Eating Ourselves into Identity? An Investigation into the Relationship between Dining-Out Experiences and Identity Production on Instagram amongst Female Young Professionals
Dr. Janice Denegri-Knott worked in the not for profit sector after completing her undergraduate studies in communication and development at the Universidad Católica Boliviana. Shortly after that she earned a masters in marketing communications from the Bournemouth Media School and went on to gain her PhD from the Business School at the University of Exeter, England. She teaches consumer culture and behaviour at the Bournemouth Media School and is part of the Emerging Consumer Culture Group (ECCG). Her research deals with the structuring of consumption patterns and practices in digital virtual spaces. She has recently co-edited, Digital Virtual Consumption, a collection of essays that deal with these issues. She has published extensively in the field of digital virtual consumption and more recently about marketing and consumer behaviour in emerging economies. She has published in journals like: The Journal of Macromarketing; Consumption, Markets & Culture, Journal of Consumer Culture, Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, Journal of Consumer Behaviour and the Journal of Consumer Policy. She also belongs to the editorial boards of Consumption, Markets & Culture and Marketing Theory. Her paper with Dr. Mike Molesworth mapping out the field of Digital Virtual Consumption was granted a Best Paper Award by the editorial board of Consumption, Markets & Culture. She has also worked with major UK brands on projects dealing with the valuation and capitalization of digital content.
This research paper explores the relationship between eating-out and online identity formation, to better understand the role that dining experiences play in presenting a desired identity to others. Existing literature has outlined the development of identity, self-promotion, and surrounding symbolism. However, research specifically devoted to the relationship between dining-out choices and identity on social media platform Instagram, is sparse. A significant proportion of previous research focuses on identity, social media and food choices as detached subject areas. The sample for this study is young female professionals aged 22-30. Semi- structured in-depth interviews were used to explore participants’ use of Instagram in portraying online identity through eating-out images. Findings reveal that participants use eating-out experiences to portray their identity through sharing the events that appear the most visually attractive and in the most exclusive locations; and that participants often use Instagram as a social reputation reviewing tool for dining-out. Researching dining locations prior to visiting, so they can anticipate how impressive the experience will be. Finally, findings revealed that dining locations develop a commonly shared symbolic meaning, much like consumer goods would. Enabling participants to transfer common associations with dining categories, such as posting a high-end dining experience image onto their Instagram
