The Performance of Fatherhood on Instagram
In what ways is fatherhood performed when looking at six distinctive hashtags on
Instagram?
Nadine Werner 10829962
Willem Frederik Hermansstraat 9
1011DG Amsterdam
0610081799
nadine-werner@hotmail.com
MA New Media and Digital Cultures
29 June, 2018
Supervisor: Sabine Niederer
Second reader: Tim Highfield
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Table of contents:
Acknowledgements
1.
Introduction………..3
2.
Family photography and the representation of the father………7
3.
States of fatherhood………...11
4.
Social media and Instagram………...15
5.
Hashtags and events………...19
6.
Method………...21
7.
Findings……….24
7.1.
#fatherhood………24
7.2.
#instadad………28
7.3.
#dadtobe……….30
7.4.
#babyannouncement………..33
7.5.
#birthannouncement………...35
7.6.
#genderreveal……….38
8.
Discussion………..41
9.
Conclusion……….44
10.
Bibliography………..46
11.
Appendix ………..51
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Acknowledgements
I’d like to take the opportunity to thank the student DMI tech team for assisting me with the
technical problems I faced during data collection. Especially, Dennis Leeftink, who helped me
scrape all the desired data and did not hesitate to answer all my technical questions. I also want
to thank my supervisor Sabine Niederer for being patient with me and for motivating me to do
my best.
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1. Introduction
As society is heading into an increasingly digital world, customs and norms are changing along with it. An influence of these changing customs and norms could be the staggering use of social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn. For instance, instead of catching up with friends or calling friends, social media sites have replaced these actions by taking the action into the digital sphere through message apps, video calls and photo sharing. The same could be said about dating, certain dating apps have influenced the current dating culture and have reduced the action of dating to ‘liking’ a profile that has photos and a biography. The digitization of life seems to have replaced life itself. Although these behaviours have changed gradually over time, social media sites are not solely used for the purpose of entertainment and communication between people, but are also used for business purposes such as marketing and branding. In the United States alone, 69% of the public uses some form of social media with the average age of users being between 18 to 49 years old (Pew Research Center 2018). This is a large proportion of (American) society and shows that the engagement with social media has increased since Pew Research Center’s first tracking in 2005, where the average use of social media was only 5%. With this vast increase of use and the presumed increase of time allocated to various social platforms, users are engaging in specific online activity which is valuable for companies that are seeking to profit from the digitization of life. It is estimated that around 45% of teens in the US are almost ‘constantly online’, clearly showing the increase in use. It is therefore important to understand how people are using social media sites.
Online activity is stimulated by the different features and formats a platform presents to its users. For instance, on Facebook it is possible to befriend friends, family and acquaintances whilst being able to post and share videos or photos as well as joining specific groups and attending events. It is the virtual equivalent of sociality which means: the state or quality of being social. The ‘Like’ button adds to this by being one of the main features of Facebook. The feature however is not limited to the platform but has been implemented all over the internet causing Facebook’s platform-specific behaviors to have extended beyond the platform. On the other hand, the hashtag “#” was initially a Twitter specific feature but has also been integrated on other platforms such as Instagram. Twitter as a social media site allows users to post text that add up to a maximum of 140 characters whilst also being able to upload photos, although the focus on the text is weighed heavier. However, Instagram is the opposite, since it is mainly a visual platform where the intended purpose is to post photos which can be explained by adding a caption. This shows that the formats and features of platforms dictate what environment the sociality takes place in and in what form. Leading to providing the users a certain language to adjust to and to use. Within this environment certain norms and behaviour become accustomed to that subsequently shape the type of
4 engagement with the platform and between the users. This leads to the normalization of these certain attitudes and behaviours. For instance, on Instagram, posting a photo of anything ranging from food to clothing to selfies becomes a form of self-identification because the format of the platform allows this and the engagement between users is represented by the form of ‘likes’. On Twitter, the platform allows for text as the main purpose of the platform, with ‘likes’, replying, ‘forwarding’ text and ‘favorite-ing’ text as features and engagement between users. This shows that behaviours and actions are platform-specific and are dependent on the environment.
Since women (73%) have increasingly been using social media sites much more than men (65%) (Pew Research Center), content that is made by women and is geared towards women is apparent. Especially when it comes to the subject of parenting and motherhood, a reason for this could be the fact that women interact more with the resources they are given. The various information channels women can reach out to via social media ranges from mother groups on Facebook to specific advice on maternity clothing on Instagram, to dietary recommendations via blogs and Pinterest. According to research done on parenthood and social media, “mothers are more likely than fathers to engage their [online] networks [...]” (Duggan et al.), meaning that mothers use the online information to engage with their networks as well as using it as a parenting tool. Academic research on parenthood the other hand, reinforces this female-oriented perspective when it comes to the study of (mediated) pregnancies. Especially since the research is not only limited to medical studies, regarding the biological effects that come to play during and after pregnancy (Rodeck), or the social and behavioural science on pregnancy that solely regards the bond between mother and child (Swift), but is also present in mediated pregnancy research. For example, the foregrounding of the mother in mediated pregnancy research, like the research on the performance of pregnancy on Instagram (Tiidenberg & Baym), the new cult of domesticity and media images of pregnancy (Gentile) and the visual imagery of pregnancies on Google (DMI Winter School 2018). Certain factors amplify the visibility of motherhood such as the influence of celebrities who decide to share their stories via social media. Recent examples of this are Beyoncé Knowles (2017), and Kylie Jenner (2018), whom both broke the record of most liked photo on Instagram whilst both being in the top ten Instagram accounts with the most followers (Statista). The record-breaking photos represented them revealing their newborn children without the father visible in the photo. An Instagram representative states: “we’re seeing the world’s most influential public figures turn to Instagram to share their most intimate and personal moments” (Variety). This shows the significance of the platform Instagram. If the world’s most influential celebrities are using this platform to present intimate moments of themselves, are the general public doing the same on Instagram? Has Instagram become the platform where these actions are performed? Specifically, what are the fathers of these newborns doing? Are they also presenting their personal moments of fatherhood on Instagram? In the case for Beyoncé, no. Her husband, Sean Carter,
5 does not even have an Instagram account. However, Kylie’s boyfriend Travis Scott (Jacques Webster) does have an Instagram account but is not actively engaging with fatherhood or producing baby related content. Until a month after Jenner posted the record breaking photo does Scott post a photo of his daughter on Instagram. This can be seen as an example of how different genders make use of Instagram. Especially in the approach to becoming a parent on social media, even for celebrities. The performance of parenthood through the visual on social media platform Instagram attracts attention. Specifically since the embodiment of motherhood is frequently (over) represented and performed, so to focus on the father and the male perspective on the journey into fatherhood, which is not often represented (even amongst celebrities), is of importance and is of use to be explored.
