Featured Photo By: Dr. Richard Scholz in WifOR Institute
When I think about my favourite social media platform, which is Instagram, it’s clear how it heavily relies on the combination of image (and videos) and text to keep users like me engaged. It’s so easy for me to lose track or time because it’s so easy to grab my attention when their reels page, where videos are paired with text, are quick, emotional, and instantly processed. Their caption and the comment section allows for the platform to add more explanation to the videos and sometimes humour, which is what mainly keeps me engaged. The short videos allow for the user’s attention to be grabbed immediately and ensure that you are consistently stimulated from the videos/images and text. When combined, these two reinforce the Dual Coding Theory where the visuals have immediate recognition and the text adds more context (Paivio & Clark, 2006). I think the impact of an image and text can influence the way people think and behave. For instance, there are some infographics and posters that are showing animal abuse with gore-y images and intimidating words. The image impacts the person’s emotions because it’s shocking and makes them pause to think, whether about their food choices or just stopping to reflect. I think that reaction alone shows the power of the poster of the infographic.
How do you think images and text tell a story, raise awareness or garner attention and/or a reaction from you?
Below is a poster I found in the article, “Zoo Teams Up to Highlight Animal Mistreatment at Shows“, that discusses how animals are mistreated all for the sake of animal performances and our entertainment.
References
New York Times. (2014, April 3). Zoo teams up to highlight animal mistreatment at shows. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://archive.nytimes.com/sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/03/zoo-teams-up-to-highlight-animal-mistreatment-at-shows/
Paivio, A., & Clark, J. M. (2006). Dual coding theory and education. Pathways to literacy achievement for high poverty children, 1, 149-210.