“I spend a lot of time on the Internet and am interested in the cultural phenomena that take place within it. Specifically, I want to understand the person/user relationship and the intricacies of self-representation online. My thesis intends to explore ideas of self-authorship on Instagram, and how users author themselves within narrative tropes in order to portray themselves in a certain way to others (the exact nature of these tropes is yet to be determined). I am also intrigued by the passive power of the gaze (which one? You decide) as it manifests online and thus implicates IRL-being and existence.”