Although fatherhood evidently plays a part in the nurturing and upbringing of a child, the journey of becoming a father and parent is not as explicitly presented compared to motherhood. Explicitly presented meaning in the form of visual communication on social media. In the case of Instagram, the visual is in the form of photos as it is its’ main feature. Instagram itself states that it “[...] has become the home for visual storytelling for everyone from celebrities, newsroom and brands, to teens, musicians and anyone with a creative passion” (Instagram About Us). The many users that engage on and with the platform represent a portion of the 69% of social media users (Pew Research Center). Therefore it is relevant to study Instagram and it’s users. The platform allows users to present themselves through visual imagery, therefore Instagram can also be seen as a platform that enables a virtual form of self- representation. This form of self-presentation becomes visible in many types of online practices that involve setting up a personal profile. Not only on social media sites such as: Facebook, Twitter or Instagram but also dating apps like Tinder (2012) or marketplaces like Ebay (1995) or Etsy (2005). In some cases it is argued that online self-presentation is either a type of commodification of the self or a self-branding practice (Hobbs et al.).
The commodification of the self is argued by various scholars including Duffy and Hund, Ellison et al., Hobbs et al. and Marwick. Duffy and Hund in particular, explore the role and performance of female fashion bloggers on social media through the conception of “having it all”. The women that were used in their research all seemed to “have it all” when viewing their social media pages, obscuring the work that goes into it. According to the researchers, these bloggers perform three interrelated tropes: the destiny of passionate work, staging the glam life and carefully curated social sharing. Without these three tropes they do not perform the entrepreneurial femininity that support the contemporary logic of self-branding (1). They argue that the mediated version of the “self-enterprise obscures the labor, discipline and capital necessary to emulate these standards, while deploying the unshakable myth that women should work through and for consumption” (2). The performing of mediated versions of the self, using self-branding and status-seeking practices are further supported by Ellison et al., Hobbs et al. and
6 Marwick. Ellis et al. research the online profile and the self-presentation practices it brings along. They claim that self-branding has become an inherent technique for online daters and thus it is regarded as rather normal to exaggerate one’s profile (46). They suggest that there is a similarity between the online dating profile and the curriculum vitae since both are associated with practices of self-branding (56). Hobbs et al. take this a step further by saying that the online profile has become a place for self-expression which can also be seen as a form of self-commodification. Especially in the current neoliberal climate where there is a “need to engage in self-branding activities to market themselves as desirable commodities in a crowded [...] marketplace” (280). Marwick adds that status-seeking practices are inherent in “virtually every human interaction” (74) and therefore are not limited to real life situations but are also extended into the digital sphere since currently a large portion of sociality takes place in the digital. Although Marwick specifically discusses Silicon Valley culture which is a predominantly male environment, the focus on men and their performance within the practices of commodification of the self is understudied. Women on the other hand, have been studied as focal points of (over)performing self-branding practices. It is therefore important to research the role of men in this regard. This leads to questioning what practices are performed amongst men that are to become new fathers? How and when do (future) fathers present themselves on Instagram? Specifically when looking at ‘parenting hashtags’, when are fathers present (or absent) in the depiction of (future) parenthood? And what visual language do they commonly use to portray their journey into becoming a father? These questions will guide the research into a detailed explanation of the (self) representation and performance of (future) fatherhood on Instagram.
Much of the current new media research of pregnancy online has focused on the role and presentation of the woman, her changing body and her natural relationship with the (unborn) baby. In this thesis however, the focus will be on the performance of the father and his journey and relationship with the (unborn) baby and how this is presented on Instagram. This requires several steps. Firstly, a historical overview will be presented about the evolution of family photography, specifically, the emergence of stock photography and current practices of photography on social media. Which leads to the introduction of several (new media and behavioural psychology) studies of the role and representation of the father online. This involves recent media research about fatherhood that will subsequently show the gap in information about the performance and representation of fathers on social media, specifically in the case for Instagram. Thirdly, Instagram as a crucial platform for this type of research will be justified by looking at its agency in the landscape of social media. Subsequently, the six hashtags that will be closely studied will be introduced by dividing them into two parts. The first three hashtags are related to fatherhood or ‘fathers to be’ whereas the last three, refer to specific cultural events related to the unborn baby. They are: #fatherhood, #instadad, #dadtobe #babyannouncement, #birthannouncement and
7 #genderreveal. An example of the findings can be seen in image 1 and image 2. These hashtags will be used as starting points for data gathering so that an image content analysis can be made. Before content analysis, the methods that were used in this research will be explained whilst justifying why. In this case, Digital Methods was the primary method of data gathering. After that, each of the six hashtags will present the findings of the content analysis whilst images will be used to support the explanations. After each hashtag has revealed the results a general overview of the main themes and findings will be presented. The discussion will follow by close analysis of the main findings that contribute to the question whether or not, and if so, how, fatherhood is performed on Instagram. The limitations and possibilities of future research will also be discussed so that research on (mediated) fatherhood will continue. Lastly, the conclusion will conclude with a summary of the main findings and discussion of this research.
Image 1. #babyannouncement (Source owner id:179433281) Image 2. #instadad (Source owner id:525355791)
2. Family photography and the representation of the father
Before being able to analyze any visual language that is performed on Instagram it is pertinent to dig into the roots and meanings of visual language. Visual language originates in the photograph, in which the image presents particular actions, behaviours and aesthetics. In-depth analysis of specific images can explain the visual language it represents, this has always been an important part of analysing behaviour and meaning, especially in the arts. The roots of the visual language presented in this particular research,
8 stem from the origins of family photography. Family photography incorporates and represents different forms of familial relationships between the family members that are of use to the subject of parenthood and fatherhood.
