Visual Culture Impact: Blurred Photos on Instagram

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Introduction

The selected trend for further examination is widespread among Instagram users, and it is posting blurred pictures from their everyday life. This choice is conditional upon the apparent correlation between this practice and societal shifts from representing the best self to authenticity. For example, the recent photos of many influencers created for their followers are already affected by this trend. Blurred images can be made by the camera if taken in such a way, but Instagram also offers a filter that blurs pictures (Masdari & Hosseini, 2021). Instagram is an application for taking, editing, and sharing videos and photographs; thus, users strive to create specific content to make their accounts visually more appealing to the public (Poulsen, 2018). Genuineness has become a new trend in the nowadays Internet culture. Therefore, taking blurred pictures has turned into a fashion because this filter gives a sense of accidentally taken photos while being consumed with other processes or events. The standards of visual representation on this social media and trends are evolving, and their consideration may help understand the idea and impact of this Instagram filter.

Figure 1. Employees Creating Collages of a New Collection in the Office (Blurry Images, 2021).

The Images and Visual Trend of Focus

The images that will be described in this paper were taken from an Instagram account of a clothing brand. Figure 1 shows several photographs from the post by Blurry Images where workers create a collage for a marketing campaign to present the new clothing collection. These photos were likely taken by the store’s social media manager, who generates content for the brand’s Instagram followers. As it can be seen from this picture, it was deliberately taken with a blurring filter, to correspond to the store’s title and to follow the popular trend. Blurred images can be created using one of the Instagram filters, which reminds one of the old times when the camera strength was insufficient to create high-quality photos. The blurring effect seems to suggest the authenticity of the posted pictures as if they were taken without preparation and posing, which appears to overwhelm the Instagram community. Although this social media platform was initially developed for “aesthetic visual communication,” users now want to see more originality (Leaver et al., 2020, p. 40). Therefore, a blurring filter was introduced to help people capture moments and make them appear accidental.

The Rationale for Focusing on This Trend

The primary reason for choosing this particular trend was that blurred images had gained increased popularity among celebrities on Instagram since the beginning of the pandemic. Although low-quality pictures were standard in the past due to the lack of technical power of photographing devices, it was not a fashion (Leaver et al., 2020). On the other hand, now, purposefully adding the blurring effect is the indication of either nostalgia or dynamics. Furthermore, the Instagram community seems exhausted from forged perfection; hence, blurred photographs have become a trend among those who want more authenticity. Therefore, this essay will explore how literature discusses the history of Instagram filters, the meaning of the blurring effect, and its impact on users.

The Reason Why Blurred Images Become a Trend

When people look at pictures posted on Instagram, they do not just perceive the visuals but also unconsciously associate themselves with these photographs. A feeling of nostalgia and genuine sharing conveyed through blurred images seem to make this effect popular among the users of this platform. Indeed, according to Masdari and Hosseini (2021), “the emotional connection to nostalgia seems to be based on the very imperfections that are conspicuously missing in digital images” (pp. 66-67). Furthermore, if pictures can evoke childhood memories, they are considered a work of art (Masdari & Hosseini, 2021). Hence, making photographs less ideal by adding the blurring effect elicits an artistic feeling in the audience due to invoking memories that are essential and precious to individuals. Modern technologies embedded into smartphones allow to take pictures of superior quality. Still, using filters to add an imperfection suggests the perception of a photographer, who presents photos in a way to simulate a specific period or activity (Masdari & Hosseini, 2021). In this case, Blurry Images photographs suggest an active working process, which does not give much time to pose and create flawless images.

Aesthetic Communities of Blurred Photographs

Users that apply blurring filters to the pictures they post on Instagram become unintentionally categorized into an aesthetic community of those who love blurred images. Depending on the context, these pictures may elicit nostalgic feelings and a sense of belonging to a specific event or group. Moreover, the image can be blurred when someone moves fast in a car, train, bicycle, or another vehicle. Thus, people demonstrate exciting moments by sharing blurred photos while driving or traveling (Masdari & Hosseini, 2021). It may suggest their busyness with living in the real world and occasionally posting some pieces of it to the virtual space. Although the viewers’ perception of the visuals is essential, the most defining feature of these images is the perspective of the person taking pictures (Leaver et al., 2020). These people present their view of the world and their experiences in the form of intentionally flawed photographs, resulting in the development of an entire network of Instagram users following this fashion.

