1001 Followers in 20 Days

In this paper, I investigate the use of fame-enhancing bots on Instagram, a practice called botting. Based on the playful use of social media and online identity construction through self- presentation, I want to explore the notion of transgressive play and cheating within the Instagram community. The bot provider, Instazood, serves as a primary case study and object of study to examine and analyze the practice. Therefore, I compare their services with Instagram’s Terms of Use and the Community Guidelines, as well as the project’s findings on whether, and how, 1. 95 million bots: the great Instagram hoax (transl. by the author). it affects other users and community members. I conclude that one can speak of a playful use of Instagram, and consider the practice of botting as a form of transgressive play that, to some users, is perceived as cheating the community on a moral level. Examining social media practices within the scope of the ludification of culture reveals further insights into being human in a platformized society, the notion of playful behavior of Instagram users, and the platform’s rules of play, to the DiGRA community.