Why Post That? Re-thinking the Problem of Absent Presence within Social Media

Abstract

While social media have the potential to promote positive relations online, the increasing use of contemporary apps, such as Instagram, distances many from important face-to-face interactions. In this study, we rethink the problem of ‘absent presence’ within social media by revealing the language games of Instagram. Drawing on social media literature and Gergen’s (2002) concern about the erosion of cultural norms due to the absent presence generated by new media, we engaged in a qualitative study of active Instagram users. Employing a unique ‘prompt and response’ interview approach, in which we asked participants to explain why they would (or would not) post particular statements, we gain insights into social norms of Instagram as expressed by active social media users. The results of this study show that participants base their posting decisions largely on their perception of a desired self, without much concern for who is posting or why they are posting. Because our findings reveal that posting on Instagram is done without much engagement with others and is often done only if a message corresponds with their own experiences or self-identification, this study extends the concern about absent presence. Specifically, we argue that the complex blurring of monologic and dialogic forms of communication found in contemporary social media apps generates hollow and inconsequential language games that maintain narrow concepts of self and fail to generate interactions necessary to co-create relevant and meaningful social values.