Did you have to give some of the pictures featured a second glance to figure out what’s going on? That’s possibly because many of them have no context whatsoever. Meaning, we don’t know the backstory behind them, or we don’t have enough information to understand what we are looking at.
“Context shapes our understanding and interpretation of all the visual material we encounter," reads the JSTOR Daily post on the topic. "Context for images can take many forms, including accompanying text, other images of the same subject, and even cultural knowledge of the audience.”
Even when you think you understand the image, you might actually have it totally wrong if you don't know the context. But that’s not to say you can’t find it funny. Right? 'Not always,' say the experts.
In the case of deliberately random, meant-to-be-funny posts, a lack of context could be harmless. But, there are times when no context is downright dangerous. As JSTOR explains it: “when context is missing, obscured, lost, or forgotten, meaning becomes skewed and difficult to discern.” So what do we often do? We come to our own conclusions. And this can lead to misinformation, especially when it comes to current affairs or history.
A bunch of research has been done on what’s become known as “context collapse” in the age of social media. Experts say the vast array of content out there, and our endless need to scroll and share, encourages us to consume information “without taking the necessary time to examine a story and comprehend its context.”
Images are a powerful tool when it comes to communication. As PBS reported in this op-ed, “Psychological research has shown that people are more likely to believe true and false trivia statements, such as ‘turtles are deaf’, when they’re presented alongside an image."
The site added that people are more likely to claim they’ve previously seen freshly made-up headlines when they’re accompanied by a photograph. And that posts with photos receive more likes and shares that those with just text.
As per PBS, a common, deliberate technique of spreading misinformation involves “recycling legitimate old photographs and videos and presenting them as evidence of recent events.” It cites an example of a photo shared on Facebook of what appeared to be a ransacked grocery store with the caption “YUP! #SocialismSucks.” But the photo was actually taken in Japan after the 2011 earthquake.
Another sinister example involved protesters being blamed for trashing London's Hyde Park after a global warming protest in 2019. Photos of the mess did the rounds on social media. Only for the truth to emerge later: some photos were taken in Mumbai, India, and others were snapped after a completely different event in the park.