In the history of photography, the family photograph has played a central role. The evolution from the analogue to the digital has changed many aspects of photography although elements such as sharing, editing, publishing, printing and portraying family centric values have stayed the same (Sarvas and Frohlich 5). It is without a doubt that photography is and was embedded in our lives (1), both in the analogue and current digital era. The increasing use of social media such as Instagram, which is a purely visual platform, supports the evolution of photography and its practices. The concept of sharing plays a vital role in this as Sarvas and Frohlich suggest. The internet has made it possible to share photos independently of time and location as well as making it visible to anyone with access to internet that has no social connection to the sharer (142). The accessibility and convenience of taking photos on mobile phones via the integrated camera has caused an increase of photos being taken and shared. To add to that the number of cameras in the home has increased making it easier for children to take their own photographs instead of depending on the previously known ‘family camera’ which usually was operated by a parent (142). This change has given photography a different meaning today, since taking photographs are not necessarily made to build a visual history of a person’s life anymore (148). However, in the case of parenthood this is most likely not the case. Important moments in one’s life such as moving out of the house, getting married or having children are usually commemorated through the activity of taking photographs to share with family and friends. This leads to the practice of domestic photography, which is stated as a constructed representation of the family (Slater 135). This construction is based on the decisions being made when framing: who is in the photo, where the photo is taking place, and how the subject is portrayed in the frame. Not only are the actions before the photo has been taken constructed but also after, as the photo is carefully selected, edited and shared (135). The chosen actions can be said to lead to generic visual representations of family-centric values that are laden in domestic photography. The stereotypical father-mother-two-children nuclear family as a single coherent happy unit with no domestic problems or friction between familial relationships (Sarvas and Frohlich 5) are overly presented through domestic photography. This representation becomes a performance that both women and men step into when taking a family photograph. However, it can be argued whether or not this performance is evident in the digital sphere as the concept of sharing online adds an extra layer to the performance. It is not only about the image anymore but rather about the audience. As mentioned earlier, it is known that women share and engage with online content much more than men, does this therefore lead to an unequal representation and performance of the family perspective. Not only does domestic photography offer a
9 specific visual language but stereotypical images about (what) the role of mothers and fathers (should be) are also vastly propagated via stock photography (Miller) (Beckman).
Stock photography leads to the present day media environment as stock photography explained by Paul Frosh, “is a global business that manufactures, promotes and distributes photographic images primarily for use in marketing promotions, packaging design, corporate communications and advertising” (627). Meaning that the presence of stock photography cannot be ignored since it is widely present in daily life. Stock photography proves to be an important influence in the way society perceives things since it is present everywhere, from television screens, to billboards, to product packaging. It is an intrinsic part of commerce and therefore influential in the current capitalist society. The production of stereotypical and generic images that are widely used all over the world is said to be dominated by a small number of multinationals, one of them being Getty Images PLC, the largest within this industry (627). Getty Images has significant influence on society as stock photography can legitimize certain aspects of life and culture. An example of this is the performances of gender roles. A recent New York Times article describes the evolution of women in stock photography: “From [being a mere] “Sex Object” to [current] “Gritty Woman” (Miller). The focus of the article is to illuminate the fact that stock photography reflects the culture at a moment in time and stresses the evolution of the visual representations of women. Plenty of stereotypes and misconceptions have been noticed by the use of stock photography. Miller mentions that women in the last decade were frequently portrayed half naked but that in the recent years, due to the implementation of the Lean In collection in 2014, more modern, physically independent and fit women were introduced (see image 3 and 4)(Miller).
Academic research supports that claim that stock photography are “ready-to-use images [that] are central to today’s media culture” (Frosh 2003). Aiello and Woodhouse research into how stock photography is used, and what meanings are being propagated by looking at one of the largest and most influential stock photography corporation, Getty Images, and their marketing department called: Genderblend (2014). Genderblend is said to be “the new visual language of gender marketing” as it incorporates four different themes regarding gender. The first theme focuses on the rise of the woman, the second theme focuses on the equal representation of men as child-rearing counterparts, the third focuses on raising gender-neutral children and the fourth theme focuses on the raising of visibility of transgender identities (3). Aiello and Woodhouse state that these themes set a double standard for how cisgender and heteronormative identities on the one hand, and transgender or queer identities on the other, ought to be framed in broader societal terms (359). The masculine feminism theme initiates the equal representation of fathers but also portrays men in more traditionally feminine roles suggesting a new form of “dadvertising”. Aiello and Woodhouse see these marketing practices as ‘flipping the script’ by systematically conforming to several design practices that subsequently portray, stereotypes,
10 juxtapositions and texturisation. What is meant by juxtaposition is the focus on the contrasts between the masculine and feminine whilst texturisation are the attributes that are added to the photograph such as a lens flare or props but also the setting of the subject within the environment. This leaves children as the only subjects that can perform genderless identities (14).
On the other hand, the marketing trend “dadvertising” has led to the transformation of the father figure from a clueless aloof father to an emotionally available guide and supportive partner (Beckman). Showing that the form and appeal of fatherhood representation has evolved over the years. A reason for this could be the requests from customers that desire stock photography of fathers as caregivers instead of photography of fathers solely engaging in stereotypically masculine activities (Beckman). This displays the increasing interest in these forms of representations. Another reason could be the significant change that is seen within the most downloaded images of fathers in Getty Images archive over the course of ten years. 2013 marks the first time that fathers were seen taking care of babies in stock photography and by 2015, fathers were seen engaging with their daughters in the home, reading, and doing household chores (Beckman). Before 2013, the images that primarily represented fathers, were images of fathers with their sons playing football, driving a car or playing with their son, all outdoors. This depicts a stereotypical and one-sided perspective of fatherhood. A senior art director at Getty Images states: “more images of good dads participating parenting will hopefully encourage someone to be O.K. with being that kind of dad”. The stigma around the representations of fathers and fatherhood that even this quote imitates, indicate that indeed the modern western ideal of fatherhood is a complex one (Beckman) but specifically, that the modern (Western) ideal should not be limited to representations in stock photography. Beckman states that “even taking paternity leave can still be perceived as weak” which shows the increasing pressure and gender conformity that is being kept in place by the production of stock photography. Although ‘dadvertising’ is to some extent an opportunity to expand the representations of fatherhood, the core of the matter is that these images are produced with the purpose of selling something. Therefore the representation of fatherhood and its’ seemingly complex character is worth researching. Especially when looking at the performance of ‘real’ men that are active on Instagram and the way they are represented on social media.
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Image 3. 2007 by Stephan Hoeck (Source: Getty Images) Image 4. 2017 by Jordan Siemens (Source: Getty Images)
3. States of fatherhood
As mentioned earlier, vast amounts of research has been done on women, motherhood and pregnancies. Fatherhood has extensively been researched but in different areas compared to motherhood. Fatherhood has been researched in relation to media consumption, mental health and the presumptive gender roles fatherhood entails. Before briefly introducing these different areas, a general overview of the meanings of fatherhood shall be explored and discussed.
