs become a part of the interaction and conversation between users with features such as tagging, the like button, comment area and so on. Users like being tagged by their friends; they expect comments from friends; they are aware that they will get more comments if they share more photos; as the social capital in Facebook grows users are more motivated to share and comment on photos. Social capital (as the number of Facebook friends in our study) has an impact on the quantity and frequency of pictures shared. This study has only focused on photographic practices of Facebook users in Turkey. Photographic practices may vary from culture to culture and cultural characteristics may affect the photo-sharing experience. McKay (2010:485) is of the opinion that many groups of Western users may be less concerned about how they appear to others and less focused on others feelings. However, in a country like Turkey where others feelings are still indispensable for the survival of community life, photographic practices may differ from Western countries. In addition, a visual analysis of Facebook pictures is required to elucidate what users tell others about themselves through photographs.

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