Project 1: In My Own Time
Yuxi Yin- Her Reflection About My Project
19/02/2019
Arya’s proposal focuses on cataloging the amount of time she spends on Instagram and the images she has “liked” during those hours. The statistic surprises me because the number of photos she finds interesting seems small compared to the length of time she scrolls through the app. For example, she spent an hour and 16 minutes on the first day but only “liked” 21 photos. She admits during her presentation that she does not benefit from wasting so much time on Instagram. However, I think she would understand her social network better and her role within by continuing to catalogue and analyze the images she “likes” and not “like” in relationship to the people she follows. She could start asking herself questions, such as “why do I like those photos? Is it because of the subject or the people who post them? What does “like” mean? Does it say something about my own personal taste? Is it a sign of support for a friend, a demonstration of some kind of rapport? What could I be doing instead, that may or may not have the same purpose? Why would I keep doing it if I think it is a waste of time? What is the purpose of social media and my interpretation of it?” I could see her final project as a video or some format of visualization of the data she has collected that showcases her perception of time on Instagram.
Process:
I started this project by recording the time I spend on Instagram through five days. After I realized that I was spending way too much time, I decided to document those moments by asking people around me whenever I check on the social media apps on my phone.
Project:
Everyday we constantly share what we are doing, how we are passing our time, if we are reading a book we share it, if we are sipping on some coffee we share it but in fact us being on social media on our phones is one of the biggest pastimes. Which we avoid or forget sharing. It only made sense to me to show the reality. This Instagram account is a documentary of my time on Instagram. This is my reality but I am sure there are other people who spend this amount of time on Instagram or more.
I wanted to provide a sense of continuity and coherence with the black and white effect to make the page more striking. This way it is harder to tell the time and setting difference between images. Right now I have thirty three photos but I think this project doesn’t have an end because this is an activity we do in our daily life constantly. So I can share more photos over time and continue my documentation.