The definition of fatherhood as described in the Oxford Dictionary can be used as a starting point. It states that the definition of fatherhood is: “the state of being a father”. This indicates that fatherhood has different states of being and is complex, something that Beckman described earlier. Subsequently, this introduces the possibility of various factors affecting what it means to be a father, but also what fatherhood incorporates and represents. According to research done by the Pew Center, the role of the father has significantly changed over the years. This is confirmed by other research that indicates that the father has increasingly become more involved in childcare than 50 years ago (Parker & Livingston). Around 57% of fathers acknowledge that being a parent plays a central role in their identity (Parker & Livingston). In the recent years a subtle transformation has been taking place, as the father is not the sole breadwinner of the family anymore. Meaning that the traditional identification with the role of the father has changed, introducing new situations within the family home such as the challenge for fathers to accept a new work-family balance. Further research done by Parker and Livingston specifically focuses on the relationship between fathers and children and their living arrangements. Fathers who live with their children take an active role in their day-to-day lives through different activities such as sharing meals, helping with homework, and playing (Livingston & Parker). As mentioned in the previous chapter, the representation of fathers playing with their children has increased in stock photography since 2014. In this sense, the representation and research positively correlate. In contrast however, fathers who do not
12 live with their children (27% in 2010), use (social) media; telephoning and emailing as the main communication channel to uphold a relationship between them. This introduces media as playing a central role in the development of building communication and relationships between fathers and children forming a certain ‘state’ of fatherhood. Livingston and Parkers’ findings, lead to the fact that men have strong desires to be fathers as 87% of males between the ages of 15-44 who do not have children, state that they want to have children at some point in their lives (Livingston & Parker). However, despite men’s desires to become fathers, a large percentage (63%) state that being a father today is much harder than it was a generation ago leaving no clue as what the reasons for this could be. The desire to perform fatherhood comes from the desire to be better than the way future fathers themselves have been raised. As Lupton and Barclay say: “fatherhood, [..], is commonly portrayed as an opportunity for modern men to express their nurturing feelings in ways that their own fathers supposedly did not, and to take an equal role in parenting with their female partners” (1). The influence of gender and gender roles within the desire of wanting children alludes to the gradually changing performance and meaning of fatherhood. This positively affects the blurring of these gendered lines. Although still, not widely visible within visual culture.
Gender roles are an aspect that affect the representation of fatherhood. The traditional representations and performances of gender roles are vastly perpetuated through visual imagery as was briefly mentioned in the stock photography chapter earlier. An example of this is the nuclear family, a traditional smiling mother-father-child(ren)-image that leaves no room for any debate. The possibility of a functional family with a different arrangement other than biological parents of different genders is completely refused leaving the construction of ‘family’ to be only the nuclear family (Lupton and Barclay 2). However, besides the visual representations of gender there has been a scholarly debate about a gender revolution. This gender revolution caused changes in motherhood and fatherhood (Hofferth and Goldscheider 840). According to scholars, the gender revolution is said to be split in two parts, the first part goes back in history to the 1950s where women for the first time were increasingly allowed into the public sphere of the men, especially in relation to the labour market. The second part of the gender revolution is contested, as some scholars claim it is not finished and therefore ‘incomplete’. Especially when it comes to the case of men commencing to participate in the private sphere of the home (840). Scholars, especially feminists, claim that the increased participation of fathers in the private sphere alleviates women’s burden and establishes a form of gender equity. On the other hand, some feminists claim that men increasingly taking over female preserves has taken away some form of power which women had previously seen as a source of self-power (Lupton and Barclay 3).At the same time, other scholars mention that the second part of the gender revolution will lead to stable families with more
13 children, alluding to the increased acceptation and legitimization of same sex relationships who are or will be rearing children (Hofferth and Goldscheider 840).
Besides the evolution of gender equality within scholarly debate as well as the representation of genders within the visual corporate sector which incorporates certain elements of presentation and performance of fatherhood, there has also been substantial research done on media and medical research in relation to fatherhood. An example of this is the SMS study research by Richard Fletcher et al. which focuses on a potential technological mediated support system for new fathers via SMS communication. They clarify that there has not been enough research done on paternal perinatal depression and anxiety amongst new fathers but that this has widely been studied for new mothers. “Paternal depression may also influence a fathers’ parenting and therefore the wellbeing of his infant into the future” (Fletcher et al. 2), confirming that 10.4% of fathers have paternal depression between the first trimester and one year postpartum (1). Although this seems to be an issue that has not been enlightened, the prescribed methods of educating fathers via intervention programs has not proven to be successful as the engagement of fathers is low (2). Again reinforcing that women engage with media much more frequently than men. A text messaging system would therefore alleviate the chance of pressures and depressions and become a useful mode of communication between new fathers and non-profit organisation and government resources (3). The results lead to new insights about what information fathers were searching for such as home safety, newborn screening and alcohol pregnancy support. The most common endorsed benefits of the programme seemed to be the lowering feelings of social isolation, help in transitioning to their role as a new dad, and assistance in their relationship with their partners (8). Although these insights are valuable to see what fathers do with media information and how they interact with SMS communication, it still does not touch upon the presentation of fatherhood or the performance of being a new father in the form of visual culture. The performance of fatherhood in this sense is shown through engaging with information that could help new fathers become ‘good’ fathers.
Another interesting research that is related to (mediated) fatherhood, is how fathers use and deal with social media. Research that is focused on this is named, “Understanding and supporting fathers and fatherhood on social media sites” by Ammari and Schoenebecks. The research involves how fathers use social media sites whilst also highlighting the differences of social media use between mothers and fathers. Their focus lays on how fathers go online and how this is related to their roles as fathers. They build on the theories of the social constructions of fatherhood. These constructions involve the expectations of fathers to play an instrumental role in the family, ensuring that the family is taken care of and that order is kept, in contrast to mothers, who are expected to play the expressive role of nurturing the emotional wellbeing and development of the family (Ammari and Schoenebeck 1906). Besides this, the notions of ‘new fatherhood’ reflects the changes in household behaviour and expectations of how fathers
14 should behave within the private sphere of the home. (‘New fatherhood’ refers to the second part of the gender revolution which is contested within academics as mentioned earlier). Ammari and Schoenebeck introduce the concept of schema’s as an alternative to these stereotypical and normative gendered expectations of behaviour that bind the social constructions of fatherhood. These schema’s in contrast would allow for the development of what it means to be a good father through the understanding of the components and requirements. Schema’s “help people to organise past experiences and to respond to new situations”, meaning that parenting schemas would help parents process information about how they have behaved in the past and how they might behave in the future (1906). With this is mind, the researchers have included social media use as a factor to understand how fathers develop their own schema’s according to their personal needs and requirements. This can be understood as performing fatherhood according to self-developed schema’s of online behaviour.
