Instagram as a place of memory

Abstract

Discusses the relationship of the Instagram social network with memory, in order to make its basic theoretical constructs and characteristics comprehensible in order to draw attention to the importance of photography as a visual memory of the physical and natural world. Sontag (1981) states that over time photography began a process of "[...] democratizing all experiences through its translation by images" and, for this purpose, this work, from a theoretical point of view, seeks studies and reports on how the Instagram platform contributes to maintaining the memorial of post-mortem users through the memorial function and profiles that make posthumous tributes to users. It is a qualitative research, with bibliographic, documentary and reports as a procedure for the construction of the theoretical framework. It is concluded, in view of the theme, that photography, even in the social media environment, retains its symbolic character, occasionally creating identification both with the object portrayed, and with the representation of a moment, an experience or a past.