Instagram-ing tourism : re-evaluating ‘tourist gaze’ in web 2.0

This paper attempts to re-evaluate existing understandings of John Urry’s (2002) ‘tourist gaze’ and investigate if a ‘hermeneutic circle of reproduction’ indeed exists on Instagram by using tourist photographs of Singapore as a tourist destination as data for research. By comparing findings drawn fr...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hongadi, Jacqueline
Other Authors: Patrick Williams
Format: Final Year Project (FYP)
Language:English
Published: 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10356/62446
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author Hongadi, Jacqueline
author2 Patrick Williams
author_facet Patrick Williams
Hongadi, Jacqueline
author_sort Hongadi, Jacqueline
collection NTU
description This paper attempts to re-evaluate existing understandings of John Urry’s (2002) ‘tourist gaze’ and investigate if a ‘hermeneutic circle of reproduction’ indeed exists on Instagram by using tourist photographs of Singapore as a tourist destination as data for research. By comparing findings drawn from 200 photographs gathered from Instagram accounts of Singapore tourism institutions and tourists who have visited Singapore, this paper concludes that Urry’s theory remains valid to some extent in the context of Instagram as some tourists’ photographs were found to mimic institutions’ photographs. However, digitalized tourist photographs uploaded on Instagram were found to possess other social purposes. Tourists are found to exercise agency and authenticate individual travel experiences through varied performances of self in tourist photographs uploaded on Instagram. Instagram profiles of tourists therefore become stories narrating their travel conquests and an expression of their identities.
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spelling ntu-10356/624462019-12-10T13:08:06Z Instagram-ing tourism : re-evaluating ‘tourist gaze’ in web 2.0 Hongadi, Jacqueline Patrick Williams School of Humanities and Social Sciences DRNTU::Social sciences::Sociology This paper attempts to re-evaluate existing understandings of John Urry’s (2002) ‘tourist gaze’ and investigate if a ‘hermeneutic circle of reproduction’ indeed exists on Instagram by using tourist photographs of Singapore as a tourist destination as data for research. By comparing findings drawn from 200 photographs gathered from Instagram accounts of Singapore tourism institutions and tourists who have visited Singapore, this paper concludes that Urry’s theory remains valid to some extent in the context of Instagram as some tourists’ photographs were found to mimic institutions’ photographs. However, digitalized tourist photographs uploaded on Instagram were found to possess other social purposes. Tourists are found to exercise agency and authenticate individual travel experiences through varied performances of self in tourist photographs uploaded on Instagram. Instagram profiles of tourists therefore become stories narrating their travel conquests and an expression of their identities. Bachelor of Arts 2015-04-06T03:38:38Z 2015-04-06T03:38:38Z 2015 2015 Final Year Project (FYP) http://hdl.handle.net/10356/62446 en Nanyang Technological University 42 p. application/pdf
spellingShingle DRNTU::Social sciences::Sociology
Hongadi, Jacqueline
Instagram-ing tourism : re-evaluating ‘tourist gaze’ in web 2.0
title Instagram-ing tourism : re-evaluating ‘tourist gaze’ in web 2.0
title_full Instagram-ing tourism : re-evaluating ‘tourist gaze’ in web 2.0
title_fullStr Instagram-ing tourism : re-evaluating ‘tourist gaze’ in web 2.0
title_full_unstemmed Instagram-ing tourism : re-evaluating ‘tourist gaze’ in web 2.0
title_short Instagram-ing tourism : re-evaluating ‘tourist gaze’ in web 2.0
title_sort instagram ing tourism re evaluating tourist gaze in web 2 0
topic DRNTU::Social sciences::Sociology
url http://hdl.handle.net/10356/62446
work_keys_str_mv AT hongadijacqueline instagramingtourismreevaluatingtouristgazeinweb20