Whose selfie citizenship?

Abstract

In the introductory chapter, Adi Kuntsman presents the concept of 'selfie citizenship': claims made by ordinary citizens via their networked self-portraits, created, distributed and consumed at the times of algorithmic visibility, large-scale dataisation, globalised participatory politics and biometric governance. Kuntsman argues that both 'selfie' and 'citizenship' need to be understood not as a given but as a field of potential violence and contestation. Approaching selfie citizenship as a visual, networked and social phenomenon, the introduction asks: What are the conditions in which a selfie can do political work? Who are the selfies made for? By whom? How are they consumed? Who, when and how has the ability - and the safety - to star in a selfie, and when is such ability impossible?