The second life avatar of Klaus Schwab, chairman of the World Economic Forum, in front of a ski hill. Image’s source
Until recently, the extension of the anthropological field to include online experiences, which began in the 1990s (Fischer 2007), appeared relatively new. Consequently, anthropologists did not unanimously agree on the appropriate methodological strategy and approach for studying online culture. Ethnographers’ varied interpretations of digital culture were influenced by the diverse topics they studied and their theoretical perspectives.
For certain scholars (Hine 2005; Miller 2011; Miller & Slater 2000), the virtual was only conceivable within a specific geographical context, and therefore, online activities of informants could not be separated from their offline lives. These researchers often advocated techniques that allowed them to participate in informants’ real-life activities and observe their online engagements in the physical world. According to this perspective, new media do not represent new realities; rather, they serve as new mediums of communication.
On the other hand, the second methodological approach, famously applied by Boellstorff (2008) in his study on Second Life, supported the idea of conducting research entirely within virtual worlds. This approach suggests that online activities should be studied on their own terms using “in-world” ethnographic methods. Thus, online culture should not be connected to the physical world because it is a distinct culture that warrants examination through classic ethnographic techniques, similar to any other culture.
However, the methodological question that initially prompted the use of these two approaches gradually lost its significance. The pervasive influence of social media and other online activities in the everyday lives of ethnographers and their informants transformed online ethnography from a novel method into a conventional research strategy in the ethnographer’s toolkit. Ethnographic documentation of social life in digital world now holds the same commonplace status as documentation of social life in the physical world.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on field research projects, leading to abrupt disruptions. Fieldworkers were forced to leave their fieldsites, resulting in the loss of in-person access to their participants. As a result, ethnographers turned to digital ethnography, utilizing online tools to gather data and continue their research. The pandemic served as a catalyst, compelling researchers, including those previously skeptical of remote methods, to reconsider the validity and effectiveness of digital ethnography.
Work Cited
- Boellstorff, Tom. 2008. Coming of Age in Second Life: An Anthropologist Explores the Virtually Human. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
- Fischer, Michael. 2007. “Four Genealogies for a Recombinant Anthropology of Science and Technology.” Cultural Anthropology, 22 (4): 539-615.
- Hine, Christine. 2005. Virtual Methods: Issues in Social Research on the Internet. Oxford & New York: Berg.
- Miller, Daniel. 2011. Tales from Facebook. Cambridge, UK & Malden, MA: Polity Press.
- Miller, Daniel & Slater, Don. 2000. The Internet: An Ethnographic Approach. Oxford & New York: Berg.