Exploring selfie practices and their geographies in the digital society

Abstract

Drawing on a practical perspective and a posthuman approach, this article maps the quotidian digital geographies of selfie practices. The empirical analysis of this research is based on a qualitative study that took place in a Chinese city – Guangzhou. The empirical sections of this research investigate the digital geographies of daily selfie practices by focusing on the process of preparing for, taking, editing, and sharing selfies which are facilitated by both non-human and human agencies. The findings of this article indicate that selfie practices are simultaneous a technology of self and a reflexive performance by which people construct diverse selves in extraordinary scenes and an obsessive way of seeing, consuming, and communicating shaped by wider digital cultures and social norms. More broadly, this article suggests that local contexts still matter in shaping the visual cultures and practices in contemporary digital society.