Is there a new type of fashion photography that only functions on Instagram? ~ Part Four, The Evolution of the internet and smartphones.
Chapter II: The evolution of the Internet, Smartphones and use of Instagram.
As IFP has now been defined and examples acquired, it is fundamental to the discussion of social media platforms to consider the evolution of the internet and smartphones.
The evolution of the internet and smartphones
The internet originated in the sixteenth century, developing throughout the scientific revolution until the project concluded with the internet we recognise today. The first breakthrough was not until the 20th century when in 1969, in order to prevent another ‘Pearl Harbour’, Advance Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was developed, however the preliminary software was inefficient for individuals if not a general or computer scientist. The ARPANET came about because George Bush dreamed of a work station that imitated the brain and worked on association. Advancing to the 1990’s Tim Berners Lee and Robert Cailliau, created a system which utilised the Internet to store, receive and send documents to the next system, however the common computer and the philosophy was still deemed obscure to individuals. (Poe, 2010). The evolution of the internet kickstarted the possibilities for modern technology, as numerous individuals had vast information at their fingertips, and changed societies globally. Although at first, not many households had a computer, they vastly became essential to life and have been the cause and solution to many issues. This has created a spiral effect for many different technological and media advances, for example smart phones and social media.
The evolution of smartphones is much more recent than that of the internet. It is known that Alexander Bell created the first telephone in 1876 (Moss, 2021), but it was not until 1994 that the first smartphone, IBM Simon, was established. The IBM Simon was the first of its kind to feature apps, controlled using a stylus and touchscreen, allowing individuals to sketch, send and receive faxes and update their calendars. However, the weight of a kilo, a battery life of an hour and no mobile connection made this an impractical device to carry around. Nevertheless, it paved the way for smartphones worldwide. It was not until 2006, that smartphones were more considered, with the launch of Apple’s first iPhone, which was the first to utilise finger touchscreen for navigating through the phone, and six million were sold in the first year. This is interesting as it was not until 2007 that the smartphone recognised today was created, the iPhone vastly grew publicity around the globe and is still dominating the smartphone era. The evolution of the smartphone comes hand-in-hand with the creation of social media platforms and contradictory to beliefs, social media was invented with the creation of Six Degrees in 1997. However, it was not until the twenty-first century that social media started to gain popularity, especially with the creation of Instagram in 2010. With this, social media became accessible to individuals and gradually started to shift modern society as social media started to become a huge part of people’s lives and start to impact many visual medias like photography. (Curtis, 2014).
With this knowledge attained, it can be established that, although the internet took a while to be revolutionised, the launch of the iPhone contributed significantly to the growth of the internet and social media usage due to increased accessibility. It is currently predicted that one-hundred million photographs are posted on Instagram per day (Reece & Danforth, 2017). Highlighting that the evolution of the internet and smartphones is crucial to the development of the new type of IFP.
The use of Instagram.
Instagram is an online photo and video sharing social network service, allowing users to take pictures and videos sharing them with others. Initially the idea was to communicate using direct messages and photographs which are posted to the individual’s account. Instagram was the fastest growing global social network site when launched in 2010, as individuals shared videos and mostly photographs using hashtags for other users to discover. At this time, unlike Facebook, Instagram offered special filters that allowed users to change colours and resolution of the photographs before posting them. (Sheldon & Bryant, 2016). In recent years, the use of Instagram has become more complex, as the introduction of stories heightened the interactivity of the app. ‘Stories’ is a feature that allows users to add auto-playing content of images, videos or in some cases both, which can be decorated with texts, stickers, animations etc. These stories are designed to be posted for only twenty-four hours and then disappear, unless users integrate them into their ‘highlights’, which are presented at the top of their account. The ‘story’ is a feature designed for individuals to be able to post and tell others what is happening in their lives at the current moment. (Devadas, 2022).
The development of this app means that posts have become more materialistic in nature, with individuals showing off their lives, or achievements in picture, video and story form. This has resulted in celebrities infiltrating this app, allowing individuals to admire them and see what they do in their everyday lives. Due to the competitive nature of modern society, individuals compete to have the best feeds and the nicest clothes, something exploited by businesses using the app.