Repensando la tecnopolítica desde los procesos electorales 2012 y 2018 en México

This article proposes the technopolitical concept as a way to reflect on media changes both in expressions of demand as in processes of social domination and the shaping of public opinion. Longitudinal digital ethnography was carried out on the 2012 and 2018 electoral processes in Mexico. It is concluded that technopolitics is an assembly process where actors interact, with differentiated political objectives, who seek to transform a given historicity or aspire to preserve existing political structures through mobilizations, actions in social media, media content production and other technological appropriations.

Sexualized, platformed female bodies in male online practices

Sexualized images of the bodies of girls and young women – in some cases taken without the knowledge of those depicted, in other cases exchanged as part of erotic or romantic interactions – sometimes turn up in closed groups on social media and on websites and other online platforms. In their efforts to mark and prove masculinity, the (presumably) male participants in these fora share, trade, and evaluate such imagery. The young women depicted are generally commented upon in condescending ways. Based on a combination of digital ethnography and analogue fieldwork and interviews at a vocational school in Denmark, this article explores how boys and young men use sexualized female bodies to negotiate boundaries of masculinity, gendered positioning, and intimacy. Through new materialist and poststructuralist perspectives, we attend to the entanglements of social and technological phenomena enacting these practices.

Research Using the Methods of Digital Ethnography

This chapter describes three research techniques used within the field of digital ethnography aimed at understanding the digital culture of adolescents from qualitative and participatory perspectives. The authors carry out a theoretical review of some of the underlying principles of digital ethnography and creative and participatory research techniques. The authors then describe three research techniques based on the following methodological approaches: the mirror method, participant field notes, and digital visual cartographies. The mirror method technique analyses how adolescents construct their subjectivity through the images they use in social networks. Participant field notes are designed to facilitate the involvement of the young people in the field notes taken by the researchers, thus breaking with their private nature and providing opportunities for enhanced reflexivity. Digital visual cartographies aim to help understand, among other issues, the spatial dimension associated with the use of digital devices by young people.

The voices and actions of child activists against the climate crisis

Aim. The work has as main objective to present some of the actions of children considered activists to face the climate crisis through social media. Technologies and social mediaallow them a new form of existence and action through their posts, whether is in video,photo or text format, promoting interactions and discussions that captivate hundreds orthousands of followers.Methods. Data collection was carried out from a digital ethnography, analysing thesocial media and linked news in the media of 13 children from different countries (Australia,United States, India, Holland, England, Indonesia, South Africa, Uganda and Sweden) overan 18-month period.Results. To understand the data, digital ethnography was used as a strategy to followthe main interactions and online mobilisations through different social media (Facebook,Instagram and Twitter), as well as linked news in the media about those children, andarticulation of them with governmental, non-governmental organizations and private companies. In relation to the selection of participants, the profi le of a child activist was addedand through the algorithms of these platforms other activists with similar profi les werefound that promote content about climate justice.Conclusions. It was possible to identify that the Internet has enabled the visibility andarticulation of children’s actions on the theme, and how this engagement has promotedawareness and changes to fi ght against the climate crisis. It is worth emphasising theimportance of digital literacy so that access to these spaces is carried out safely and responsibly for this social group.

Defining Depression: Endogenous Materialities, Exogenous Immaterialities

Definitions are narratives in action, implying a need to track down the ontology of what is defined. Inthis case, we explore the mutual tension and/or symbiosis (with consonant and dissonant spaces)arising from the definition of depression. We approach the term ‘depression’ as a controversialsubject, mapping a comparison between lay and expert narratives on the malaise, and makinguse of digital ethnography as the methodology. A self-administered online open questionnaire wascompleted with the definitions of 29 lay respondents. In addition, expert narratives were gatheredwith the definitions of 9 health institutions’ web sites, and public mediation forums. Definitionsechoed from both spaces, with splits between biological materiality and psychological-socialimmateriality, with a reiteration of the division between exogeneity and endogeneity, respectively.Here, the emotiveness of the subject can be seen as stemming from the sum of reductionismsand cumulative factors as to what depression is. Finally, we consider other possible ontologiesof depression that either: (1) take socio-material assemblies into account or (2) follow thepragmatical turn, defining depression in action. This research opens new approaches towardsidentifying external materialities, shifting the blame from the diagnosis of the individual towardsthe mechanisms that spawn harmful relationships.

“Every Parade of Ours is a Pride Parade”: Exploring LGBTI+ digital activism in Turkey

This article analyses the #HerYürüyüşümüzOnurYürüyüşü (Every Parade of Ours is a Pride Parade) hashtag campaign for 2019 Pride month in Turkey, expressing the collective frustration of the LGBTI+ community against long-lasting bans for LGBTI+ events and public assembly. Drawing on a digital ethnography from Twitter, the article explores networked resistances within the complexity of online and offline entanglements of activism during Istanbul Pride 2019. The multimodal discourse analysis conducted in this article focuses on the interactions of digital affordances and embodied street actions in rearticulating queer political places. The study emphasizes the important role of hashtag activism in the (re)making of place as a trans-located experience, as well as affording emergent LGBTI+ resistances.

Recycling European Narratives in South Korea’s ‘Refugee Crisis’: Islamophobia, #MeToo, and Yemeni Refugees on Jeju Island

2018 was a politically tempestuous time for South Korea as a little over 500, mostly male, Yemeni asylum-seekers landed on Korea’s Jeju Island. Their unexpected arrival caught Korean society, already in the midst of its own #MeToo wave off guard, resulting in a wave of pro- and anti-refugee demonstrations across the country. Fueled by real and fake news about refugee illegal activities in Europe, anti-refugee backlash in Korea took an Islamophobic and feminist tone. Based on digital ethnography, this article presents observations from online voices – refugees, feminists, and media actors – expressed through Naver News and Naver Cafes to assess the ways in which Korea’s refugee crisis was represented in local and global anti-refugee and Islamophobic narratives, aimed in particular at Muslim men. This research highlights the impact of European narratives on Korean society and raises questions over how Korean society can create a wider, inclusive digital democracy.

Backdoor advertising scandals, Yingyeo culture, and cancel culture among YouTube Influencers in South Korea

In tandem with the increasing role of Influencers in culture and commerce, Influencers’ advertorial disclosures have become controversial in many countries, including South Korea. In August 2020, under the accusations by tabloids and other YouTubers, several famous Influencers were embroiled in the “backdoor advertising scandal,” wherein Influencers deftly advertise products in exchange for a significant amount of money from sponsoring companies, without any notice to followers. This article focuses on two (in)famous Influencers in the scandal: fashion stylist Han Haeyoun and mukbang-YouTuber tzuyang. By situating reactions around the scandal within broader Influencer ecologies and Korean cultures, we map out tensions between various actors, and the subsequent embroilments with online hate, call-out cultures, and misogyny. Drawing on a longitudinal digital ethnography on Influencer cultures and industry in East Asia, we highlight how the myth of “hitting the jackpot” in Korea compels people to follow, worship, and debunk Influencers within networked cultures.

Languaging Myths and Realities

Drawing on a digital ethnography of Chinese international students’ first semester languaging practices, this book examines how they use their multilingual and multi-modal communicative repertories to facilitate languaging across contexts, in order to suggest how universities might better serve the needs of international students.