Events and Seminars
| Event | : | Send This to Someone: The Psychoanalytic Function of Instagram Reels in Female Friendships |
|---|---|---|
| Venue | : | Online |
| Date | : | 24/07/2025 |
| Duration | : | 6 - 7:30pm BST / 2 - 3:30pm EDT |
| Extra Info | : | A paper delivered by Anushka Jasraj On most days, I stay in touch with my female friends through the exchange of Instagram reels, interspersed with brief messages noting our reactions to these comedic video clips. These ‘reels’ range from 2-60 seconds in length. They resemble sketch comedy, but address subjects ranging from love, depression, motherhood to animals and food. The creators of these reels often present themselves in states of tiredness or despair, dressed in pajamas, or going about mundane activities. My paper would look at Instagram reels through the lens of Freud’s “Jokes and their relation to the unconscious.” I posit that reels perform a psychoanalytic function by making digestible particular painful, anxiety-inducing aspects of women’s emotional lives. The private exchange of reels also serves a communicative purpose, allowing women to express feelings that would otherwise be censored in daily conversation. In addition, I draw on personal observations and psychoanalytic theories about the social function of comedy. I will apply Bion’s concept of reverie and alpha function to understand how certain types of reels might contain and process everyday emotions. While social media is often perceived as having detrimental effects, I hope to explore a more positive side of it through this paper. |
| Organised By | : | Freud Museum London |
| Web Link | : | https://www.freud.org.uk/event/freudian-research-seminar-send-this-to-someone-the-psychoanalytic-function-of-instagram-reels-in-female-friendships/ |