Michael Lamb, a prominent fatherhood scholar from the field of psychology, proposes four areas for measuring fatherhood: motivation, skills and self-confidence, social support and institutional practices. These four areas were weighed in whilst doing the qualitative research on understanding and supporting fathers and fatherhood on social media sites. The results lead to three overarching themed results. First, the use of social media to learn how to be a father. This was aided by social media sites serving as filters for fathers to already see parenting content without having to search for it themselves, whilst at the same time allowing fathers to learn about what kinds of activities they could do with their children (1908). Another interesting fact was that social media sites were used to document and archive fatherhood. Fathers were sharing their fatherhood experiences with others as well as archiving it for their children to look at in the future. What was noticeable was that a common method of social media communication was used by fathers, humor. The second theme was how diverse experiences influenced social media use. Single fathers, fathers raised by single mothers and stay at home dads all used social media in different ways. For instance, single fathers tended to use Reddit more frequently whereas fathers who were raised by single mothers and stay at home dads preferred using Facebook to join like-minded groups. Reddit appeared to be a platform where users anonymously can participate. Thirdly, the use of social media caused fathers to reach and explore perceived barriers to online sharing. This includes certain sensitive and personal information that might violate their children’s privacy or that might cause judgements from other parents. Causing fathers to rethink their own privacy regarding their own social media profiles (1911). An added aspect to the research included the comparisons and differences between social media use by mothers and fathers. Concluding that fathers use social media to document and archive fatherhood similarly to how mothers do this, however a distinct difference is that fathers “learn how to be a good father” rather than how mothers use social media to seek validation for “being a good mother” (1912). To add to that, fathers are expected ‘to learn’ how to be a father whereas mothers are
15 expected to take motherhood ‘naturally’, leaving fathers to search online whilst at the same time regretting the lack of fatherhood resources and representations available.
In general it can be said that these different perspectives from various disciplines on fatherhood research are helpful in understanding the fact that fatherhood is a complex mixture of social structures, presumptive gender roles and practices with regards to online spaces. Although social media has been mentioned in the qualitative research, the stress on visual representations and performances of fatherhood is not clearly defined or discussed. Therefore focusing on Instagram as a platform where users primarily use visual aesthetics to say something is of importance to discuss whether or not these social structures, gender roles and practices are performed and visualised. Therefore an in-depth content analysis of images is imperative.
4. Social media and Instagram
The discussion about the performance of fatherhood in online spaces so far has been focused on social media sites such as Facebook and Reddit which lean towards a more text based form of social media rather than a visual one. This has caused research to not be limited to one specific social media site. With this is mind, the focus on the visual representation and performance of fatherhood will infuse a different perspective. The platform Instagram plays a vital role in this and therefore it is important to understand how Instagram works and what users do on this platform.
As mentioned several times, Instagram is a purely visual social media site that was acquired by Facebook in 2012, two years after its launch. Its launch in 2010 was actually a test-run intended only for close friends. The test-run became so popular amongst friends that it quickly turned into the number one free photography app in a couple of hours. By December 2010 the app had gained more than one million users (TNW). Today, the app has over 800 million monthly active users (Statista), consolidating its position and influence within the top five most used social media sites (Pew Research Center). When looking at the history of Instagram, specifically the first pictures that were posted by its’ founders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, it is clear that Instagram was developed for the sake of sharing day-to-day images with friends. However, the nature of the app allowed the option to not only share with friends but also the online world leading to the manifestation of sharing images online. A Time Magazine article specifically explores all of the first images posted by the founders in 2010, to determine the nature of the platform. The images revealed to be some of the ‘trending topics’ that can be seen on Instagram today: food, animals, artistic images and the “documentation of carousing” (Time Magazine), or in other words, having fun. The meaning of ‘trending topic’ in this respect, is a subject that has experienced a surge of
16 popularity on social media sites within a short period of time and therefore can be seen as important on that platform or in that moment. As the article suggests, it is hard to imagine a world without Instagram especially since it has become a beacon to the millennial generation. Especially due to its features as a visual platform, it is used as a way of expression online. To look further into the ways that self-expression is performed on Instagram it is pertinent to understand the role that Instagram plays. On the other hand however, since Instagram's’ popularity, there has also been some backlash to its platform-specific practices and its focus on the picture-perfect life.
The British Broadcasting Company claims that Instagram is the worst site for mental health as it is an image-based platform and therefore initiates anxiety, depression, loneliness and self-esteem issues (BBC). A current example of this critique is the playful and critical project created by a London-based tech start-up project called: LifeFaker. LifeFaker claims to be “the world’s first online life faking service”. It introduces the bittersweet thought of buying images to fake ones’ online life, as according to their slogan: “Life isn’t perfect. Your profile should be”. The reason for the launch of this project is to raise awareness to the fact that social media has significant impact on mental health. The website states that 62% of people feel inadequate comparing their lives to others online and therefore created LifeFaker as a spoof to highlight the relationship of users’ behaviour and social media. Sanctus, the start-up, claims that the funny image-packages that are available (“Look At My Holiday And Cry”, “My Sexy Girlfriend/Boyfriend”, “I Can Be Arty And Deep” or “My Unachievable Body”) touches on the reality that social media can be used to present an unrealistic view of our lives which can be harmful to those posting and consuming the images (Sanctus.io). Since its launch at the beginning of April 2018, the project has received some news and media coverage that support the project due to its highlighting of the negative effects of social media. Although the project approaches these mental health hazards with a humorist twist, their message is clear. The spreading of awareness about mental health is a priority as well as the importance of learning how to use social media in a healthy and appropriate way (Sanctus.io).
Now that it is clear that social media is known to have positive and negative effects to its users, it is important to understand the context of each situation. Scholarly research about online self-representation introduces the interesting phenomenon that has gained momentum and popularity since the birth of social media, the “selfie”. The Software Studies Initiative led by Lev Manovich focuses their research on the study of user-generated visual media to study digital visual culture. One of their studies gathered millions of Instagram images to answer the question whether or not there is a universal visual language that erases local specificities. The project revealed that there were some strong similarities between cities due to basic visual characteristics however, the limitation of not analysing the content of the photos resulted in a lack of depth. As a consequence they started to explore the popular selfie genre rather than arbitrary images (Tifentale and Manovich 2). The history of photography, the selfie and the
17 functions of images in social media whilst exploring media visualization methods were all discussed in this research project. Which resulted in an interactive visualization app which allowed visitors to explore the dataset by filtering age, gender, city etc. (4). In addition, they claim that the day the hashtag was introduced on Instagram (January 27, 2011) the history of selfies began (6), leading to the selfie practice as a construction of identity whilst simultaneously expressing the belonging to a certain community (8). It is therefore not a coincidence that a substantial amount of research that has been done on Instagram starts with a hashtag as a starting point.
