Digital participation? Civic engagement, family life & the everyday construction of data futures
As part of our seminar series Citizen participation in health: critical perspectives, this seminar's aim is to critically engage with the concept of 'digital participation' by bringing into conversation two different lines of research.
On the one hand Dr. Veronica Barassi draws on her previous work on political activism, and debunk the myths of digital participation by looking at the opportunities and challenges activists face when they digitally engage with specific social issues. On the other hand, she draws on her current work on data cultures and family life and argue that - as digital technologies become pervasive elements of our social experience, including health, we all become 'participants' through the sharing of personal identifying information of ourselves and others.
These forms of participation, whilst often non-political in intention, are profoundly political in nature as they are tightly interconnected to the everyday construction of our data futures and the commodification of our personal experiences. Drawing in particular on a research project that investigated health apps and pregnancy, Dr Veronica will argue that starting to question the social and political implications of these participatory practices is today more important than ever. This is because it can shed light on the complexities of our digital ecologies, whilst setting the ground for the emergence of future research.
Admission