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The Transformation of Photographic Representation from Personal Albums to Instagram: An Analysis of the Position of the Other and the Representation of Identity in Cyberspace
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Abstract: (154 Views) |
Cyberspace, as a novel and increasingly influential platform, provides individuals—regardless of their lifestyle or socio‑economic status—with the opportunity to construct and display a new and desired identity, even if only temporarily. This virtual identity, formed independently of individuals lived and embodied identities, exerts a profound influence on the pre‑existing identities through which they have experienced social life over many years. Within this process, the images individuals present of themselves on social networking platforms function as representations of their preferred and idealised identities.
Drawing on the psychoanalytic theories of Jacques Lacan, the present study seeks to examine the underlying reasons and determining factors that shape the representation of virtual identities by analysing patterns of photographic representation and their transformations over time. The research is grounded in Lacan’s concept of the Other and employs the three registers of the Imaginary, the Symbolic, and the Real as articulated within his theoretical framework. The primary objective of this study is to address the question of how the trajectory of photographic representation has shifted from personal photo albums to the domain of cyberspace.
This research adopts a descriptive–analytical methodology. The required data have been collected through library‑based research and qualitative case analyses conducted on Instagram as a contemporary visual and social medium. The findings indicate that individuals in cyberspace, under the influence of the Big Other—conceptualised by Lacan as the structuring force of society, culture, and the social order—tend to construct and display a desirable and ideal identity aligned with the desires and expectations of the Other, while aspects that contradict these expectations remain unconsciously concealed. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that transformations in photographic representation may be categorised and analysed according to collective expectations and social norms in the context of personal photo albums, and according to individualised and self‑oriented expectations within cyberspace.
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Article number: 5 |
| Keywords: representation, family album, Instagram, Jacques Lacan, cyberspace |
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Full-Text [PDF 2257 kb]
(79 Downloads)
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2026/06/17 | Accepted: 2025/10/2
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