AFFORDANCES AND CONSTRAINTS OF INSTAGRAM

At the beginning of February, I moved from a Unilodge on Swanston Street to a new apartment in Collingwood. The more spacious apartment and beautiful view of the city skyline was only a few of the key aspects which made me excited about the move. Personally, I was really thrilled about the included appliances which came with the apartment: a fridge, microwave, oven and washer/dryer. Being a University student on a budget, not having to spend extra cash on such appliances is always a plus. However, the common struggle which comes with new objects and new technology is learning how to use it; working out the object’s affordances. As expressed by Donald Norman, an affordance “refers to the perceived and actual properties of the thing, primarily those fundamental properties that determine just how the thing could possibly be used” (Norman,1998, pg. 9). Further explained in our tutorial, this in simpler terms means: to look at an object or environment and see how it can be interacted with and used. An example of this can be a microwave. The buttons on the microwave refer to an action (aka setting the time) that can only be done through pressing that exact button. Microwaves afford cooking, reheating food and sometimes even telling us the time (in the case of my microwave).

Yet, Norman is frustrated with how advanced “everyday objects” have become, and so am I.

I remember coming home last week to my roommate showcasing her annoyance with the dryer. “I spent half an hour just trying to get it to dry my sheets,” I recall her claiming. This is then questioned, why is it so difficult to set the machine to dry bed sheets? Why should we have to find the user manual in order to figure it out?

This same frustration can be linked to Instagram software and how, for someone not very educated with social media and technology, it can become difficult to understand its functions and properties. This is become of the constraints which are always linked to affordances. Norman explains, “Problems occur whenever there is more than one possibility. If there is only one part that can be operated and only one possible action to do, there will be no difficulty.” (Norman, 1998 pg. 82). A constraint can be either physical, semantic, cultural and logical. In terms of Instagram, I wanted to try and look deeper into the types of constraints that come with using the app.

One constraint which I could think of is the idea of lack of experience with social networking. For instance, I have extensive knowledge of social media app’s. If there was to be a new social networking app to become popular within the market, I am confident that my existing experience with using Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat would come in handy. However, what if I was to have never used such applications? Does this then become a constraint as I try to learn how to use the software?

My example of this is comparing my knowledge of Instagram and the way I use it to the way my dad interacts with the platform. In class, we discussed the use of the inbuilt camera on Instagram and if that is used. No one raised their hand in favour of it. Yet, my Dad, a 53-year-old man, does use this camera. I know this as one day at an Arctic Monkey’s concert, he whipped out his phone to present the Instagram camera for a selfie. I wasn’t surprised, as my dad probably just knew this was an easier option for him in regard to quick publication of this selfie of us. However, my dad doesn’t use filters like my generation loves to do. Is this because he doesn’t care for the way his photos look? Or does he not mind because his photos are only shared within an intimate group of friends and family due to the privacy setting?

I would love to actually ask my Dad if he even realises there is more to Instagram then just uploading a quick, unedited snap.

IMAGE: https://www.iabeurope.eu/best-practices/instagram-research-the-instagram-effect/

READING: Core: Norman, D 1998, The design of everyday things , Basic Book, New York (Sections: Preface vii-xv; Chapter one pp 1-13; Chapter 4 (constraints) pp 81-87; (computers) pp 177-186).