Today, I will again be studying the six most recent pictures
posted with the hashtag "blessed". This weeks’ breakdown goes like
this....
1.
#blessed
a.
Two pictures of self
i. “How
I feel after cleaning! Still need to wash clothes! Guess I should do what my
shirt says… ‘Just Do It’ #offday #cleanhouse #tired but #blessed #napinstore”
This picture was a selfie of a guy laying down.
ii. “#instasplash
#instaswag #rihannafenty #rihannanavi #katyperry #katycat #animal #pet #im
#blessed #ladygaga #vmas #throwback #monday #weekend” This picture is of a girl
posing outdoors, all dressed up. There seem to be a lot of references to
celebrities, which I can’t discern from the picture what all of the hashtags
have to do with eachother.
b.
Two quotes
i. “Made
with (heart emoji) by #instaeffects iOS app #love #trust #igers #instagood
#smile #cool #awesome #summer #amazing #swag #instalove #family #fun #happy
#repost #beautiful #cute #life #funny #like #mooi #pray #dordrecht #believe
#amsterdam #tagsforlike #blessed #eindhoven #netherlands” The picture is of a
character in a cloak that looks like a cloak from fantasy literature with the
quote, “Remember when you leave this Earth, you can take with you nothing that
you have received only have given: A heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice
and courage. St. Francis of Assisi” The user seemed to create this picture with
an app on their phone.
ii. “#blessed
#blessings #believe #life #live #love #dreams #hope #happy #faith #feelings
#staystrong #smile #peace #trust #time #heart #heartbreak #done #hurt #pain
#heart #laugh #smile #truth #youandme #alwaysandforever #iloveyou #imissyou
#behappy #beyourself #quotes”
This is a picture of the words “be your own hero” written on four fingers
of a hand. The user seems to maybe be going through a break up or a loss of
some sort and is using the message to console themselves.
c.
One picture of a few objects
i. “My
#Beautiful #Roses from #MyLove @_____ for our #7Month #Anniversary #Blessed
#SoInLove #HappyHappyHappy #Starbucks #CheckerBoardChick” This is a picture of
yellow roses, a Starbucks drink and a picture frame of, I’m assuming, the
couple that is celebrating their anniversary. The user seems to be implying
that she is blessed to be in such a happy relationship.
d.
One picture of scenery
i. “He
is the vine. #blessed” This is a pretty picture of a vineyard. It seems to be
referring to Jesus, as often Jesus is referred to as the vine.
Individuals seem to use Instagram as a platform to express
their beliefs in ways that are very unique to their lives. The users that I
have analyzed both this week and last week have used Instagram posts to show
what makes them feel blessed. This is unique from the way other users use
Instagram because many people post pictures of various other things that could
have no spiritual value to them. These things could be pictures of a party, of
a homework assignment, of a pet, of a meal, etc. The use of visual elements is
helpful in this study because I am seeing what people put value in and where
they feel the most blessed. Of course, by using the word blessed I must assume
that they mean blessed by God. This may not be the case for everyone whose
pictures I have studied. The central goal of this study is shaping into how I
can make sense of what makes people seem to feel blessed. Through the use of
their commentary as well as what all they choose to include in the photograph,
I am starting to be able to categorize the kinds of things that people post
with association to blessings. Issues with this process are that people may
associate blessed with something other than the blessings of God, they may not
be Christian, and I am only able to categorize a few pictures. In the future, I
could try to perform this same experiment on a Sunday. I would do this because
Sunday is the holiest day of the week for Christians and it may provide me with
pictures from users who are more likely to be Christians and more likely to
post photos with spiritual value on the holiest day of the week.
