Att vara eller att inte vara äkta på Instagram. : En kvalitativ studie om hur aktiva användare upplever sin användning och framställning på Instagram.

Sammanfattning: In today's society we spend more time on social media than ever before. 61% of all Sweden's internet users are active on Instagram, this makes the social media platform the second most used application after Facebook.   The aim of this study was to explore how active users on Instagram, so-called prosumers, experience their own use and self-presentation on Instagram. We chose to conduct ten qualitative semi-structured interviews. We sought to create an understanding of how prosumers use the application and whether there are any usage standards that are important in how they want to present themselves to other users.    The collective term “usage standards” has been created to illustrate the relationship between how prosumers are expected to act and behave towards each other on the platform, and how they subsequently use Instagram. The purpose of this study has been investigated by the use of three research questions: How do prosumers describe their own activity on Instagram? How do prosumers’ usage standards affect other users on Instagram? What is the prosumers’ understanding of the way they present themselves on Instagram?   We have used a number of theoretical frameworks to investigate the study’s purpose. All theories deal with different areas such as use of social media, self-presentation and comparison. The used theories are Goffman’s work on social norms and self-presentation, social comparison theory, social cognitive theory and uses and gratification. To develop a deeper understanding of the study and the subject, it was most appropriate to use a qualitative interview method. Even before the interviews were conducted, four main themes were identified - use, self-presentation, social adaptation and comparison, which are all part of the concept of usage standards. The interviews were conducted in the form of individual interviews and were based on semi-structured questions. This means that the interview contained open questions that allowed respondents to describe their thoughts and experiences.    The four main themes discussed above were used to report and analyze the results. It was discovered that prosumers are mainly influenced by their social environment, which leads them to being inspired by other users as well as copying content. Prosumers also admit that it is important to showcase a “real” image of themselves on the platform, while at the same time insisting that they care about adjusting and customizing their images to make it look aesthetically pleasing. The results show that prosumers compare themselves to other users, consciously and subconsciously, in order to determine how to present themselves.   In the discussion and conclusion, it is found that the social environment influences prosumers in all their activity on Instagram. Prosumers also create usage standards by comparing and adapting their behavior to other users’ content on the platform.