The Interpretation of the Blurring Filter as a Trend

The blurring filter seems to be first introduced to create a feeling, but this effect became a trend since it started to be used widely. In the case of celebrities, influencers, and businesses, advertising is a priority, and the inspiration is evoked by posting aesthetically pleasing images (Holm, 2016). The modality being discussed is complemented by the lack of clarity in composition and simplicity of technological solutions, alongside the absence of definite lines and shapes (Rose, 2011; Tishman, 2017). By blurring the pictures, they make them resemble photos from earlier days and seem to thereby invite the audience to reflect on the shared experiences of the past (Masdari & Hosseini, 2021). However, this filter can be perceived as something more than a just tool for provoking nostalgic thoughts. According to Masdari and Hosseini (2021), nostalgia is “a socio-cultural response to forms of discontinuity, claiming a vision of stability and authenticity in some conceptual golden age” (p. 66). Thus, physical or digital items that immerse someone in this period again elicit positive emotions.

The blurring effect may suggest that people take pictures while busy with other activities like work, creative process, enjoying nature, or spending time with family. For instance, in Figure 1, employees of the company are focused on generating collage to promote the new clothes to the customers, ensuring that high-quality product rather than a good Instagram photo is provided. Therefore, those who want to demonstrate their active and energetic daily lives post blurred images.

Instagram: The Trend’s Site of Circulation

Instagram is the central platform where the blurring filter became popular. It is frequently used by influencers, celebrities, and many other users who want to entertain their followers visually. Instagram filters have an aesthetic role and a social function to render “more poignant the present moment, in particular the banal, everyday present moment” (Leaver et al., 2020, p. 54). Nostalgia and authenticity were not the primary trends when various filters were introduced on Instagram. Still, they became favored because users quickly noticed that the blurring effect, for example, helps to elicit unique feelings (Leaver et al., 2020). Since many people spend time scrolling this social media, users who want to attract more followers try to use visually appealing and emotionally satisfying techniques. Blurring is the effect that catches people’s attention by its lack of focus or desire to appear ideal that changes the perspective of Instagram users on what is more alluring for their followers. Individuals are more likely to subscribe to accounts with content that offers mental comfort even if through filters that evoke recollection of the past or embrace the dynamics of the present moment.

The Interpretation of Instagram Filters in the Literature

Since Instagram is one of the most trendy social media platforms, many social science researchers investigate it from various lenses. For example, the articles by Masdari and Hosseini (2021) and Poulsen (2018) discuss the aesthetics of posts on this platform and different Instagram filters used for editing images respectively. These two papers guide readers about the progress of Instagram and discuss the meaning of artistic effects.

The first article for the future study is devoted to the role of Instagram in forming the aesthetic perceptions of the population. By introducing filters that resemble old photographs or give an altered perspective on the captured moment, Instagram created an entire community of people who enjoy observing and sharing pictures with artistic effects. The authors of the first paper claim that the orientation of this platform on visual content, enhanced communication using images, and the availability of numerous tools are influenced by people’s preferences (Masdari & Hosseini, 2021). Finally, the article suggests the development of some filters by the feelings of nostalgia and the desire for connection with other people who had similar past experiences.

The second article for analysis of the trend narrates the historical development of Instagram and the tools it offers to its users to add various effects to images. In this paper, Poulsen (2018) stated that features and filters evolved over time, and their number and potential use changed significantly. Specifically, the effects improved to such an extent that people first use Instagram filters to observe a place before experiencing the beauty of nature or urban life with their own visual apparatus. Indeed, users “hold the camera up to the scene and see the world through Instagram’s visual effects” before capturing the moment using their iPhones’ powerful cameras (Poulsen, 2018, p. 134). Furthermore, the author examined the previous literature on Instagram use to detect the shifts and discuss the gathered data from the perspective of the platform’s development (Poulsen, 2018). The scholar concludes that the interactions between users are continuously realigned with the emergence of new technological solutions, and their patterns can be determined by paying attention to the available filters.