Daer et al. claim that the hashtag functions as a “metacommunicative” tool since the hashtag travels across social media platforms. In this case the hashtag is not seen as platform specific but rather as a general overview of how the hashtags are used on all social media sites. A hashtag can be used to emphasize something, to critique something, to reiterate a well-known meme or cultural event, to identify something or to rally for awareness as well as campaigning purposes (Daer et al. 13). For the sake of this research, the chosen hashtags regarding fatherhood indeed do encompass several of these areas. For example, #babyannouncement, #birthannouncement and #dadtobe can be seen as hashtags that emphasize something, identify something and or reiterate a cultural event. The general hashtag #fatherhood can encompass all of the categories depending on the content of the image or the caption. In this respect, it acknowledges the fact that the context of the image is of importance to understand the meaning of the hashtag. In addition, to the function of a hashtag as a communicative tool, the hashtag can also be used as a way to communicate and connect with like-minded people to broaden the social network. The hashtag allows for any users of the platform to find specific themed content that is connected to that hashtag. This introduces the possibility for users to connect with each other on subjects that are of interest to them. This is frequently the case for starting bloggers and online influencers since their practices on Instagram specifically relate to self-branding practices by achieving followers as well as advertising practices to promote certain branded content. The hashtag causes the content posted by the blogger or influencer to be traceable resulting in the possibility of creating a larger social network.
Although Instagram can be seen as triggering negative mental health it can also be seen as a tool for entrepreneurial femininity and self-branding. Especially for the case of Instagram fashion bloggers. Duffy and Hund have researched the way fashion bloggers use Instagram to represent their branded personae as enterprising feminine subjects. Their qualitative analysis show that fashion bloggers depict the idea of “having it all” through three overarching themes: the destiny of passionate work, curating the social sharing and the contemporary logic of self-branding (Duffy and Hund 2). However, these three overarching themes seem to obscure the labour, discipline and capital necessary to emulate the post-feminist ideal of “having it all”, whilst at the same time performing the myth that women should work through and for consumption (2). Duffy and Hund state that blogging has become an “extension, or
18 representation, of [oneself]” (3) considering Instagram as an influential social tool for the empowerment of entrepreneurial women. However on the other hand, their findings lead to the suggestion that the female representations were actually in contrast to empowering women but rather enhanced gender stereotypes and social inequalities in the digital industries. To add to that, female bloggers as self-branding entities engage in the established capitalist system thus leaving entrepreneurial femininity as “inscribed within a culture that that constructs women as feminine subjectivities, emotional laborers, and above all, consumers” (9). The role of Instagram within the practices of blogging and online influencing introduces discussions about the intention of the platform. Although, Instagram is a part of the Facebook corporation it can be argued that profit making within these two companies are central to its goals. This could allude to the fact that Instagram does to a certain extent supports the practice of self-branding amongst female bloggers and entrepreneurs. This perspective of the platform however is one-sided as content is lacking on how men engage in self-branding practices on Instagram and therefore not enough can be said about how men use Instagram to perform.
Not only is Instagram used as a place where self-branding and profit making is practiced and in some sense encouraged, but it is also a place where important life events are shared and commemorated such as (new) life or death. According to Leaver and Highfield’s research, the practices of sharing ultrasounds and mourning on social media has gradually become a normalised part of everyday online interactions (33). Instagram in this sense acts as an intermediary between communities (Srnicek 47). When it comes to sharing information about people who cannot speak for themselves, newborns or the deceased, it seems that people use social media to document their own loss and grief as part of a stream of personal imagery, especially on Instagram (Leaver and Highfield 30). It is therefore interesting to understand whether or not there are common characteristics in the way that users present their grief or joy. These practices relate to theories about online self-representations and online identities. Different perspectives such as boyds’ ‘networked self’, Sánchez-Querubin’s research on personal health storytelling on social media, Helmond’s’ online identity as co-creative process and Goffman's’ online self as contextually determined, imply the many possibilities to look at people's behaviour online. Specifically, Leaver and Highfield use several hashtags including #funeral, #ultrasound and #sonogram, to research Instagram’s data to discuss what type of visual content users are posting regarding these important moments in life. Their findings noted that different types of visual media are apparent for both moments. The funeral images showed a much more individual experience of the user. The photos that depicted the individual but social experience, included family photos as well as photos taken on the way to the funeral but also selfies of the user were included (39). On the other hand, the images that were scraped from the ultrasound hashtag showed images that were primarily used as the very first visualisation of the unborn child. This included images of sonograms but were not limited to these images but rather showed collages
19 and displays of the journey. Primarily, the journey of the ultrasound sessions as well as the relationship between the partners and the unborn child (40). This shows that it has become apparent that thousands of sonogram images are shared on Instagram each month, clearly indicating that expecting mothers have incorporated the platform into their performances of pregnancy (Tiidenberg and Baym 1). However, do (future) fathers also use social media for their self-construction of fatherhood?
Clearly it can be said that Instagram plays a certain role in performance and representation of identities online. First and foremost, through the use of its features the platform allows for these practices to be present. The various research mentioned show an array of different perspectives of how a platform or a cultural event can encompass behaviours and attitudes that are worth exploring. To sum up, the facts about the positive and negative effects of Instagram on health, the cultural phenomenon of the ‘selfie’ which holds its origins in Instagram, the self-branding performances that are executed by fashion bloggers on Instagram, the hashtag as metacommunicative tool and as a starting point to research visual culture and initiating online cultures, all show the importance of doing research about social media sites.
5. Hashtags and Events
As Highfield and Leaver state: “ the visual is central to everyday life and social media practice” stressing the fact that it is important to study visual content in the increasing digitized society today. Before going into detail about the method of this research it is essential to introduce the specific Instagram events that have been chosen. The focal point of this research, in accordance with the Instagram events, is the representation of fatherhood. But before any content analysis can be done certain variables have to be acknowledged and taken into account.
