#INSERTDIETHERE: Tracing the Techno-Linguistic Associations of Dietary Hashtags on Instagram

Abstract

The use of hashtags on social media platforms allows users to navigate vast repositories of information with ease -hashtags technologically mediate as they both enable and shape user experience. This research focuses on the photo-sharing platform of Instagram and the phenomenon of dietary hashtags (DH: singular; DHs: plural) -for example, #healthy, #glutenfree, #vegan, and #whole30. The circulation of these hashtags is analyzed to explore if and how they can influence users' understanding of diets and eating practices.The study uses Actor-Network Theory to describe the performances and impacts of DHs within a technologically mediated space of social media. Through experimenting with the walkthrough method and an Instagram narrative model, the thesis observes discursive associations in dietaryrelated Instagram content. Sample case studies look at the ways in which Instagram has enlarged the sphere of possible associations, which consequently alter food and diet related acts.DH discourses and the ways in which they impact dietary visibility, proliferate dietary belief systems, intentional DH performances (user subjectivities), and dietary-based social/communal affiliation (intersubjective discourse) are first considered separately. The results indicate that Instagram supplements and even displaces food-related acts. Moreover, Instagram creates a virtual environment in which visual and linguistic dietary discourse is performed; thus altering how users learn about food practices, as well as enabling the making of dietary-based associations. The thesis concludes by linking these elements and details how these components assemble in the making of a dietary techno-cultural space. Dietary Hashtagsiii Acknowledgements Irena Knezevic, I cannot thank her enough for being the best and most flexible supervisor. Our office chats, the writing group, and those long car rides have been invaluable to me. She really has been my rock throughout this process.However, I can't forget the rest of my cheerleaders.I want to thank the rest of my committee, Rena Bivens and Michael Mopas. Both Rena and Michael asked me those tricky questions you wish you didn't have to answer; however, they made me think and gave me future direction for my research. I could not ask for better committee members. I also want to thank Merlyna Lim. Although she is not officially on my committee, she has shown me the ways of 'Jedi API.'The whole Communications faculty, including the wonderful Coleen Kornelsen, has helped me along the way. Thank you.I need to thank my partner Hadi. If it wasn't for him, I don't think I could even find my shoes. He has supported me, listened to me endlessly rant about Actor-Network Theory and hashtag /semiology, and he's helped me when disaster happened (laptop failure, car accident).

The Linguistic Characteristics and Functions of Hashtags: #Is it a New Language?

“…This is against the constraints mentioned by Caleffi's (2015) above which state that hashtags cannot start with digits or be formed entirely of digits. This observation may suggest that Twitter hashtag conventions are different from those for Instagram, which was also reported by Pasho (2017). A few posts were found in the sample that were entirely formed only of hashtags; that is, the post did not include any further content.…”

“…Whereas the bulk of scholarship on hashtags has been dominated by Twitter, among the very few studies that tackled Instagram hashtags is Pasho (2017)…”

“…The first hashtag ever used was '#barcamp' which appeared on Twitter in 2007. In July 2009, Twitter made hashtags hyperlinks, whereby clicking on them redirected the user to posts with that same hashtag (Pasho, 2017). Since the hashtag function was officially incorporated into Twitter search platform in 2009, hashtags have evolved into a 'folksonomy' for people to make commentary, express their feelings, and interact with each other (Lin, 2017).…”