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The Korean Society for Journalism & Communication (KSJCS)
[ Article ]
Korean Journal of Journalism & Communication Studies - Vol. 68, No. 1, pp.193-230
ISSN: 2586-7369 (Online)
Print publication date 29 Feb 2024
Received 13 Oct 2023 Accepted 29 Jan 2024 Revised 31 Jan 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.20879/kjjcs.2024.68.1.006

인스타그램 이용자의 독자 의식 탐색 : ‘상상하는 독자’ 개념을 중심으로

김지영*** ; 이수영****
***서강대학교 신문방송학과 박사과정 jycomm@sogang.ac.kr
****서강대학교 지식융합미디어대학 교수 sooyoung@sogang.ac.kr
Exploring ‘Audience Awareness’ Among Instagram Users : Focusing on the Concept of the Imagined Audience
Ji-Young Kim*** ; Sooyoung Lee****
***Doctorial Student, Department of Mass Communication, Sogang University jycomm@sogang.ac.kr
****Professor, School of Media, Arts, and Science, Sogang University, corresponding author sooyoung@sogang.ac.kr

초록

본 연구는 생산 활동이 기반이 되는 SNS 환경에서 생산하는 이용자들이 전문적인 생산자와 같이 독자 의식을 하고 있는지를 ‘상상하는 독자’ 개념을 통해서 탐색했다. 이를 위해서 인스타그램 이용자를 대상으로 상상하는 독자를 가진 집단과 갖지 않은 집단의 이용행태의 차이와 상상하는 독자를 가진 이용자의 특성을 발견함으로써, SNS에서 독자를 의식하는 상상하는 독자를 가진 이용자가 더욱 적극적으로 SNS를 이용하고 있다는 결과를 도출하였다. 특히 본 연구는 오프라인 맥락의 관계를 인스타그램에 적용한 정도에 따라 오프라인 중심 네트워크, 온᠂오프라인 혼재 네트워크, 인스타그램 중심 네트워크로 구분하여 관계적 특성을 파악하고 상상하는 독자에 접근하였다. 또한, 좋아요, 댓글, 공유, 아이디태그와 같은 상호작용적 기능 이용 및 수신 만족감을 통해 행동적 측면을 분석하였다. 연구 대상은 인스타그램의 주 이용자로 구분되는 성인 20대부터 40대 중 전체 공개로 이용하고, 1달 이내 게시물을 게시한 이용자로 제한하였다. 온라인 설문을 진행하였으며, 759명의 데이터를 분석에 활용하였다. 연구 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 인스타그램 이용자들은 그들의 독자를 상상하며 게시물을 생산하지만 네트워크 구조에 따라서 차이가 있다. 오프라인 중심, 온·오프라인 혼재 네트워크에서는 오프라인 친한 친구, 인스타그램 중심 네트워크에서는 온라인 친한 친구와 오프라인 친한 친구를 가장 많이 상상한다. 둘째, 상상하는 독자가 있는 집단은 상호작용적 기제 이용이 많고, 기제 수신에서 오는 만족감도 더 높게 나타났다. 또한 상상하는 독자를 가진 집단과 갖지 않은 집단을 구분하는데 가장 영향을 미친 변인은 상호작용적 기제 수신 만족감, 즉 상상하는 독자로부터의 피드백이다. 본 연구는 전문 생산자들의 독자 의식을 ‘상상하는 독자’ 개념을 통해서 인스타그램의 이용자들에게 적용해 봄으로써, 이용자의 생산 행위를 독자 기반의 생산으로 논의할 수 있게 됐다는 점에서 의의가 있다.

Abstract

Focusing on Instagram, this study examines the content creation and consumption practices of prosumers within the Korean social networking landscape. It focuses on the relational and behavioral aspects of their interactions, with particular emphasis on audience awareness, which refers to the identity of professional creators and its influence on user behavior in an environment where everyone produces content, such as social networking sites(SNS). The concept of the 'imagined audience' is employed to explore users' awareness of their audience. To investigate the differences between Instagram users with and without an imagined audience, this study examines their usage behavior and characteristics. The relational characteristics of users are identified by categorizing the Instagram network structure into three categories: offline-centric network, hybrid offline-online network, and Instagram-centric network. Additionally, the study analyzes the behavioral aspect by measuring interactive features such as likes, comments, shares, ID tags, and satisfaction with reception.

Data for this study was gathered through an online survey completed by 759 adults, aged 20 to 40. The participants were primarily Instagram users who had posted public content in the past month and had experience following others. This study reveals a significant influence of network structure on audience perception: users within offline-dominant and mixed online-offline networks primarily envision close friends from their physical social circles, while those in Instagram-focused networks conceptualize their audience as encompassing both online and offline relationships. Furthermore, the group that imagines their audience tends to utilize interactive features more frequently and experiences a higher level of satisfaction when receiving feedback from their imagined audience. One significant finding is that the satisfaction of receiving interactive features, especially feedback from the imagined audience, distinguishes the groups with and without an imagined audience the most. This study highlights that users actively seek engagement within the network structure, anticipate responses, initiate multiple interactions with their audience, and derive a high level of satisfaction from the responses they receive. The study's significance lies in several aspects. Firstly, by exploring the concept of the imagined audience, this study investigates the audience awareness among Instagram users, a key identity of professional creators. This approach expands the understanding of user behavior beyond self-presentation, suggested by the existing Impression Management perspective, to a audience-based production approach. Moreover, the findings enhance the explanatory power of the imagined audience concept by identifying the characteristics of users with imagined audiences and illustrating their more active usage behaviors compared to those without.

Keywords:

Prosumer, Imagined Audience, Audience Awareness, Interactive Features, Instagram

키워드:

생산하는 이용자, 상상하는 독자, 독자 의식, 상호작용적 기제, 인스타그램

Acknowledgments

This paper is a study that revised and re-analyzed some of the basis of the first author’s 2023 master’s thesis(advisor: corresponding author) in the Department of Mass Communication at Sogang University, permitted by IRB(본 연구는 첫 번째 저자의 2023년 서강대학교 신문방송학과 석사학위 논문(지도교수: 교신저자)에 근거 일부를 수정 및 재분석한 연구로 IRB 승인 이후 진행되었음)[SGUIRB-A-2210-58].

This paper is supported by the research grant of Metaverse Graduate School(Sogang University) funded by Institute for Information & communication Technology Planning & evaluation(본 연구는 과학기술정보통신부 및 정보통신기획평가원의 메타버스 융합대학원의 지원으로 수행되었음)[IITP-2023-RS-2022-00156318].

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