Instapoetry: The influence of Instagram and the online community on the shaping of a new literary subgenre

Abstract

This thesis seeks to place the debate regarding the (literary) value of Instapoetry as a (sub)genre of poetry in a framework of media studies, communication studies and literary studies. Coming from the theory of social shaping, the influence of the platform and the user of Instagram are closely looked at in relation to Instapoetry. This is done by looking at the poetic genre of the lyric in combination with the affordances of Instagram and importance of the user community. These different elements show that most Instapoets still have a traditional understanding of poetry that is closely tied to the “lyricisation” (Jackson, 2008) of contemporary poetry. In addition, the platform is a shaping factor in Instapoetry as it puts limitations on the Instapoet and nudges them to certain actions and implied values. Lastly, the Instagram community is highly concerned about creating a safe space for Instapoets (especially coming from minorities) to share their work. This is closely tied to a feminist framework that is reflected in both the content as well as the comments on Instapoetry. By emphasising an intimate connection and openly discussing taboo subjects, an intimate atmosphere is being created in the online environment of mass readership. All these different elements are brought together in order to place the content of Instapoetry within the framework it is published in and to see how these influence each other.