My friend of English Diploma asked me to wrote an essay to be publised at magazine, what magazine ? idk -___-
Instagram, Low Culture ?
At present technology era, we can found so much kind of community that their members consist of people from same or different ages, cultures, races, and places, joining into a group or community for the same reason and purpose. In this case, exposing the Instagram Community in Indonesia and trying to analyze this community in many aspects, for example their ideology in creating group and many others is quite interesting. Moreover, relates this community with the reality in the urban life and in popular culture nowadays to get the answer why this community becomes so popular to decide in high or low culture Instagram belongs to.
The
common definition of Instagram :
Instagram is a sharing-photo application that makes the user able to take photos, apply the digital filter, and share it to social networks, include the Instagram itself. One of unique feature in Instagram is to crop a photo into a square to give a result that that photo similar with a photo that taken from Kodak Instamatic and Polaroid. This is different with the ratio aspect 4:3 that commonly used by camera in moving tools. Instagram could be used in iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch in any version with operating system iOS 3.1.2 or the newest Android with 2.2(Froyo) OS. This application available in Apple App Store and Google Pay. (Wikipedia, 2012).
Instagram develop from just an application in iPhone become an independent company. The Community from this application becomes more popular as the time goes. The members are mostly the iPhone or another Apple products users because this application firstly introduced by Apple company through iPhone. In world class, the community gather in a big community called HDRiPhoneographer and Gang Family. Instead, Instagram Community in Indonesia commonly called iPhonesia. iPhonesia or (i)Device (Pho)tographer Indo(nesia) is a community that firstly announced in 12th January 2011 is the biggest iPhonography in Indonesia that appreciate photography and digital process through Device, in this case is iPhone (Wikipedia, 2012). This community activities around sharing photo, the knowledge in sharing photo and using iDevice through the social networks like twitter that use a hashtag #iPhonesia that become the top 5 famous hashtag in the world. Moreover, the members usually held a gathering event such as the event that held in Bali 31st March- 2nd April 2012 consist of members from Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and etc.
This community is the example of popular culture in urban society’s life. The Instagram community first members are the iPhone user because Instagram application firstly introduced by iPhone as one of photo edits application that could share the photos they take into social networks. Social networks are the favor of the society nowadays, people logged in into those social networks every single day even hours. Social networks also became the media to introduce this community become more popular. They are not only using the application but also the media to popularize the application and the community of Instagram. This case reflects that hand phone (iPhone) function is no longer as telecommunication system, it now become the part of life style, the reflection that urban life lead to conclusion of high consumerism. People start to buy the expensive iPhone in order to able to use Instagram application and show up their existence in social networks. The Instagram and The Instagram Community become more popular because of the media. The media that they used is the application of Instagram itself and the social networks such as facebook and twitter. The mode of consumption is the favor of the people in photography and the desire of the people to try this application in iPhone, while iPhone itself already a famous high features handphone. This condition called fetish, when people adore iPhone that yet famous become have new mode consumption to buy iPhone in order to enjoy the Instagram application although they must spend a lot of money to buy iPhone. The value of the iPhone no longer just as a hand phone for the Instagram Community, but it become their life style also to reflect their social statuses. The value of the product has changed, it was fraudulent symbolism. Members of Instagram Community beliefs that iPhone is the best hand phone that has high quality and features that reflect their personalities, values of the phone according to them is determine their habit and class in society, that distinguish them from other groups in society. Moreover, according to them using Instagram and joining Instagram club members give them a title or icon as a part of photographer, although amateur one, and the art of edited photography.
At earlier launch of Instagram, this application is the high culture because who wants to enjoy its features must buy iPhone. Today, people could enjoy Instagram by using Android as mentioned above, that has cheaper price in markets. The Instagram owner separated their company from Apple to another cheaper hand phone to reach the wide society, as the result it was successfully makes the users gaining.
Instagram is an application and social network that become popular culture among the society especially iPhone users that create Instagram community with huge members counted, for about 7 million people in worldwide. The media, the Instagram itself help this community become more popular as the pop culture characteristic that need media as the tools to promote them into the society. The society becomes fetish because they persuaded to buy iPhone in order to able to use Instagram. While nowadays, people should not buy those expensive products and choose cheaper Android to use Instagram that leads to the increase of the members. Back to the definition of low culture that typically mass culture and classified as low culture, contrast of high culture that its members are rare. Finally, the phone itself has changed the value of product and function, from a phone become into part of lifestyle that reflects social status of the user. So, are you sure that using Instagram ranked you in members of high culture society? the same case, using Blackberry ranked you in high culture class ? I said no.
Works
Cited
Gopego. Photowalk
dan Instameet Dunia. March 01, 2012. Retrieved: May 21, 2012, from: http://gopego.com/full/2012/03/photowalk-instameet-dunia
Wikipedia. Instagram. May 8, 2012. Retrieved: May
21, 2012, from: http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagram.
