Rights statement: This is a pre-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication in Storytelling, Self, Society: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Storytelling Studies, 16, 2, 2020 following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available from Wayne State University Press.
Accepted author manuscript, 267 KB, PDF document
Available under license: CC BY-NC: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Vernacular narratives of well-being and the practice of photo-a-day
AU - Cox, Andrew
AU - Brewster, Liz
N1 - This is a pre-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication in Storytelling, Self, Society: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Storytelling Studies, 16, 2, 2020 following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available from Wayne State University Press.
PY - 2020/10/31
Y1 - 2020/10/31
N2 - The impact of social media on psychological well-being is usually investigated through survey-based studies of the mass effects of its use. This article offers an alternative perspective by exploring individuals' narratives of their own well-being, arising from interviews about one seemingly simple, mundane digital practice: photo-a-day. These stories showed how people saw that they could shape their own well-being gradually through the way that sharing a photo each day reconfigured routines, brought them to notice new things, and connected them to others in new ways. The effect was complex and largely unintended. This reflected their sophisticated understanding of well-being as an elusive, complex practical accomplishment. The article reflects on how well-being can be understood as accomplished within social practices by the spreading of meaning.
AB - The impact of social media on psychological well-being is usually investigated through survey-based studies of the mass effects of its use. This article offers an alternative perspective by exploring individuals' narratives of their own well-being, arising from interviews about one seemingly simple, mundane digital practice: photo-a-day. These stories showed how people saw that they could shape their own well-being gradually through the way that sharing a photo each day reconfigured routines, brought them to notice new things, and connected them to others in new ways. The effect was complex and largely unintended. This reflected their sophisticated understanding of well-being as an elusive, complex practical accomplishment. The article reflects on how well-being can be understood as accomplished within social practices by the spreading of meaning.
M3 - Journal article
VL - 16
SP - 280
EP - 299
JO - Storytelling, Self, Society: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Storytelling Studies
JF - Storytelling, Self, Society: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Storytelling Studies
SN - 1550-5340
IS - 2
ER -