The emotional entanglements of smartphones in the field: On emotional discomfort, power relations, and research ethics

Truong, Jasmine; Labhart, Florian; Santani, Darshan; Gatica‐Perez, Daniel; Kuntsche, Emmanuel; Landolt, Sara (2019). The emotional entanglements of smartphones in the field: On emotional discomfort, power relations, and research ethics. Area, 52(1), pp. 81-88. Wiley-Blackwell 10.1111/area.12548

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Despite human geographers’ growing recognition of the need to explore how digital technologies are increasingly co‐producing geographies, the methodological implications of such forms of data production are rarely discussed. This paper explores how smartphones co‐constitute fieldwork when they are used as research instruments. Drawing from a research project on young people's nightlife in Switzerland, we use Ahmed's ideas of emotions to show how smartphones are not inert research tools but emotionally entangled in the field. We argue that doing research with smartphones visibly in fieldwork has an effect on the relationships between the people, practices, and places of the field site. More specifically, we propose that these effects of emotions call for a renewed scrutiny of research ethics, particularly as smartphones increasingly become part of research designs.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Institute of Geography > Human Geography > Unit Cultural Geography
08 Faculty of Science > Institute of Geography > Human Geography
08 Faculty of Science > Institute of Geography

UniBE Contributor:

Truong, Jasmine

Subjects:

300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology
300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology > 330 Economics
900 History > 910 Geography & travel

ISSN:

0004-0894

Publisher:

Wiley-Blackwell

Funders:

[42] Schweizerischer Nationalfonds

Language:

English

Submitter:

Jasmine Truong

Date Deposited:

21 May 2019 16:39

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:27

Publisher DOI:

10.1111/area.12548

Uncontrolled Keywords:

emotions, ethics, fieldwork, nightlife, smartphone, Switzerland

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.129299

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/129299

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