Black & Blue: Competing Social Constructions of Police on Instagram

• In Event: Posters II

Abstract

Mass media like newspapers and television were traditionally where individuals gathered their information; however, with the growth of new media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, they are now co-producers of the content that can be seen by the public. Previous research has demonstrated that media-generated images of the police influence public perception, and these new media outlets are becoming increasingly influential, particularly in regards to social and political conflicts. This means that research on the role of new media outlets in socially constructing reality is essential, though not much has yet been done. This research fills this gap in the literature by examining the question of how images of police are constructed by different social groups, using ethnographic content analysis on the social media platform Instagram in relation to police images with the #BlackLivesMatter or #BlueLivesMatter hashtags.

Author

• Mary Thornhill, The University of Southern Mississippi