The research has been divided into several separate parts. The starting point of studying Instagram is through the use of hashtags. The hashtags that have been chosen in this research specifically to refer to certain cultural events. The first three hashtags are #fatherhood, #instadad and #dadtobe. They all refer to the embodiment and performance of being a father. The first two are broad terms that encompass either, already being a father, or the preparation towards becoming a father. #Instadad on the other hand, is a platform specific hashtag, as the ‘insta’ is short for Instagram. This hashtag might imply that fathers who are active on instagram perform in a certain way compared to (offline) fathers who do not use Instagram. The following three hashtags are also Instagram specific but are revolved around events rather than on definitions: #babyannouncement, #birthannouncement and #genderreveal. The #babyannouncement hashtag initially refers to the first moment that a family announces that they are expecting a baby. In today’s society however, an announcement is not only limited to close family and
20 friends but is extended to social media friends and followers. It is generally admitted and known that baby and birth announcements are a specific cultural and social media event. Especially for celebrities as was mentioned earlier. Many websites, blogs and videos are geared towards authentic ways to announce a pregnancy or a birth online. An example of this is the media outlet Brit + Co who have dedicated an article to “24 Ways To Announce Your Pregnancy on Facebook, Instagram and More” or the various articles written about: “The 29 Best Celebrity Baby Announcements” (Elle). The #birthannouncement hashtag refers to the moment that the baby is born. Although similar, the difference between #babyannouncement and #birthannouncement, is that the pregnancy journey is beginning whereas the latter refers to the moment that the baby is born and thus simultaneously parenthood begins. The #genderreveal hashtag is chosen because it indicates a vital moment in the determining of the unborn baby’s sex. Gender reveal parties are widely known (in the West) as a celebration where family members and friends come together to guess the sex of the baby. At these gatherings the expecting couple reveal and celebrate the sex of the baby. Again, there are many online resources advising on how to announce the gender of the baby or how to organise a gender reveal party. According to Tiidenberg and Baym “baby showers becomes a ritual celebration of the baby’s existence as a gendered and classed person, one who will become a gendered and classed consumer”. This does not only apply to baby showers but can also be applied to gender reveal celebrations.
The six chosen hashtags are desired to show two sides to the presentation and performance of fatherhood on Instagram. The first three are specifically focused on men and the last three around specific events related to the baby. The goal is to explore how fathers represent themselves through the use of these hashtags and in what way are they represented in baby-related events. Are fathers using hashtags that relate to cultural events and if so, how are they presented in the image? Before moving onto the content analysis of the images, it is noteworthy to mention prominent research done by Katrin Tiidenberg and Nancy Baym.
Although, Tiidenberg and Baym discuss the practices of pregnant females on Instagram, I believe their research is relevant and can be applied to the male perspective of fatherhood. The main discovery of their work relies on three overlapping discourses that present the performance of pregnant females on Instagram: “learn it”, “buy it” and “work it”. Each referring to specific practices that encompass what it means to a pregnant female online. Although at the same time they argue that there are certain discourses that promote an ideal pregnancy that works within certain moral constructs (Malacrida and Boulton 750). Tiidenberg and Baym take on Neitermans’ framework which describes how women ‘do pregnancy’ by learning to be pregnant through seeking information, taking advice, master routines of self-care to guarantee the health of the fetus as well as constantly performing pregnancy to ensure the acknowledgement of others (4). Their framework however, is an extension of this and relies on the three
21 discourses. “Learn[ing] it” refers to the responsibility that women carry as soon as they are pregnant. This involves self-educating about health, fitness and relying on expert knowledge. These things become visible through images of books, magazines and screen-grabs of their pregnancy apps (4). “Buying it” refers to the “women’s ability to buy and consume correctly” (6). This is demonstrated by images of purchasing baby items or of expecting fathers buying or assembling items (7). Lastly, “working it” specifically indicates the woman’s ability to still be sexy despite her discomfort in her new body (8). These images are visualised by women taking selfies of themselves, their outfits and their bellies. In contrast to these three discourses that embody what it means and what it looks like to be pregnant on Instagram, Tiidenberg and Baym did not find any counter-discursive discourses on social media (11). To apply the “learn it”, “buy it” and “work it” discourse on the performance of fatherhood on Instagram is suggestive, I believe an attempt can be made. Although many factors come into play when applying such a framework to the performance of fatherhood, it is important to acknowledge that fathers have an equally important role in the journey of becoming a parent. The way that fathers “do” or visually show this however is debatable but nonetheless important to attempt.
5. Method
The Digital Methods Initiative (DMI), a leading Internet Studies research group in Europe, are known for creating design methods and software tools for research about online devices and (social media) platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Google and Instagram to understand social and political issues (Digital Methods Initiative). The DMI has created over 60 different tools to scrape various amounts of data for different types of research. For this research, since the platform Instagram is being studied, the tool that seems most relevant is the Instagram Hashtag scraper. Although the tool was said to not be in use since 2016, (due to Instagrams’ change in regulations of the application programming interface (API)) the tool had proven to still work to some extent. However in time for this research, the platform had changed its regulations again, making it impossible to use the tool. The assumption was made that due to the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica scandal that surfaced at the beginning of 2018, all of Facebook and its’ affiliate companies renewed their privacy policies and their API’s, the Instagram Developer page confirms these assumptions (Instagram Developer).
To circumvent the API was an option. However to do this, Github (an open source development platform that provides coding scripts and software that can be used by anyone who desires to learn, share and work on software) had provided an Instagram hashtag scraper script that was to be programmed. Due to technical problems I was not able to manage the given Github script and the additional Python coding
22 programming tasks. I therefore seeked guidance from The Digital Methods Student Tech Team, who fortunately aided me in scraping the desired hashtag data. The initial scrape of 25 hashtags relating to either fatherhood or baby-related events (see appendix 1), only provided random images that were connected to those hashtags. To make sure that not too much data was being scraped, a limit of 256 images per hashtag was installed. Around 6,400 images were then saved in separate hashtag folders and uploaded on Mega Limited. Mega Limited a cloud storage and file hosting service, allowed for large amounts of data to be stored (up to 15GB) on their service. This proved to be useful since the data would now be accessible from anywhere and there would be no issues with limited storage space. Unfortunately, the first hashtag scrape was not successful. Five hashtag folders were empty meaning that the scrape had not scraped all the required data. The hashtags that were not complete were: #wereexpanding, #welcometotheworld, #instadad, #genderrevealparty and #genderreveal. Nonetheless, Mega Limited had a nice layout to view the data. This was useful because it gave the opportunity to take a look at all the images and videos that were scraped. After a rough inspection of the images and videos it became clear that no other information besides the images or videos were given. Thus causing the context of the image or video to be lacking and therefore a large gap in knowledge and understanding of the images and videos. No captions, profile handles or dates of post was given making it hard to analyse the images or videos.
The decision was made to scrape the hashtag data again. But this time instead of scraping only the images and videos, the accompanying information such as, the caption, date of post, number of comments and user would also be included. The scraped data was posted in a Google Drive Spreadsheet file which included over 4,608 rows of data points. The data that was scraped was a random sample per hashtag. This meant that there was a range of four years in between the first image/video post and the last image/video post. The video/image that was detected as being the oldest in the dataset was posted on 23/09/2014 whilst the latest image was posted on 18/04/2018. Overall, the spreadsheet included information on: the ID of the profile, the date and time the image/video was posted, the link to the image/video, the detected language of the caption, the caption, all the hashtags used in the caption, the amount of likes the image/video received and the number of comments the image/video received. The amount of information about the different hashtags was vast and therefore important to be limited so that a further in-depth analysis was doable.
