Marc Signorello
English 15a, 007
15 September 2014
Rhetorical Analysis: My Instagram
In the modern-era in which we live today, most of us are glued to technology. Whether it’s our
phone, tablet, computer, or electronic watches, we all constantly are connected with them. A
majority of our time spent with them, are used by checking our various forms of social media.
Some have personal morals towards using social media by restricting emotions and acting very
professional—while others have no problem freely expressing how they feel, without any sort of
filter. I don’t believe there is anything wrong with either of the two, to each his own. While doing
some self-reflecting on Instagram, I believe I utilize both aspects into what I post. The pictures I
post, along with the captions, depict that I am enjoying myself or having fun; however, there are
several pictures that mean more than what meets the eye.
At my profiles genesis, it was
sporadically used, with meaningless
pictures that I only posted to help grow
my profile. Many of my pictures were
so pointless, and barely had any likes
(not that I focus on likes, but it clearly
shows the popularity of certain
photos). I even tried posting “typical”
pictures such as shoes—even though
the shoes to the left are for wrestling—
and food that I was eating. In these
posts, I was very modest and did not
post anything flashy or out of the
ordinary—nothing I posted had a
deeper meaning besides the picture itself. With mediocre pictures, my little audience could tell I
had no credibility, for I was a novice on Instagram. As time went on, I started to learn the nuances
of this outlet of social media, I posted less, with pictures that were more meaningful; I focused on
quality over quantity. For example, maybe instead of posting something that appeals to me, I would
upload a picture that caters to my followers and myself. With that being said, there was a major
stipulation behind the things I posted; it revolved around my family members that follow me on
Instagram. I was not doing horrible things, but I am not a fan of my family knowing all of my
business. If I were to post a picture, I would hate for my cousin to bring it up to my mother, before
I told her about it. The amount of popularity one has on social media often affects what he or she
posts. If you are very popular and a public figure, usually one must be careful what is posted as it
could come back to haunt them. On the contrary, if it is just a normal person, most of the time it is
just a personal preference about filtering his or her own social media.
Fast forward about a year and almost all of my uploads were sports pictures. It was that time of
year and I knew it would appeal to my followers, since most of them either played with me or
supported football or wrestling. In addition to having sports pictures, I would frequently upload
pictures of my truck or Jet Ski. From these pictures, I often got asked for tips about vehicles; people
picked up on the fact that I was into cars. Even though I am not an expert in the automotive field,
my intense passion for my truck easily shows that I know more than the “average Joe”. The picture
above does not do justice on how much I post about my truck. I would happily admit I am obsessed
with it and I display my emotion though pictures. Often times, I would have random people follow
me and ask me questions about my truck. On several occasions, people sought after advice for
their own truck. I did the best I could to help out these strangers, admitting they should take my
advice with a grain of salt.
As I started to analyze my more recent pictures I found that almost all of them reflected some
emotion into them. I was starting to come to the realization that high school was coming to a close
and a lot of the fun would be over. This means saying goodbye to plenty of people, especially the
friends that I am used to spending time with on a daily basis. All of my friends mean the world to
me. We’ve been through hell and back; between tragedies, trials, tribulations, and glory. One
picture does not do justice for how close we were as brothers. We cherished (what could be) our
last moment all together having a good time. In addition, there were times I was struggling with
the passing of my brother and grandmother. The pictures seemed only to be small tributes to my
deceased family members, but was in fact a way to channel both my anger and sorrow. By posting
those pictures, I was relieved by posting them to my page. It made me reflect about how both my
brother and grandmother affected my life. It was a blessing and an honor to have them in my life.
Sometimes I will look back at those photos on Instagram and get the chills from loving memories.
The average follower does not know that, but it means so much to me to have it displayed for
people to see and possibly even think about.
As I have self-reflected through my Instagram I must reiterate that I balance out my profile with
emotions, while still acting conservatively most of the time. I enjoy to show people that I am
enjoying myself, while still containing several pictures that mean more than what meets the eye.