SOCIAL PERCEPTIONS
How people perceive the non-Western world through
images on social media
Abstract
Tumblr and Instagram are both frequently used to advertise one’s personal life journeys, often
through images. Here, I will discuss the repercussions of images pertaining to the
underdeveloped and developing world which are posted on social media. People frequently post
pictures from travel, but the images are normally only from vacations or volunteer work, which
presents a segmented view of the other countries. However, this affects how people view the
rest of the world – both the locations and the people from them. Through a survey of sixty-three
people, I aim to show how being exposed to such images and the frequency of exposure change
how people respond to the non-Western world.
Tierney Torchin
Ted Gournelos
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Introduction
It is nearly impossible for one to completely isolate themselves from social media. Even
without any specific sites, it has saturated itself throughout America. This means everyone gets
insight into the lives of their friends – from what food they’re eating at a random diner to their
adventures and explorations. The pictures involving other countries may be seen as interesting or
expanding one’s understanding of other cultures, but I seek to explain how they can additionally
be problematic. Generally, there is segmentation between the photographed world and the truth
of how different parts of the world function. The question posed is how images in social media
change perceptions of the developing and underdeveloped (third) world. Through a survey, I
sought to discover how individuals’ views change towards other nations and towards people
from different racial or ethnic backgrounds due to their exposure to particular image paradigms
via social media.
Literature Review
This question holds significant importance in a day and age where there is such a large
racial divide reopening within America and the western world. There has, thus far, been plenty of
research on the subject, each looking from a different point of view. In the media, it has become
trendy to present caricatures of nations in order to seek international aid or gain the interest of a
western audience (Gabriel-Ellis). However, this is not a new trend; one can trace back the
belittlement of other cultures nearly infinitely, but particularly in Africa, the strengthening of this
argument can be traced back to 1828 when German historian Georg Hegel, who claimed that
African history should be forgotten because it plays no part in contemporary culture. This has
extended to today, as is proven in studies where people play word associations. When Africa
comes up, it is still associated with words such as “war” and “corruption”. Negative perceptions
SOCIAL PERCEPTIONS | How people perceive the non-Western world through images on social media
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of Africa spread to negative ideas of associated features, such as blackness, where skin bleaching
has become common to become more culturally acceptable in the western world (Asante 2013).
Additionally, culturally painted images become fact in the eye of the beholder. The repetition of
certain ideas such as war-divided countries and misguided peoples sways mass populations into
believing that this is the only accurate portrayal of other nations (Wallace 2005).
Media is swaying our portrayals, but social media takes it one step further by swaying
how we then interact with non-western nations. Social media has led to very different trends in
travel; people are taking virtual tours of other countries and seeing more locations. Additionally,
seeing images from countries leads to repeat visits, as can be seen in Thailand, which has
become one of the most viral countries in the world (Xiang 2010). These well-intentioned
individuals are viewing the world through a specific lens of either volunteer work or vacation
and creating a mental image of what the country is before travel. This can lead to cultural
exploitation, where the locales are forced into change by tourists who think that the social
structure is problematic due to prior images (Ruxin 2010) – but regardless of the implications, it
proves that social media has an impact on where and how travel is taking place, as well as how
people are viewing the countries as a whole.
Method
In order to study how social media images change perceptions, I conducted a survey of
sixty-five individuals. This was a convenience sampling, posted on my Facebook and Tumblr –
though most of my replies were from randomized individuals via Tumblr sharing. My sample
was largely female, white United States citizens aged 25 and under. I asked a series of questions
ranging from perceptions of images to basic knowledge on other countries, which is included in
SOCIAL PERCEPTIONS | How people perceive the non-Western world through images on social media
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the appendices (fig 1). This survey was posted on Qualtrics and was completely anonymous so
that the answers would reflect actual opinions instead of feeding into mob mentalities.
Results
This survey did not prove as useful as initially intended, though it did provide some basic
data. I used age as a signifier for internet use because while not completely accurate, the youth
demographic uses social media at a much higher rate and for more extended periods of time than
any other group (Pew Research 2014). One of the first things I noticed was the increased
negativity amongst younger participants. There were more words implying negative correlations
with images and with helping in other countries as the group got younger. They found the image
involving tigers in a temple problematic (fig 2), as well as the image depicting a white volunteer
in an African village (fig 4). They had better views of the image with kids playing with a dog (fig
3). However, throughout, there was more negativity. Words among the younger audience
included “fake” and “wrong”. There were higher rates of individuals disliking images within
younger demographics, and there was increased pessimism that it even helps. There was also a
decrease in general knowledge on underdeveloped nations in the younger audience. Those who
had travelled more found the images involving tourism and voluntourism more problematic than
those who had seen less of the world. Lastly, I found some strange converse relationships
between seeing images of friends travelling and believing that volunteering helps. Those who
saw images of friends travelling regularly also thought that volunteering in third world countries
is not particularly helpful.
Discussion
Most of my findings validated what I had believed would occur. Those from younger
demographics tend to be more exposed to images of other countries set within two main frames.
