{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,2]],"date-time":"2026-03-02T23:24:42Z","timestamp":1772493882267,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2017,11,20]],"date-time":"2017-11-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1511136000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/site-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["AJIM"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2017,11,20]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n<jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Purpose<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Despite the on going shift from text-based to image-based communication in the social web, supported by the affordances of smartphones, little is known about the new image sharing practices. Both gender and platform type seem likely to be important, but it is unclear how. The paper aims to discuss these issues.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Design\/methodology\/approach<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>This paper surveys an age-balanced sample of UK Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp image sharers with a range of exploratory questions about platform use, privacy, interactions, technology use and profile pictures.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Findings<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Females shared photos more often overall and shared images more frequently on Snapchat, but males shared more images on Twitter, particularly for hobbies. Females also tended to have more privacy-related concerns but were more willing, in principle, to share pictures of their children. Females also interacted more through others\u2019 images by liking and commenting on them. Both genders used supporting apps but in different ways: females applied filters and posted to albums whereas males retouched photos and used photo organising apps. Finally, males were more likely to be alone in their profile pictures.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Practical implications<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Those designing visual social web communication strategies to reach out to users should consider the different ways in which platforms are used by males and females to optimise their message for their target audience.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Social implications<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>There are clear gender and platform differences in visual communication strategies. Overall, males may tend to have more informational and females more relationship-based, skills or needs.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Originality\/value<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>This is the first detailed survey of electronic image sharing practices and the first to systematically compare the current generation of platforms.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/ajim-04-2017-0098","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,9,14]],"date-time":"2017-09-14T07:22:16Z","timestamp":1505373736000},"page":"702-720","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":58,"title":["Gender and image sharing on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp in the UK"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"69","author":[{"given":"Mike","family":"Thelwall","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Farida","family":"Vis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"140","reference":[{"issue":"8","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1233","DOI":"10.1177\/1461444813504265","article-title":"War on Instagram: framing conflict photojournalism with mobile photography apps","volume":"16","year":"2014","journal-title":"New Media & Society"},{"issue":"6","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1289","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chb.2010.03.018","article-title":"Social network use and personality","volume":"26","year":"2010","journal-title":"Computers in Human Behavior"},{"issue":"3","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref003","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"321","DOI":"10.1515\/text.2003.014","article-title":"Gender, genre, and writing style in formal written texts","volume":"23","year":"2003","journal-title":"Journal for the Study of Discourse"},{"key":"key2020120501502094800_ref004","volume-title":"Corpus Linguistics: Investigating Language Structure and Use","year":"1998"},{"key":"key2020120501502094800_ref005","volume-title":"It\u2019s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens","year":"2014"},{"issue":"10","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1303","DOI":"10.1177\/0146167208320061","article-title":"Narcissism and social networking websites","volume":"34","year":"2008","journal-title":"Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin"},{"issue":"1","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"60","DOI":"10.1177\/074391569501400106","article-title":"Gender differences for appearance-related attitudes and behaviors: implications for consumer welfare","volume":"14","year":"1995","journal-title":"Journal of Public Policy & Marketing"},{"key":"key2020120501502094800_ref008","volume-title":"Understanding the New Statistics: Effect Sizes, Confidence Intervals, and Meta-Analysis","year":"2012"},{"issue":"5","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref009","first-page":"630","article-title":"Age and gender differences in photo tagging gratifications","volume":"63","year":"2016","journal-title":"Computers in Human Behavior"},{"key":"key2020120501502094800_ref010","article-title":"Photo and video sharing grow online","year":"2013"},{"key":"key2020120501502094800_ref011","volume-title":"Cultures of the Internet: The Internet in Britain. Oxford Internet Survey 2013","year":"2013"},{"issue":"1","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref012","first-page":"162","article-title":"Capturing personality from Facebook photos and photo-related activities: how much exposure do you need?","volume":"37","year":"2014","journal-title":"Computers in Human Behavior"},{"issue":"3","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref013","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"255","DOI":"10.1080\/1369118X.2014.987152","article-title":"#Funeral and Instagram: death, social media, and platform vernacular","volume":"18","year":"2015","journal-title":"Information, Communication & Society"},{"key":"key2020120501502094800_ref014","unstructured":"Greenwood, S., Perrin, A. and Duggan, M. (2016), \u201cSocial media update 2016\u201d, available at: www.pewinternet.org\/2016\/11\/11\/social-media-update-2016\/ (accessed 22 September 2017)."},{"key":"key2020120501502094800_ref015","first-page":"595","article-title":"What we Instagram: a first analysis of Instagram photo content and user types","year":"2014"},{"issue":"6","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref016","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"958","DOI":"10.1177\/1461444813520301","article-title":"Race, gender, and self-presentation in teen profile photographs","volume":"17","year":"2015","journal-title":"New Media and Society"},{"issue":"9","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref017","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1973","DOI":"10.1177\/1461444815571914","article-title":"Social media and protests: an examination of Twitter images of the 2011 Egyptian revolution","volume":"18","year":"2016","journal-title":"New Media & Society"},{"key":"key2020120501502094800_ref018","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"147","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chb.2014.10.051","article-title":"Just untag it: exploring the management of undesirable Facebook photos","volume":"43","year":"2015","journal-title":"Computers in Human Behavior"},{"key":"key2020120501502094800_ref019","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/1369118X.2016.1259343","article-title":"Visualising