Resumo

LEMUS, Magdalena. Exhibition regulations: young people on instagram. Astrolabio [online]. 2021, n.26, pp.312-342.  Epub 01-2021. ISSN 1668-7515.  http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.55441/1668.7515.n26.25144.

During the last two decades, virtual social networks have become important places for young people to share information, communicate with friends, and show everyday life. Taking Goffman’s dramaturgical theory, many researchers have addressed young practices online: what they do, why, and with whom. But little has been said about the norms behind teenagers’ behavior on virtual social networks.

In this paper, we analyze the presentation of the self on Instagram by teenagers from the upper-middle class in La Plata (Buenos Aires province, Argentina). Our main goal is to identify the social norms and meanings that underlie their specific use of Instagram. Also, we try to understand how young people deal with different social norms and peer pressure to engage in virtual social networks.

Our methodology combined the biographical method and virtual ethnography. We conducted interviews with 27 boys and girls from 3 secondary schools in La Plata and followed their posts on Instagram for 7 months.

Our main findings indicate that the two major rules regarding posting on Instagram concerns body image and lifestyle. In terms of body image, we found that gender stereotypes and the drive to be thin and achieve muscular bodies tend to be reproduced on Instagram. This results in pressure among teenagers, especially girls, to look trendy, be thin, fit, and pretty. Related to lifestyles, there is a trend to imitate famous people, making efforts to show a fun and interesting daily life by going out for dinner and dancing, buying clothes and traveling around the world.

Palavras-chave : Young People; Virtual Social Networks; Instagram; Rules of Behaviour; Self Presentation.

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