Key points for applying the science of photo-taking to optimize user-generated content:

• Brands often encourage their consumers to share photos with others and post content of the consumer experience on social media. However, the intent to share may reduce the enjoyment of the experience itself. 

• This research suggests that taking photos with the intent of sharing actually degrades the enjoyment of the photo-taking experience.

• The research also suggests that this effect is because we’re much more self-conscious about our photos when we know we’ll be sharing it with others, and is especially pronounced when the images are to be shared with people we don’t know well

• Brands should think twice about the role of UGC in consumer psychology. Specifically, they should rethinkg how hard they push their consumers to share photo content, and instead, consider encouraging consumers to take photos for themselves instead.

 “Sharing is caring”. At least that’s what you’re told when it comes to sharing photos of your consumer experience. 

Walk into any retail location, and chances are you’ll be encouraged to take photos and share them on social media. You’ll even be given incentives or discounts to use specific hashtags. The push for user-generated content is massive. 

However, what does this do to the overall consumer experience, and specifically to the act of photo-taking itself? Do we enjoy taking photos differently depending on the intent? A group of researchers led by Alixandra Barasch at NYU conducted a series of experiments to investigate these questions. Their findings have massive implications for consumer psychology, and specifically for how brands should encourage user-generated content.

Methodology on the Study of Photo-Taking Motivation and Enjoyment

Study 1, 2 and 3: In the first study, the researchers wanted to establish the general relationship between photo-taking motivation and enjoyment. To explore this, they approached tourists in Philadelphia who were taking pictures of the famous “Rocky” statue and had them fill out a quick survey. The results found that people taking photos for themselves - and not for others - enjoyed the photos significantly more. 

Study 2 fleshed out this correlational data with a more mechanistic, experimental account. The experiment had a holiday twist: 440 students were recruited for the study right before Christmas and were instructed to take at least 10 photos. In one group (Self-Goal), they were told to take pictures so that they could make an album to keep for themselves. The other group (Share-Goal) was told to take photos to share on social media. 

The results indicate that people who took photos to share enjoyed the photo-sharing experience significantly less than those who took the pictures for themselves. Participants in this group also remembered their experience more from a third-person perspective, indicating that taking photos to share led them to ruminate over how the experience (and the photos) would be judged. 

Study 3 was conducted to see if it’s the presence of the photo-taking goal, or the salience of the goal. All participants said “Two main reasons why people take photos are so that they can look back at the photos themselves and so that they can share the photos with others”. The salience of the photo-taking goal was made salient by telling participants that their primary goal should be to “take photos to share”, or “take photos for themselves.” The results suggest that when the share-goal is more salient, it negatively impacts enjoyment for the experience. 

Studies 4 & 5: The role of self-consciousness and audience. Study 4 and 5 aimed to understand the mechanisms at play better. In both studies, participants were instructed to take pictures either for themselves (Self-Goal) or share (Share-Goal). In Study 4, all participants completed The Trait Self-Consciousness Scale, which provides a metric for how self-conscious they are. 

The results again find that taking photos to share diminishes enjoyment. In addition, a person’s degree of self-consciousness plays a key role: When taking pictures to share with others, the more self-conscious one is, the less they enjoy the experience. 

In study 5, the researchers sought to understand the impact of the audience. The Share-Goal group was divided into two groups: one shared their photos with close friends and family, while the other shared them with acquaintances. Results suggest that participants enjoyed sharing less with acquaintances, an effect which was mediated by self-consciousness. When sharing with friends and family, people were less conscious and more readily enjoyed the experience. 

The Results and Implications of Photo-Taking on User-Generated Content and Social Media 

User-generated content is a massive trend that brands are constantly trying to encourage through hashtags and social media photo ops. “Sharing is caring”, as they say. However, this element of consumer psychology is more nuanced than most marketers appreciate. This research indicates that there’s a crucial trade-off in many instances: by sharing the experience, the consumer may actually enjoy it less. 

This is especially the case if the consumer is self-conscious by nature and sharing the photos with people beyond close friends and family members. As a result, businesses may do well to consider encouraging consumers to take photos for their own memories instead. Sharing with others typically makes us feel warm and fuzzy. But when it comes to taking photos, especially in the consumer environment, we may be better off thinking only about ourselves.  

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

References for Consumer Behavior Lessons from User-Generated Content

Barasch, A., Zauberman, G., & Diehl, K. (2018). How the intention to share can undermine enjoyment: Photo-taking goals and evaluation of experiences. Journal of Consumer Research, 44(6), 1220-1237.