Visual Impact of Blurred Photographs

Blurred images may make people feel that their vision is distorted, but, at the same time, this effect is visually pleasing. Central or peripheral blur can occur because of aberrations that result from lens or pupil abnormalities, causing incorrect light distribution to the retina (De Lestrange-Anginieur & Kee, 2020). The blurring filter allows for challenging individuals’ perceptions, showing that the captured moment is no longer real since it is left in the past. The overall impact of the blurring photographs is satisfying for viewers because it enables the association with the moment and people in the image. Therefore, people who post these pictures give their audience a sense of connectedness with the depicted event. Despite the feelings that the edited photos show, one may think that filters are overused (Leaver et al., 2020). In fact, not using editing became a new trend; hence, filters, such as blurring, that would generate an authentic effect on pictures gained popularity.

Since the blurred effect can be obtained from motion, these images can help make Instagram accounts look busy. Many users take pictures throughout the day while driving to work, eating lunch, or traveling to another place, and they want their followers to feel this energy of constant motion (Masdari & Hosseini, 2021). Indeed, the blurring filter allows attaching the idea of dynamics and a sense of presence in that captured situation, adding authenticity to these photographs that were supposedly taken and posted instantly.

The feeling of nostalgia is the central idea behind this filter suggested in the first article discussed above. Many Instagram users value the past, and thus, many prefer to post edited images that are reminiscent of the old times of low-quality cameras and one opportunity to take pictures. Since people seem always to consider that their previous experiences were better, Instagram developers quickly realized that it is essential to give users the power to reconstruct the past through simple editing (Poulsen, 2018). Moreover, smartphones have become a necessary element of modern life, allowing users to eat, travel, and work without losing connection with the virtual world (Masdari & Hosseini, 2021). Therefore, individuals can take photographs of these moments and instantly share them on Instagram after quickly adding several filters that will add dramatic, nostalgic, or dynamic effects. The blurring feature, specifically, gives a chance to show the world that one moves quickly from one place to another and has almost no time to take standard manicured images. This filter is a meditation on the Instagram community’s exhaustion from glamorous content; hence, people deliberately downgrade the quality of their pictures.

Conclusion

In summary, the blurring Instagram filter gained popularity among celebrities, influencers, businesses, and other users recently. The original idea was to evoke nostalgic or other positive thoughts that give individuals a sense of connectedness to a larger community of people who have a shared experience. Another interpretation of the blurring effect was that it presents motion and thus one’s energetic and spirited life. However, the filter was turned into a trend precisely because many people started to implement this effect to edit their pictures posted on this social media platform. Nevertheless, even the fashion of blurred photographs can be considered an aesthetic choice of a big group of people who bestow value and meaning to every image they share on Instagram. For example, the photos examined in this essay were posted by a clothing store, Blurry Images, to present its employees’ preparation for a marketing campaign for a new collection. These pictures were edited using a blurring effect because of the brand’s name and its desire to be perceived as a store that values past, authenticity, and hard work.

References

Blurry Images [@blurryimage.nl]. (2021). Check out some snapshots from last week at the office. [Photograph]. Instagram. Web.

De Lestrange-Anginieur, E., & Kee, C. S. (2020). Testing impacts of global blur profiles using a multiscale vision simulator. Heliyon, 6(7), 1-9.

Holm, N. (2016). Advertising and consumer society: A critical introduction. Palgrave.

Leaver, T., Highfield, T., & Abidin, C. (2020). Aesthetics. In Instagram: Visual social media cultures (pp. 39-74). John Wiley & Sons.

Masdari, F., & Hosseini, S. H. (2021). The aesthetics of Instagram: Exploring the aesthetics of visual and semantic aspects of Instagram.Journal of Cyberspace Studies, 5(1), 59-78.

Poulsen, S. V. (2018). Becoming a semiotic technology – A historical study of Instagram’s tools for making and sharing photos and videos. Internet Histories, 2(1-2), 121-139.

Rose, G. (2011). Visual methodologies: An introduction to researching with visual materials (4th ed.). Sage.

Tishman, S. (2017). Strategies for looking. In Slow looking (1st ed., pp. 8-27). Routledge.

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