Surveillance motivations of social media: A research on instagram users

Observation behaviour dates back to very ancient times. Since the very beginning, people have observed each other as to control, to protect or just out of their curious. Observation, which is not a new concept that came out in this age, have been through certain changes due to the technological advancements in the historical process. Having been systematised by the presence of the Modern governments, observation was used only to obtain "information" about the individuals as to keep society under control. In this perspective, observation acts as an act of surveillance, which aims to keep something under control. Observation, due to the technological advancements, have come to be present everywhere at any time. Along with the integration of the social media into the social life, and the recent technological advancements the objectives and the content of the observation has altered. Today, behaviours to be observed and information to be obtained are shared by the individuals deliberately. In this respect, not only the governments but also the individuals were enabled to observe each other. Monitoring of the individuals each other is not a new situation, however it became prevalent thanks to the social media, for it is made to serve as an instrument for observation. Many types of information have become easily accessible and observable thanks to the profile pages of users, the photos they shared, and the comments they made. People can observe each other on the social media, and recently this observation behaviour has become a type of engagement between the individuals. In this survey, this issue will be discussed concerning its interpersonal side. Social media is just the right address for this kind of observation. While talking about the relation between the government and observation above, the notion of "information" was stressed. Similarly, the purpose of the act of observation is to obtain information about each other. To observe the others as to learn anything about them is the most prevalent type of use of the social media. However, this act of obtaining information does not aim to discipline or to take them under control. Either the will to keep up with the news about the social environment or the curiosity are some of the most important purposes of using social media. Curiosity is an enthusiasm which pushes the people to learn and to know. Since the dawn of the time humans have always wondered what was going on around them and to know something about the "others". Thanks to the social media the resources to learn this information has increased and became easily accessible. May curiosity be one of the motivations of observation, but it is not thought to be the mere reason. There are certain standards that are determined by the society. As to keep up with those standards, individuals tend to observe people around them as to learn what is appropriate or not. In this survey, the act of "observation" is taken in a holistic view and aims to reveal the reasons of the observation motivations of social media users, what this "observation" means to them, and its effect on daily engagements between individuals.