Digital Photography Trends in Self-identity Construction among the Youth

Abstract:
Picture taking seems no longer predominantly an act of memory intended to safeguard the heritage of a family's
pictorial portal. However, it is increasingly becoming a tool for an individual's identity formation and
communication. Self-identity construction is an integral component of society, including human interactions,
interpersonal connections, relationships, and strong attachment stamps. This expressively incorporates the entirety
of one's thoughts and emotions, creating this visual representation of themselves. The study aims to find out how
today's youth use photography as a tool in the identity construction of the self. The research adopted the qualitative
approach and exploratory research design for the study. However, the interpretivism approach was adopted to
provide novel insight into the study. It was revealed from the analyses that perspectives of the youth on photography
trends have lots of insights, and digital photography has been the activator of these trends. The paper concludes that
photography may represent a true reflection of reality and, in some cases, memory. However, photography trends
have come to a point where reflection goes beyond the limit by providing the youth the option to enhance and
reconstruct their appearance through photo editing. It also concludes that photography has become a new tool that
enables individuals to control the outcome of images. Special emphasis is placed on the youth because they are more
exposed to the technological know-how of some of these photographic tools that construct identity through an
improved photography trend.
Keywords: Digital photography, communication, media, and self-identity construction