The self in selfies—Conceptualizing the selfie‐coordination of marginalized youth with sociology of engagements

Abstract

This article develops a theory of selfies as reflexive practices of self‐coordination. Building on pragmatist sociology of engagements, I conceptualize selfies as digital practices of coordinating with the self in formats that are recognizable for others. This framework allows approaching the self as an act of coordination, simultaneously shaped by, and equipped to subvert the cultural conditions of how we ought to be. As these conditions are increasingly enforced and negotiated in the socio‐technological arrangements of digital platforms, the article proposes an approach for making sense of selfies as key contemporary tools of self‐making. Based on ethnographic work among activists with marginalizing experiences, I ask how the self is coordinated in the activists' selfies. I identify four ways of coordinating with the self in selfies: the self in a plan, the self in exploration, the affirmed self, and the self as public critique. The article contributes to our understanding on how practices of self‐making evolve in an increasingly visual‐digital society, and provides an approach for conceptualising the self as plural. By approaching the selfie as different formats of relating to the self, the framework proposed accounts for the possibility of multiple selves now afforded by digital technologies and enables analysing their politicizing potential.

Democratic Self-transformations

“…Articulating and exploring identities via social media allows for more freedom in curating and constructing the self. Identities emerge as digital assemblages of images, selfies, avatars, hashtags, pseudonyms, GIFs, and emojis (Meriluoto 2023;Papacharissi 2011;Walker Rettberg 2014). Anonymity plays a crucial role in these modes of self-expression as the act of going online always necessitates a rearticulation of the self on screen.…”

A közösségi médiakommunikáció anomáliái és beszédaktusainak torzulásai

“…A szelfik tartalomelemzését ld. :Ujhelyi (2018), szemiotikai, pragmatikai keretben történő elemzését ld Meriluoto (2023)…”