نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
عنوان مقاله English
نویسندگان English
Today, Instagram, as one of the most popular platforms, has provided a significant socio-cultural field for the study of emergent forms of social activism. The realm of animals, whether from the perspective of advocating for them or confronting population growth and its resulting harms, is one of these emerging and widely discussed arenas of the present era. In this research, we strive to study the processes of legitimization, credibility acquisition, and symbolic capital generation of two popular Iranian animal welfare bloggers, “Sajjad Nadimi” and “Seyyed Mehdi Tabatabaei,” and to compare their differing operational dynamics within the Instagram field. These two individuals were chosen due to their follower counts and their significant differences in cultural and social capital, despite sharing a common objective. Our analysis was conducted using a directed qualitative method, employing Bourdieu’s theoretical framework (field and capital), as a pre-existing theory helped focus on our research questions. Therefore, data from the pages of these two activists, including posts, stories, images, and hashtags, were collected over a ten-day period, aligned with the research questions, and analyzed until theoretical saturation was reached. The main codes were based on Bourdieu’s concepts, and the sub-codes or sub-categories were predominantly organized based on data recurrence. The main research questions are: How are cultural, social, and economic capital acquired and consolidated in the Instagram field, and what processes lead to the production of symbolic capital and increased social influence for these two bloggers compared to other competitors? We also addressed prominent techniques, capital transformations, and the consequences of their activism.
Findings show that Bourdieu’s classic capitals within the Instagram animal advocacy field have primarily been represented in the form of digital and visual capital. “Narrativization,” “Creating distinction,” “Dichotomization,” and “Legitimation and De-legitimation” were among the most important techniques for activating symbolic capital, which led to increased visibility and the attraction of material and moral support from audiences.
In a general view, the social and cultural capitals employed in “Sajjad Nadimi’s” activism, both explicitly and implicitly, often denoted Iran, Iranian society, and its culture and laws. Nadimi largely derives his symbolic legitimacy and credibility from globally recognized cultural capital. For the salvation and improvement of animals, he seeks solutions and activism outside of the local context, rather than structural interventions. In contrast, Tabatabaei, through an ethical-religious lens, attempts to critically analyze the structural and cultural conditions of the country concerning animal rights, presenting it through reliance on religious and jurisprudential teachings. The symbolic capitals of these individuals, accumulated in the form of digital capital, have been influenced by the traditional capitals of these two individuals in the real world. In fact, capitals in this field are in constant conflict. For example, the duality of love-suffering manifests as symbolic capital for the activist; that is, it creates the symbolic capital of compassion and salvation or hero-making. The accumulation of digital capital for these individuals in the form of likes and comments has led to charitable contributions from users and other virtual interactions. Furthermore, the field of action for these two individuals, both from the Instagram field and from the activists themselves, includes limitations on narration and also causes the absence of other narratives.
We have also used the term “meta capital” by Nick Couldry to explain some other limitations of the blogging field. He uses this term to refer to the power of media and its influence on other fields. Therefore, animal activists, like other players in the Instagram field, are compelled to pay attention to both the rules and capital of the Instagram field itself, as well as its trans-border rules to influence other fields such as cultural development and policy-making.
کلیدواژهها English
