Law of the Jungle

Context

Building on previous research from “Making the Invisible Visible,” we were tasked with creating an experimental digital artifact to provoke reflection on our most interesting findings. We focused on Instagram's censorship, particularly the disparities between male and female body representations.

Analyzing Instagram's policy on sexual content and nudity, we found that while the platform positions itself as open-minded, its policies restrict users' freedom of expression and reinforce societal taboos. The community guidelines are often ambiguous, leading to image removals or account blocks, leaving users uncertain about what is acceptable.

Process

1. Analyzed Instagram’s policy and defined the project’s concept, visual style, and storytelling approach to be ironic and provocative.
2. Designed the UX/UI of the website with visual guidelines and UI elements, and structured the quiz game with four levels.
3. Created eight quizzes, collected data and resources for each, and crafted tasks tailored to specific policy sections.
4. Developed and launched the website from scratch.

While analyzing Instagram’s policy on nudity and sexual content, we noticed that it is often ambiguous and misleading. It focuses on human bodies, but it is either so non-specific to leave doubts or so specific to be discriminatory.

We took a leap of thought, asking ourselves: What would happen if the Instagram nudity policy applied to the entire animal world? How would the platform handle the diversity of species, shapes, and behaviors? Users adapt to survive on Instagram, but how would the platform adapt to the vast variety of the natural world?

Based on these reflections, we hypothesized various digital artifacts, ultimately settling on a provocative quiz game. We designed the user experience to embrace the entire text of Instagram’s guidelines, highlighting its flaws through alienation and absurdity.

Outcome

"Law of the Jungle" starts with an introductory homepage where users are instructed on their tasks.

It consists of eight quizzes, two for each theme in the guidelines, progressively unveiling Instagram's policy on sexual content. Players act as content moderators, censoring inappropriate photos and identifying explicit images of humans and animals.

After each task, explanations are provided to help users understand why each image would be censored or not. By asking users to take on the role of content moderators, the game challenges them to navigate the complexities and inconsistencies of the platform's guidelines.

The game concludes with a profile based on user scores and presents reflections on the guidelines through the "Policy" section and a gallery of censored images.

An extensive “About” section, which I designed and coded, aids in further understanding of the matter.

Throughout the whole website, we maintained ironic and provocative language, with visuals closely tied to Instagram's branding, allowing users to connect the experience with the platform while questioning its policies.