The challenges of changing the lifestyle of veiled women on Instagram

Document Type : .

Authors

1 Assistant Professor and Faculty Member, Imam Hussein (PBUH) University, Department of Cultural Thought and Management, Tehran, Iran

2 PhD Candidate in Cultural Policy, Imam Hussein (PBUH) University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract
Abstract
Issue: Emerging social media such as Instagram, which are based on visual communication and daily life narratives, have found great relevance to the lifestyle of users. The central component of Instagram is the focus on performance, which can expand the performance lifestyle. The main issue of this article is the representation of the conflicts and challenges that have arisen in the lifestyle of hijabi women who have become faces on Instagram under the title of Hijab Style.
Method: For this work, we analyzed the overt and covert messages of the posts of the hijabi faces using the semiotic method, and finally, through content analysis, we reached the axes of their lifestyle representation. Using a purposive and theoretical sampling method, 15 cases were selected.
Conclusion: The findings show that veiled women active on Instagram are undergoing a significant transformation and are experiencing a change in their lifestyle, which is called theatricality and fantasy, which can be traced under ten major components: veil and covering, chastity in behavior, privacy, dominance of feminist thoughts, celebrity and celebrity, prosperity and aristocracy, highlighting the Western lifestyle, dance and music, everyday life and entertainment, fantasy and hypocritical religiosity.
Keywords: social media, Instagram, dramatic life, hijab style, fantasy.
Introduction
With the transition from the one-way web (web one), new generations of the web, under the titles of web two and three (called interactive and intelligent web), have led the flow of influence and observation in cyberspace to the flow of influence and role-playing.One of the most prominent, popular, and widely used web 2 software is the Instagram software, which has spread among Iranians after the Facebook software.
The growth of users and the penetration rate of Instagram use in the world and Iran is one of the important dimensions of the issue. "This platform experienced a growth of 20.4 percent in 2018, and this number reached 7.3 percent in 2019. The results of a survey conducted in July 1400 by the Iranian Student Opinion Polling Center (ISPA) indicate a significant increase in the use of social media among Iranian users.
Since the main goal of this article is to understand the change in the lifestyle of veiled women in Instagram life and its challenges, the behavioral signs of these women's lifestyle on Instagram in relation to religious life should be analyzed. Because the most important indicator of Instagram's distinction from other similar platforms is its photo-centricity, its main function is defined as a visual narrative of life, in other words, "biography."
Based on "being noticed" or "fame authenticity" with two mechanisms of following and being followed, that is, who do I follow and who follow me, Instagram creates an identity called a follower, which indicates the publicization of fame. For this reason, most of the activities of users on this platform have taken place in the form of self-portraiture, which this limited translation into the physical dimension of human personality and identity has ultimately resulted in "bodyography." Therefore, the topic of "bodyhood" and body studies focused on the role of Instagram has grown significantly in recent years.
The main issue of this article is to examine the challenges and conflicts in representing the lifestyle of people who are committed to religious teachings and turned to Instagram in virtual living conditions. It seems that the self-representation and self-promotion of veiled women are in conflict with the components of the veil of adornment, chastity, and the veil of a Muslim woman, which users represented in rethinking their identity in every challenge.
 
 
 
 
 
Materials & methods
Based on the subject and objectives set in this study, which seeks to understand "describing the lifestyle represented by veiled women on Instagram," a qualitative research method will be helpful.
Since the analysis depends on the representation of the lifestyle of users, the semiotic method was used to collect information on Instagram by observing published photos and texts and comments, and the data was classified and organized. The sampling method is carried out with two criteria: first, theoretical sampling (with the criterion of producing content about daily life) and second, purposeful sampling (veiled users). In data analysis, the overt and covert message of each part of the data was analyzed, and then the content was analyzed by combining the overt and covert information.
The study population is veiled girls and women active on Instagram. The sample members were selected purposefully with the criteria of being public, posts being relevant to daily life and lifestyle components, continuous presence and activity on the Instagram network, sharing at least 40 posts on user pages, and having more than 3,000 audiences or followers.
In data analysis, all collected documents, including photos, videos, audio, etc., were analyzed and interpreted using the qualitative analysis method. By analyzing and interpreting the data, hidden and overt messages were converted into text that can be analyzed and categorized, so that from among the documentation, analyzable images were selected and then the dimensions, axes, and elements in the photos and writings were interpreted in detail. Next, using the organizational coding process, the themes were conceptually integrated and categorized, and finally the data were interpreted and analyzed through 10 comprehensive components.
 
Discussion & Result
In this study, a layer of lifestyle components that were changed and transformed by Instagram, such as demonstrative behaviors, display, consumerism, and life narrative, were discussed, researched, and identified, and ultimately 10 main themes were extracted. The most important lifestyle components of the studied individuals that were changed when exposed to Instagram were:
1. Hijab and covering, which have undergone significant changes and reductions
2. Disclosure of privacy under the pretext of attracting attention
3. Chastity in behavior, which has undergone fundamental changes
4. Feminist and feminist thoughts
5. Fame and celebrity seeking
6. Luxurious life and its representation in foreign trips and luxury goods
7. Trend towards Western lifestyle, including symbols, products, special events such as Valentine's and Halloween
8. Music and dance
9. Entertainment of life
10. Demonstrative religiosity in collective rituals and personal spiritual states
 
Conclusion
The main goal of this article is to achieve the conflicts and challenges that the lifestyle of veiled people affected by Instagram has. In this social media, the way a type of users known as veiled, who are often known and distinguished by their religious lifestyle, deal with Instagram as a visual, photo-centric and theatrical medium was considered and analyzed, which led to an understanding of a phenomenon called "Instagramming in life".
The fantasy of all life, even religiosity, is the main world of Instagramming. Modernity, as the origin of the concept of lifestyle, by reducing life to consumption, has led to the emergence of the concept of lifestyle with specific and exclusive components such as fashion, clothing, food, etc., whose roots are influenced by the type of worldview of man and existence. On the other hand, the matter of theatrical life, which is redefined with concepts such as: fame, showiness, self-show, boasting, hypocrisy, and luxury, is in conflict with the general spirit of the Islamic lifestyle and components such as anonymity, concealment of adornment, lack of attractiveness of gender stereotypes, lack of hypocrisy and sincerity.

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