INFORMATION PRACTICES AND DISCOURSE COMMUNITIES ON INSTAGRAM

AN ANALYSIS OF THE @TERRA_UPDATE PROFILE IN THE GAMING COMMUNITY

Abstract

Online social networking services have significantly expanded the ways in which information is produced, circulated, and used in digital environments, fostering the formation of communities based on shared interests. In this context, this study aims to analyze the Instagram profile @terra_update, investigating how its content contributes to the production and circulation of information within the gaming community and how it constitutes informational practices characteristic of a discursive community. The research employs a qualitative approach, exploratory and descriptive in nature, theoretically grounded in Domain Analysis. The methodological procedure adopted was the triangulation of three approaches proposed by Hjørland: document and genre studies in knowledge domains, terminological and language for specific purposes (LSP) studies, and empirical user studies in thematic areas. The corpus consisted of posts from the @terra_update profile published between January and February, collected as images and analyzed for document organization, terminology used, and user interactions. The results indicate that the profile uses visual language inspired by video games combined with descriptions in formal journalistic language, in addition to employing specialized terminology from gamer culture. It is concluded that the profile acts as a mediator and contributes to the consolidation of informational practices that characterize a discursive community in the digital environment.