On the Road to El Dorado

Click here to view the zine as a flipbook online

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Click here to open the zine as a pdf file

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The social status of ‘influencer’ is for many (particularly young) users the prospect of a contemporary ‘El Dorado’. In our zine On the Road to El Dorado, Dora Dole sets out on a journey to achieve this social status. 

 

In conducting our study and creating a zine, we have focused on a substantial group of (mostly) young adults using Instagram as an online diary or archive of their lives. Their uses of the platform are characterized by an idealized expression of the self. It must be noted, however, that there are several other uses of Instagram as well. Companies promote products, artists share their visual work, many spread viral memes, and some content is politically motivated. In focusing on the substantial group of users archiving daily life, we intend to clarify and reflect on the significant impact of the medium on younger user groups. By linking these to the social status of influencers, we consider what motivates such uses.

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The quotes in the zine are inspired by:

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- Austra. “Utopia.” Track 3 on Future Politics. Domino, 2017, Spotify.

- Dostoevsky, Fjodor. The Brothers Karamazov. Mineola: Dover Publications, 2005.

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- Jones, Tom. “Perfect World.” Track 1 on The Emperor’s New Groove. Walt Disney Records, 2000, Film Score.

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- RYLY. “Young + Naive (I’m Addicted to My Phone and So Is Everyone Else).” Track 9 on Young + Naive. RYLY Independent, 2019, Spotify.

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- Torre, Alessandra. The F List. Independently Published, 2020. Vonnegut, Kurt. Cat’s Cradle. London: Penguin Books, 2011.