The secret life of pet Instagram accounts: Joy, resistance, and commodification in the Internet’s cute economy

Abstract

A popular sentiment is that the Internet is for cute animal photos, but little has explored the visual cultures of pets and social media. The relationship between pets and social media is particularly prominent on Instagram, where pet owners often run Instagram accounts on behalf of their pets. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with 23 individuals who run Instagram accounts for their pets, I discuss three dimensions of pet photos and social media: how individuals use pet Instagram accounts to curate a “fur baby” self-representation, the unspoken politics to sharing pet photographs online, and how individuals hope they provide followers joy. While joy and pet Instagram accounts are not solutions to the Internet’s problems, they do indicate how individuals work in ways to make platforms habitable. However, this joy is far from uncomplicated, as cultural dynamics of the Internet’s cute economy may problematize relationships between people, their pets, and their followers.