Surveillance Studies Centre Seminar Series

Anouk Mols 

Materialised (dis)trust: Mapping the dynamics of WhatsApp neighbourhood watchfulness practices

WhatsApp neighbourhood watch groups are an already ubiquitous phenomenon in the Netherlands despite having only recently emerged. This study draws on an in-depth and multidimensional examination of the ‘watchfulness’ practices of members of these groups through interviews and focus groups. It begins to reveal how frictions at the intersections of materialities, competencies and meanings affect the personal lives and experiences of people (who may be unknowingly) involved. The study illuminates some pressing issues related to lateral surveillance, social media use, participatory policing and the normalisation of distrust and intolerance beyond its localised Dutch context. 

About the Speaker:  

Anouk Mols is a PhD researcher in the Department of Media & Communication at Erasmus University Rotterdam (The Netherlands). Her PhD research focuses on the daily practices of mobile technology users and is part of the project: Mapping Privacy and Surveillance Dynamics in Emerging Mobile Ecosystems: Practices and Contexts in the Netherlands and US.

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