Decentring the human in online spaces: moving beyond analysis to Merleau-Ponty’s wild Being

Abstract

Purpose – Increasingly our lives are being mediated through online tools and spaces that shape our experiences of living and learning in ways that are only recently being examined. Developing suitable methodologies to examine these online spaces has proven challenging,  while there is validity to the use of network analytics and statistical interpretations of networks and more recently, digital ethnographies and “netnographies”, these approaches are limited. Design/methodology/approach – This article offers an alternative by looking closely at a particular online space,  which is first analysed via social network theory, connectivism, and social learning spaces. We then work with Merleau–Ponty's notion of “wild Being” to decentre the human and move beyond analysis – bringing to light how online spaces are lived as a collective unfolding in which our embodied selves, other selves, things and non-things are involved in a complex and fluid interplay. Findings – We see this account as demonstrating the value of analytical approaches whilst also highlighting the importance of remaining mindful of their limitations. Doing so can create inroads and open possibilities for more complex understandings of online spaces and associated technologies in generative and innovative ways. Originality/value – This article fulfils an identified need to explore the challenges and opportunities of decentring the human in qualitative research methodologies in educational research.