Going cold turkey!: An autoethnographic exploration of digital disengagement
As the dust of society-wide digitalisation settles, the search for meaningful technological encounters is becoming more urgent. While the Nordic countries embrace digitalisation, recent concerns regarding technology overuse have been gaining increased attention. This tendency is exemplified in pract...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Sciendo
2021-09-01
|
| Series: | Nordicom Review |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2021-0047 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832570302368841728 |
|---|---|
| author | Ghita Cristina Thorén Claes |
| author_facet | Ghita Cristina Thorén Claes |
| author_sort | Ghita Cristina |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As the dust of society-wide digitalisation settles, the search for meaningful technological encounters is becoming more urgent. While the Nordic countries embrace digitalisation, recent concerns regarding technology overuse have been gaining increased attention. This tendency is exemplified in practices of limiting digital use, called digital disengagement – an apparent paradox in Nordic societies where digital is the dominant paradigm. In this article, we explore the emergence of disconnection-centred devices called “dumbphones”, which cater to individuals wishing to escape hyperconnected lifestyles. Drawing on a new materialist perspective, we present a content analysis of dumbphones’ advertising material, followed by a collaborative autoethnographic study in which we replace our smartphones with dumbphones. We critically weigh the promises of the dumbphones against the actual experience of digital disengagement in Sweden. Our findings illustrate a struggle with digital technologies, even despite their absence, due to emerging workarounds and societal expectations of use. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-61db6d282b784ea5bf0de803e3abfb9a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2001-5119 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | Sciendo |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nordicom Review |
| spelling | doaj-art-61db6d282b784ea5bf0de803e3abfb9a2025-02-02T15:48:50ZengSciendoNordicom Review2001-51192021-09-0142s415216710.2478/nor-2021-0047Going cold turkey!: An autoethnographic exploration of digital disengagementGhita Cristina0Thorén Claes1Department of Informatics and Media, Uppsala University, SwedenDepartment of Informatics and Media, Uppsala University, SwedenAs the dust of society-wide digitalisation settles, the search for meaningful technological encounters is becoming more urgent. While the Nordic countries embrace digitalisation, recent concerns regarding technology overuse have been gaining increased attention. This tendency is exemplified in practices of limiting digital use, called digital disengagement – an apparent paradox in Nordic societies where digital is the dominant paradigm. In this article, we explore the emergence of disconnection-centred devices called “dumbphones”, which cater to individuals wishing to escape hyperconnected lifestyles. Drawing on a new materialist perspective, we present a content analysis of dumbphones’ advertising material, followed by a collaborative autoethnographic study in which we replace our smartphones with dumbphones. We critically weigh the promises of the dumbphones against the actual experience of digital disengagement in Sweden. Our findings illustrate a struggle with digital technologies, even despite their absence, due to emerging workarounds and societal expectations of use.https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2021-0047digital disengagementdigital detoxdumbphoneautoethnographynew materialism |
| spellingShingle | Ghita Cristina Thorén Claes Going cold turkey!: An autoethnographic exploration of digital disengagement Nordicom Review digital disengagement digital detox dumbphone autoethnography new materialism |
| title | Going cold turkey!: An autoethnographic exploration of digital disengagement |
| title_full | Going cold turkey!: An autoethnographic exploration of digital disengagement |
| title_fullStr | Going cold turkey!: An autoethnographic exploration of digital disengagement |
| title_full_unstemmed | Going cold turkey!: An autoethnographic exploration of digital disengagement |
| title_short | Going cold turkey!: An autoethnographic exploration of digital disengagement |
| title_sort | going cold turkey an autoethnographic exploration of digital disengagement |
| topic | digital disengagement digital detox dumbphone autoethnography new materialism |
| url | https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2021-0047 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ghitacristina goingcoldturkeyanautoethnographicexplorationofdigitaldisengagement AT thorenclaes goingcoldturkeyanautoethnographicexplorationofdigitaldisengagement |