Keep scrolling by/for yourself: Affective identity work in social media

In this article, we explore how Instagram constitutes a site for affective disorientation and thus facilitates and conditions various processes of identity work. This study examines this process by shedding light on our own experiences of our relationship with Instagram and illustrates how Instagram fosters opportunities and (im)possibilities for affective identity work. We present this autoethnographical account of Instagram through writing differently by using collaborative poetic collage. Our explorative study aims to create the following two contributions: first, we extend the scholarly discussion on identity work online by shedding light on the affective side of identity work processes, conditioned by the uncontrollable and disorienting intensities and moments of social media. Second, we use poetics to expand on politics of feminist knowledge production and to write differently, while engaging with our personal and political experiences.

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Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
New Media & Society
Published
2025-10-24
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251379031
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Gender, Feminism, and Media
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.87
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article

Keep scrolling by/for yourself: Affective identity work in social media

Ana Paula Lafaire, Aleksi Soini
1 citations
New Media & Society
Gender, Feminism, and Media
3.87
article

Keep scrolling by/for yourself: Affective identity work in social media

Ana Paula Lafaire, Aleksi Soini
article en
1 citations

Abstract

In this article, we explore how Instagram constitutes a site for affective disorientation and thus facilitates and conditions various processes of identity work. This study examines this process by shedding light on our own experiences of our relationship with Instagram and illustrates how Instagram fosters opportunities and (im)possibilities for affective identity work. We present this autoethnographical account of Instagram through writing differently by using collaborative poetic collage. Our explorative study aims to create the following two contributions: first, we extend the scholarly discussion on identity work online by shedding light on the affective side of identity work processes, conditioned by the uncontrollable and disorienting intensities and moments of social media. Second, we use poetics to expand on politics of feminist knowledge production and to write differently, while engaging with our personal and political experiences.

New Media & Society
Aalto University (FI)
Openalex Percentile: Top 6%
Gender, Feminism, and Media
3.87
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