Before in-depth analysis was possible, I decided to limit the scraped hashtag data to six hashtags. These were: #fatherhood, #instadad, #dadtobe, #babyannouncement, #birthannouncement, and #genderreveal. This meant that there were three hashtags related to the father and fatherhood and three hashtags related to cultural events about the baby. Although the hashtags, #instadad and #genderreveal did not provide any data the first time round, I believed them to be important hashtags for this research
23 and therefore hoped that the second scrape would provide results. Besides limiting the data to six hashtags, I wanted to filter out insignificant information to secure my data set before analysis. On the spreadsheet, I used the [filter by condition] button and then the [text contains] button to filter out the data that had more than one duplicate, so I set it to [1]. This meant that during the image/video analysis two of the same images would not be analysed. The reason for this is because the image/video analysis is not about the frequency of the image but rather about the different types of images the hashtags produce. A limitation to this, is that it is unclear whether the second scrape had produced two of the same data points by mistake or if the image/video had deliberately been posted twice by the user.
Additionally, before going into the in-depth image/video analysis, I made sure that the filter for the column “Duplicate” was set on [1] and the filter [text contains] on the “Hashtags” column was set to one of the six hashtags. This meant that in total 1,170 images were to be analysed (see appendix 2). I added an extra column to the spreadsheet and called it ‘Annotation’. This column would be used to annotate the findings of the content analysis. The reason for choosing to do content analysis is because “content analysis is a way of understanding the symbolic qualities of texts” (Rose 87). To systematically do a content analysis it was useful to code the images/videos. This was done by categorising images in an objective way so that what was described would ‘really’ be there in the image/video (92). Categories such as ‘bby’ (short for baby), ‘commercial’, ‘couple’ or ‘pet’ were used to describe what was presented in the image. Besides adding the ‘Annotation’ column to the spreadsheet, I decided that the rows of data points would be made “bold” when it became clear that a man or a father had posted the image/video. It was very important to also analyse the caption of the image/video as it provided context of the image. In some cases, Google Translate had to be used as many different languages were presented. This would help make decisions about the categorisation of the image. An example of this would be whether or not an image was meant for commercial purposes or just for personal pleasure.
To add to that, I would like to mention that the decision was made not to set any limitations to the data based on ethical questions. Katrin Tiidenberg states that “internet researchers are not able to reach a consensus about how to treat ethical question”, meaning that when visual culture is researched, the decision whether to approach the people represented in the visual as texts or as separate representations is contested. For this research, the approach taken is that: “everything posted on social media is already public” (Tiidenberg) and therefore no action was taken to ask for consent of image/video use or the blurring of images or personal information was done.
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6. Findings
The findings of the content analysis are arranged as follows: each of the six hashtags will separately present the findings as well as any findings that stood out during observation of the collected data. Some findings are accompanied by several images to illustrate what is being discussed. To conclude the findings, an overview of the main themes will be presented that will be discussed in detail in the following chapter.
6.1 #fatherhood
The data that was scraped for the hashtag #fatherhood were a total 282 images. The images revealed to be relatively diverse since not all images were limited to portraying fathers of babies or fathers with babies. This could be because the hashtag itself is a generic word and is not specifically focused on a type of father such as new fathers or fathers to be. The data shows that in total there were 44 images of fathers with babies. This includes four images of fathers with more than one child, such as with a toddler or with two babies. Within this data set, selfies seemed to be popular amongst fathers and babies. As there were ten selfies of fathers with babies, one of a father with two children and one of a father with daughter. Since fathers can be of all ages and can also have more than one child there were nine images depicting either elderly fathers with son(s) as well as fathers with daughters. One of these images was a collage of several different images of father and son. In the whole dataset there were a total of seven images that were collages. These collages consisted of photos of just the baby, fathers with toddlers, father and daughter and family photos.
Besides collages, images of just one main subject was popular. Either having a male, a female or children as focus points. Fourteen images were of the male as a subject. Five of these images were of the male subject doing certain activities outside such as drinking, smoking shisha, sitting on a bench or sitting on a motorcycle. Two images consisted of the male subject together with dogs. On the other hand, six images were solely of the female subject. The images varied from a selfie to an image of long hair to images of the female pregnant belly as well as images of females posing in long dresses. To add to that there were two other images of female subjects, one of two woman holding babies and another of a mother with three children.
In total there were 25 images of babies as the main subject of the photo. Besides these baby focused images there were three images of babies with dogs and nine images of either toddlers or children. Image 5 shows a single child as the subject of the photo and Image 6 shows the three children, most likely siblings, as the subject of the image. Pets were also included through accompanying the
25 human subjects in the images, in total there were five photos that counted dogs. Two of these images included males with dogs and three images of babies together with dogs. No other animals were shown.
Image 5. Child underwater (Source owner id:1545167) Image 6. Children at the table (Source owner id: 304162788)
Besides having human and living subjects as the focal point of the images, many images focused on other things. For instance, seventeen images were categorised as having text as the main focal point, thirty images were of quotes, four images depicted art, five were of illustrations, two images showed food and sixteen images were of memes. The text images generally consisted of a variety of things such as advice or tips, words (see image 7), or short notes (see image 8). Two of the categorised quote images consisted of religious content. One image presented a specific Bible passage whilst the other was presenting a quote to convert their followers. Other quote images consisted of parenting tips, jokes or shared wisdom (see image 9) as well as asking for advice. There were sixteen meme images mainly focused around the subject of parenthood and fatherhood as seen in image 10. Memes is a concept coined by Richard Dawkins in 1976 which states that cultural productions in the form of ideas, symbols or practices are like human genes constantly transmitting, replicating and spreading by imitation or copying throughout society (van Wonderen) (Shifman 188).
Furthermore, within the dataset there were eighteen images that consisted of commercial content. The images depicted advertisements related to either clothing, health, legal issues or fatherhood and parenthood decorations. However, five images directed towards a specific Instagram profile named
26 “@super_parent”. If this Instagram user handle was mentioned in the caption of an image then there would be an opportunity to be featured on that Instagram page. It is not clear what exactly is meant by being featured on that page, but assuming that that account has many followers it could be meant to gain more followers or becoming part of the @super_parent community.
Lastly, there were 20 images that were expired. This meant that the link to the host server holding the image that was scraped was broken. This could be because the data could have been videos since these were not accessible or because the user had deleted the image or video at the time the data was being scraped. To add to that, after in-depth analysis of the images it occurred that several images were not accessible even though they had been previously analysed. Either this could mean that the Facebook servers, where the image was scraped from, deleted the account and therefore all the information that was linked to that account was deleted, or the scrape did not manage to scrape the complete data.
