Selfies and cultural events: mixed methods for the study of selfies in context

Abstract

Mass events, such as concerts, music festivals, conventions about technology and popular culture, and celebrity-mediated events, have become privileged spaces to showcase the exceptionality of a lived experience. In these contexts, the selfie can be considered an expression of the here and now as well as a key element when integrated in the everyday personal narratives favored by social media platforms such as Instagram. This article presents an in-depth analysis of selfies in the context of cultural events as part of a project testing a mixed-methods perspective that included both quantitative and ethnographic approaches.