Ethnography and the use of digital platforms
Learning from WhatsApp
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48006/2358-0097/V10N1.E101011Keywords:
WhatsApp; platforms; platformization; ethnography; digital.Abstract
This article aims to discuss WhatsApp, an instant messaging app that is undergoing a process of platformization discussing some of the theoretical, methodological, and ethical implications of its use in fieldwork research. In this sense, WhatsApp can be both the field context and a strategic tool for establishing relationships with interlocutors. The axes that guide the argument revolve around the importance of producing good descriptions of the digital platforms that we use in ethnographies, the process of platformization of WhatsApp, the mundane nature of the platform, and the issue of the intimacies that its use makes possible.
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