Purposive and non-purposive information behaviour on Instagram

Abstract

User information behaviour on Instagram was explored via 274 responses to an online survey. Instagram is recognised as a powerful visual platform and consistently reports high engagement statistics across its variety of users. Research on Instagram to date has focussed on marketing communications theory, in particular its production of influencers as a new type of celebrity and source. The authors undertook an exploratory study to examine user interaction with the platform from the perspective of information behaviour research. The survey sought data relating to the rich body of information behaviour theory, particularly in relation to the needs or motivations underpinning information seeking, preferred sources of information and criteria for their evaluation, trust of Instagram creators and purposive and non-purposive engagement with information. An evolutionary model of information behaviour on Instagram is proposed, which draws on previous studies of information behaviour. The credibility of information on Instagram was a key theme in the survey findings, with respondents varying in the degree to which they trusted information on the platform and adopting complex, time-consuming and sometimes conflicting strategies to fact check where they felt reliability was important; future research exploring this further is recommended, to help understand the role and motivations of the information seeker in this process. The research also reveals a heightened blurring in comprehension surrounding the concepts of information and opinion amongst users and academics.