The way social media have changed how we relate, impacting the lifestyles and daily habits of thousands of people worldwide, motivated the research that postdoctoral fellow Nell Haynes is developing from September 2013 onwards: penetration and use of the new information technologies in intercultural contexts, specifically in the commune of Alto Hospicio, Tarapacá Region.
This project is part of the worldwide initiative “Global Social Media Impact Study”, led by anthropologist Daniel Miller, of the University College of London.
Haynes has focused on the self-building, self-presentation and self- preservation through language and images present in social media. To do this, she has worked with groups of children, teenagers and adults, exploring their use of social media – Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp- and online activity as a part of their everyday life. Thus, social networks are not only used as tools through which users share relevant information but also as a way to be known and to record their daily activities.