Exploring the World through the Eyes of Someone Else. On self-documentary practices of the smartphone

Abstract

Originally produced for conducting voice conversations without restriction to place, the mobile phone now has become a mixture of several electronical devices. It forms a ubiquitous unit within the realm of globalizing connectivity due to its transportability and hybridity. Its pervasive nature has allowed users to quickly produce, share, and consume mediated traces of their daily habitus. By zooming in on the photo- and videosharing app Snapchat, this article explores the intersections of archiving and exposing private connoted content. I will outline how localization gains meaning and is visualized by the so-called ‘Snap Map’ that lets one see filmed content from users around the world. Whoever submitted content on the map remains anonymous, as it is merely collectively bundled and sorted by location, which opens up new ways of understanding selfdocumentary practices.