“congrats on the instagram soft launch of ur boyfriend”: Platform-specificity, cultural production, and theorizing meta-intimate publics
Published online on February 23, 2026
Abstract
New Media & Society, Ahead of Print.
This article explores “soft launching,” a digital phenomenon predominantly associated with female users that involves deploying deliberately “askew” photographs to subtly reveal one’s romantic partner on their Instagram profile. I use soft launching as a ...
This article explores “soft launching,” a digital phenomenon predominantly associated with female users that involves deploying deliberately “askew” photographs to subtly reveal one’s romantic partner on their Instagram profile. I use soft launching as a ...