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One is that of the white savior, in which people from the western world go on a noble quest to
save the Others in an underdeveloped world. The Other is described as a non-dominant group
whose identity is considered to be different in a negative way in comparison to the in-group
(Staszak 2008). The second is through a vacation lens, where the exotic locations are filled with
more otherness, as well as foreign activities not common to the western world. Through these
two lenses, the internet-heavy demographic is left with no choice but to assume that other
countries are filled with people living in a way unlike them. This results in a negativity pointed
towards the other, for the lifestyle they are living is deemed lesser due to the differences. These
are the same negative correlations presented earlier, where images have led to a word association
when presented with the concept of Africa (Gabriel-Ellis). The issues are not isolated to Africa,
either. Negative associations of a group of people are directly linked with racism in the western
world (Asante 2013). The correlation between skin color and specific regions causes people to
drag feelings of racism from images viewed into their day-to-day lives. The younger
demographic is not only being exposed to these images more frequently, but also knows less
about the rest of the world in general. The two lenses are possibly sculpting an entire worldview
for those looking through it. The survey revealed that as ages got younger, statistical guesses got
further from the truth in general. Youths assumed that Africa had higher levels of poverty and
were also less capable of naming countries outside of the western world. They were also more
inclined to answer “Africa” when I asked which country they thought a specific picture was
taken in, even though Africa is a continent. This type of ignorance coupled with a skewed view
of life in non-western countries is a cocktail that can lead to unintentional racism based off of a
misunderstanding of other cultures.
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Another negative side-effect of the results is the negativity. Younger audiences are being
exposed to specific images. The picture showing children playing with a dog represented a
common trope among images of other countries, wherein the landscape is barren and the
lifestyle, even when similar, looks altogether different from the western world. Large quantities
of images expose rural environments such as this, or villages where people are in need of food,
water, schooling, or other basic needs. This is through social media when people go on mission
trips or other programs abroad; but it also saturates televisions in the form of commercials to
donate. Rather than inspiring youth audiences, my survey shows a trend to increase hopelessness,
which has been expanded upon in other research (Wallace 2005). Social media is completely
changing how we interact with other communities. Not only is there the mass globalization that
is so common on news like exposing problems affecting all of Africa, but there is more of an
opportunity for exposure of culture through localized pictures (Servaes and Lie 2008). This is
beneficial because it is showing isolated or smaller communities, but is just increasing the
likelihood of segmented messages being spread, as small places in need of service are depicted
frequently while larger cities in the non-western world are largely unseen. This repetition of
localized images leads to the apathy seen in the world at large and seen in my survey through
those who see images of travel frequently.
The main section that my survey was lacking was an understanding of time spent on
social media as well as what mediums most frequently are used. I realized while analyzing my
results that many people in younger age groups may have been found via Tumblr, and also that
Tumblr audiences and Facebook users share different value systems. Facebook is more across
the board when it comes to political leanings and views of the world, while Tumblr takes a very
liberal approach. Being able to distinguish here would have been valuable. Additionally, hours
SOCIAL PERCEPTIONS | How people perceive the non-Western world through images on social media
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spent online daily would have been a good question to ask. I was able to extrapolate based on
age, but those exposed more frequently within each age group may have different points of view
or understandings. However, the data received was able to make do. If I were to do the study
again, I would edit the content to reflect these changes and to gain more insight as to social
media consumption. I also took off captions to bring the images out of context, but the context
may have been interesting to analyze as well. My research is studying how images on social
media affect our views of non-western countries, but the context does play an important role in
how the message of the image is received. Still, this survey allowed for insight as to how people
take in information. I can conclude that images play a slight role in our perceptions, where those
who take in snippets of information from social media feel more negativity and hopelessness
towards underdeveloped and developing nations, while simultaneously having less knowledge on
the regions. Also, I can conclude that those who claim to see images of friends volunteering
frequently within any age group feel more negatively about the benefits of volunteering in third
world countries. The skewed bits of information received via social media are painting only two
pictures. While volunteering is generally helpful and tourism is a fun activity, gaining one’s
insight to the rest of the world through the travel of others can lead to large gaps in knowledge,
misconceptions, and an overall negative outcome for the part of the world that needs exposure
the most.
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Bibliography
Asante, Molefi. 2013. “The Western Media and Falsification of Africa: Complications of Value
and Evaluation.” China Media Research vol 9:2.
Gabriel-Ellis, Nathaniel. 2011. “What role does media play in shaping western perceptions of 3rd
world countries?” PhD dissertation.
Lenhart, Amanda, et al. 2010. “Social Media and Mobile Internet Use Among Teens and Young
Adults.” Pew Internet and American Life Project, 1-37.
Pew Research Center. 2014. “Social Networking Fact Sheet.” http://www.pewinternet.org/factsheets/social-networking-fact-sheet/
Ruxin, Josh. 2010. “Tourism in the Developing World - Beneficial or Exploitative?” Huffington
Post, May 16th.
Servaes, Jan and Rico Lie. 2008. “Media Globalization through Localization.” Communication
for Development and Social Change, 58-67. France: Sage Publications.
Staszak, Jean-Francois. 2008. “Other / otherness.” International Encyclopedia of Human
Geography, 1-7.
Wallace, Jamie. 2005. “American Perceptions of Africa Based on Media Representations.” PhD
dissertation, University of Oxford.
Xiang, Zheng and Ulrike Gretzel. 2010. “Role of social media in online travel information
search.” Tourism Management vol 31.2: 179-188.
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Appendix
Fig 1) *Refer to excel spreadsheet labeled “Survey Results”
Fig 2)
Fig 3)
Fig 4)
SOCIAL PERCEPTIONS | How people perceive the non-Western world through images on social media