Engagement and Outreach: A Content Analysis of Students’ Instagram Postings

Abstract

Instagram, a social media tool designed for photo and video sharing, is increasingly being used as an outreach and engagement tool by companies and individuals. This paper reports a study on the content of Instagram updates. The study was inspired by an earlier attempt to incorporate the use of Instagram in English lessons in a Summer School Programme in Malaysia which involved students from Japan. The objectives of the study are to identify the subjects of photos posted and the information written in the photo captions by the Instagram users. The data of this study are seven-day Instagram updates of 30 students. These data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The finding shows students are keen to post photos of their food, friends, and fashion. Meanwhile, the captions reveal that the entries are meant to be informative rather than persuasive. Based on the conclusions of the research, a new lesson plan is recommended for the future Summer School Programme.

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Author Information
Ghazali Bunari, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
Wan Muhammad Wan Abdul Samad, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
Rohayah Kahar, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
Abdul Halim Abdul Raof, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
Adlina Abdul Samad, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia

• Category: Education and Technology: Teaching, Learning, Technology and Education Support

Posted by James Alexander Gordon

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