Women's Strategic Studies

Women's Strategic Studies

Analyzing the lived experience of women bloggers active on the Instagram network: Emphasizing opportunities and challenges

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Masoumeh Mirzaei
PhD candidate of Sociology, Social Sciences Department, Faculty of Social Sciences and Economics, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.
10.22095/jwss.2024.455654.3455
Abstract
Instagram, as one of the most popular online social networks, has created the opportunity for active users, especially women, to express themselves and be seen. The present research was conducted in order to understand the opportunities and challenges of women bloggers in the Instagram network, qualitatively and using the phenomenological technology (Collaizi). In order to collect information, a semi-structured interview was conducted with 20 female bloggers. Participants were selected by purposive sampling from active bloggers in four fields (entertainment and leisure, advertising, education and consulting, services). Based on the results, the opportunities obtained by women bloggers in the Instagram space, in (7) theme (discourse, exchange of ideas, income generation, discovery of capabilities, satisfying the sense of being special, free use of virtual space facilities, social activism, redefining women's demands) and their most important challenges were identified in themes such as (designing for visits, increasing followers, conflict in online and real life, personal endangerment). It can be said that upgrading the capacity of online networks has brought many opportunities and challenges for bloggers. Management and supervision of the correct content produced can be considered in improving the performance of women bloggers in order to promote favorable opportunities for results.
Keywords
Women bloggers
self-expression
Instagram network
visibility

Subjects

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