“This web based project explores an aesthetics of noise, paranoia, and networked vitality extant within a growing, and harmful group on Instagram.

There is a specific kind of aesthetic and style of talking, sharing, and communicating with Instagram. Some of it is conditioned by the constraints of the medium itself, with it’s reliance on square boxes, and the rectangular shapes of the smartphone. But the rest is shaped by taste, culture, and digital vernaculars that emerge within groups and subcultures of platform users.

‘A Certain Kind of Doom Scroll’ explores the visual language of millennial aesthetics, combined with conspiracy theories and misinformation—through the prism the Instagram hashtag “savethechildren.” Save the Children is a QAnon-addled ‘call to arms’ that peddles mistruths, disinformation, and conspiracy theories related to child abduction and the ‘deep state’ within American, and Pan-European politics. These posts feature various specific signifers, from colors and fonts that are pleasing to the eye, to hashtags and call outs that ‘feel’ palpable to everyday audiences—particularly young women. After all, who isn’t concerned with child kidnappings? This is emotional malware of the conspiracy theories, used to spread false information and ensnare and convert new followers.”

– Caroline Sinders