the ends of identity: pre-birth and post-death on Instagram","year":"","journal-title":"Information, Communication & Society"},{"key":"key2020120501502094800_ref020","article-title":"Teens, social media, and privacy","year":"2013"},{"issue":"1","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref021","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"129","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tele.2015.06.009","article-title":"Uses and gratifications of digital photo sharing on Facebook","volume":"33","year":"2016","journal-title":"Telematics and Informatics"},{"issue":"4","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref022","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"364","DOI":"10.1108\/JICES-06-2015-0022","article-title":"Impact of privacy, trust, and user activity on intentions to share Facebook photos","volume":"14","year":"2016","journal-title":"Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society"},{"key":"key2020120501502094800_ref023","unstructured":"Mendelson, A.L. and Papacharissi, Z. (2010), \u201cLook at us: collective narcissism in college student Facebook photo galleries\u201d, in Papacharissi, Z. (Ed.), The Networked Self: Identity, Community and Culture on Social Network Sites, Taylor & Francis, Hoboken, NJ, pp. 251-273."},{"key":"key2020120501502094800_ref024","first-page":"1097","article-title":"What drives content tagging: the case of photos on Flickr","year":"2008"},{"issue":"7139","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref025","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1236","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.316.7139.1236","article-title":"What\u2019s wrong with Bonferroni adjustments","volume":"316","year":"1998","journal-title":"British Medical Journal"},{"issue":"6","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref026","first-page":"443","article-title":"What does your selfie say about you?","volume":"52","year":"2015","journal-title":"Computers in Human Behavior"},{"issue":"8","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref027","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1286","DOI":"10.1080\/1369118X.2013.763834","article-title":"Strategic image management online: self-presentation, self-esteem and social network perspectives","volume":"16","year":"2013","journal-title":"Information, Communication & Society"},{"issue":"1","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref028","first-page":"1","article-title":"The construction of the virtual self on MySpace","volume":"4","year":"2010","journal-title":"Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace"},{"key":"key2020120501502094800_ref029","volume-title":"Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research","year":"2014","edition":"2nd ed."},{"issue":"4","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref030","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"411","DOI":"10.1177\/1948550612460059","article-title":"Can you see how happy we are? Facebook images and relationship satisfaction","volume":"4","year":"2013","journal-title":"Social Psychological and Personality Science"},{"issue":"3","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref031","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"150","DOI":"10.1080\/15551393.2014.955501","article-title":"Visual propaganda in the age of social media: an empirical analysis of Twitter images during the 2012 Israeli\u2013Hamas conflict","volume":"21","year":"2014","journal-title":"Visual Communication Quarterly"},{"issue":"4","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref032","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"24","DOI":"10.1002\/(SICI)1520-6653(199923)13:4<24::AID-DIR3>3.0.CO;2-O","article-title":"An investigation of gender differences in on-line privacy concerns and resultant behaviors","volume":"13","year":"1999","journal-title":"Journal of Interactive Marketing"},{"issue":"2","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref033","article-title":"User descriptions and interpretations of self-presentation through Facebook profile images","volume":"2","year":"2008","journal-title":"Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace"},{"issue":"1","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref034","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"166","DOI":"10.1027\/1864-1105\/a000076","article-title":"Covering your face on Facebook","volume":"24","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of Media Psychology"},{"issue":"2","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref035","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"248","DOI":"10.1111\/jcc4.12052","article-title":"The \u2018privacy paradox\u2019 in the social web: the impact of privacy concerns, individual characteristics, and the perceived social relevance on different forms of self\u2010disclosure","volume":"19","year":"2014","journal-title":"Journal of Computer\u2010Mediated Communication"},{"issue":"8","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref036","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1321","DOI":"10.1002\/asi.20835","article-title":"Social networks, gender, and friending: an analysis of MySpace member profiles","volume":"59","year":"2008","journal-title":"Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology"},{"issue":"11","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref037","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2575","DOI":"10.1002\/asi.23620","article-title":"Chatting through pictures? A classification of images tweeted in one week in the UK and USA","volume":"67","year":"2016","journal-title":"Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology"},{"key":"key2020120501502094800_ref038","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"388","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chb.2014.03.016","article-title":"Gender differences in Facebook self-presentation: an international randomized study","volume":"35","year":"2014","journal-title":"Computers in Human Behavior"},{"issue":"3","key":"key2020120501502094800_ref039","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"141","DOI":"10.1089\/cyber.2014.0479","article-title":"Snapchat elicits more jealousy than Facebook: a comparison of Snapchat and Facebook use","volume":"18","year":"2015","journal-title":"Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking"},{"key":"key2020120501502094800_ref040","first-page":"1129","article-title":"Cultural differences on visual self-presentation through social networking site profile images","year":"2011"},{"key":"key2020120501502094800_ref041","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1816","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chb.2008.02.012","article-title":"Identity construction on Facebook: digital empowerment in anchored relationships","volume":"24","year":"2008","journal-title":"Computers in Human Behavior"}],"container-title":["Aslib Journal of Information Management"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/content\/doi\/10.1108\/AJIM-04-2017-0098\/full\/xml","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/content\/doi\/10.1108\/AJIM-04-2017-0098\/full\/html","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,24]],"date-time":"2025-07-24T23:00:35Z","timestamp":1753398035000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"http:\/\/www.emerald.com\/ajim\/article\/69\/6\/702-720\/23292"}},"subtitle":["Hobbying alone or filtering for friends?"],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2017,11,20]]},"references-count":41,"journal-issue":{"issue":"6","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2017,11,20]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1108\/AJIM-04-2017-0098"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/ajim-04-2017-0098","relation":{},"ISSN":["2050-3806"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2050-3806","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2017,11,20]]}}}