Browsing by Author "Coetzee, Hestelle Heléne"

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    Designers and Instagram: exploring somaesthetics and thoughtful engagement
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-03) Coetzee, Hestelle Heléne; Perold-Bull, Karolien; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Visual Arts.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: As a result of the fast-paced lifestyle of the 21st-century, Instagram has become a popular platform for passive scrolling as a pastime. Consequently, the social platform is filled with so much noise, that engaging thoughtfully as part of our everyday experience has taken a backseat. With more creative labourers relying on social media for work than ever, the astronomic amount of content being shared on Instagram makes meaningful interaction through the platform challenging. This investigation set out to negotiate thoughtful engagement with/through IG by proposing somaesthetic interaction design as practice-based methodology. Supported by new materialism and affect theory, somaesthetic interaction design practices are theoretically and practically explored. Research on implementing somaesthetic interaction design in the sociodigital space is limited to cases where product design is the main focus alongside digital media (Tsaknaki et al. 2019; Höök et al. 2018). Their methods, however, may provide insight into how one might implement soma design principles to research in the sociodigital space. A first-person perspective and self-agency (Höök et al. 2018) in somaesthetic interaction design is vital in keeping the intent consistently clear when engaging through Instagram towards thoughtful engagement. Several insights uncovered through experimentation through/with Instagram shed light on a more subjective and personal experience with thoughtful engagement. Distraction from the intention with content can hijack thoughtful engagement in the content creator and user. Time is also a key factor in negotiating in-the-moment experiences; and sensory engagement through Instagram presents a stronger affinity for facilitating thoughtful engagement than static posts. In other words, “I” need to engage thoughtfully for others to be able to. In essence, the principle is that one needs to practise what is preached. Proposed methods for content creation that may negotiate thoughtful engagement in the content creator and user include textured/handmade properties in content, live-streaming, juxtaposing image and text towards a more authentic/vulnerable experience, and engaging the senses through a focus on smaller parts rather than the curated whole. Thoughtful engagement is an active process that needs to be practised continually, rather than a destination or a product of this investigation. Somaesthetic interaction design equips the content creator, and user, with a new outlook on their engagement with sociodigital materials. This thesis presents an explorative and moral project, through practice, towards Shusterman’s notion of “a better life” (2014).