Introduction
The selected trend for further examination is widespread among Instagram users, and it is posting blurred pictures from their everyday life. This choice is conditional upon the apparent correlation between this practice and societal shifts, which should be traced in order to reflect on people’s changing aesthetic preferences. For example, the recent photos of many influencers created for their followers are already affected by this trend (see Figure 1). Hence, the standards of beauty as they are perceived by individuals are evolving, and their consideration might be useful for determining the way this mechanism works.
Article 1: The Aesthetics of Instagram
Summary
The first article for the future study is devoted to the role of Instagram in forming the aesthetic perceptions of the population. The authors claim that it is confirmed by the orientation of this platform on visual content, enhanced communication with the help of pictures, and the availability of numerous tools influenced by people’s preferences (Masdari & Hosseini Sarvari, 2021). In this piece, the scholars examine the development of this platform and conclude on the themes of nostalgia, retrospection, and subjective experience (Masdari & Hosseini Sarvari, 2021). These ideas guide the progress of Instagram and determine its dependency on users’ self-centeredness.
Relation to the Visual Trend
The relation of this article to the selected trend can be described through the lens of increasing one’s worth. In the case of celebrities, advertising is a priority, and the inspiration is evoked by posting aesthetically pleasing images (Holm, 2016). By blurring the pictures, they make them resemble old photos and seem to thereby invite the audience to reflect on the shared experiences (Masdari & Hosseini Sarvari, 2021). The social underpinning of these pieces is, therefore, explicit, and this modality is complemented by the lack of clarity in composition and simplicity of technological solutions, alongside the absence of definite lines and shapes (Rose, 2011; Tishman, n.d.). Hence, this source can be used for examining the motivation of content creators.
Article 2: Becoming a Semiotic Technology
Summary
The second article for analysis of the trend narrates about the historical development of Instagram and its instruments. In this piece, Poulsen (2018) writes that features and filters evolve over time, and both their number and potential use change. This publication examines the previous literature on the subject to detect the shifts and discuss the gathered data from the perspective of the platform’s development (Poulsen, 2018). In the end, the scholar concludes that the interactions between users are continuously realigned with the emergence of new technological solutions, and their patterns can be determined by paying attention to the available tools.
Relation to the Visual Trend
The link between this article and the trend for posting blurred pictures is the societal aspect of Instagram changes and their cultural significance. The innovations in this respect are similar to those of a toothy smile as the main attribute of all photos in the past (Kotchemidova, 2005). Since its emergence was conditional upon the policy of companies producing equipment, visual technology seems connected to the subject alongside content (Kotchemidova, 2005; Rose, 2011). In addition, the observations guided by their ambiguity can be seen as cultural characteristics of the time (Tishman, n.d.). Thus, the analysis of the visual trend will be more precise when relying on its dependency on technological factors.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the selected sources are to be helpful for analyzing the tendency of Instagram users to post blurred photos of low quality. The first article will allow revealing the motives of content creators who prefer the corresponding filters, whereas the second publication will be useful for a thorough examination of technological processes. In this way, the findings will be diverse and include both the psychological aspect and the tools satisfying the demand, stemming from it.
References
Gallucci, N. (2021). Blurry photos are cool now. Mashable. Web.
Holm, N. (2016). Advertising and consumer society: A critical introduction. Palgrave.
Kotchemidova, C. (2005). Why we say “cheese”: Producing the smile in snapshot photography.Critical Studies in Media Communication, 22(1), 2-25. Web.
Masdari, F., & Hosseini Sarvari, S. H. (2021). The aesthetics of Instagram: Exploring the aesthetics of visual and semantic aspects of Instagram. Journal of Cyberspace Studies, 5(1), 59-78. Web.
Poulsen, S. V. (2018). Becoming a semiotic technology – A historical study of Instagram’s tools for making and sharing photos and videos.Internet Histories, 2(1-2), 121-139. Web.
Rose, G. (2011). Visual methodologies: An introduction to researching with visual materials (4th ed.). Sage.
Tishman, S. (n.d.). Strategies for looking [PDF Document].