Social Media in Emergent Brazil

Abstract

They were active collaborators with whom I openly discussed my ideas about, and understanding of, technology, family, social life, prejudices, personal history and affection. Unfortunately I cannot mention any of their names here to protect their privacy. My wife and I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Professor Daniel Miller, my mentor and supervisor on this project. He has offered generous amounts of feedback, support and patience with my shortcomings and delays. Above all, he has been an exemplar of a scholar: one that loves the discipline and loves doing research. We are also thankful to Daniel's wife, Rickie Burman, for offering encouragement in past years and for welcoming us many times into their home. This project involved a team of researchers who worked together for several months before leaving for field work, then kept in regular contact by reading and commenting on each other's monthly reports, and finally collaborated further to produce an online course, a comparative volume and their own individual monographs.

Do Not Harm in Private Chat Apps: Ethical Issues for Research on and with WhatsApp

“…But it has also acted as a 'weaponized' chat app for the dissemination of misinformation during the 2018 Brazilian Presidential elections (Pereira and Bojczuk, 2018; see also Nemer, 2018;Córdova and Barbosa, 2019). Despite these potentially contradictory manifestations, it is increasingly popular among ordinary users in Brazil (Spyer, 2017) as well as politically-active individuals. Little research however has focused on Whatsapp as such.…”

‘Escola em Quarentena’: um projeto de registro antropológico de memórias educacionais durante a pandemia da Covid-19

“…A esmagadora participação feminina no projeto dá comprovação de que, em uma sociedade como a nossa, de origens escravocratas e afinada ao patriarcado ocidental, o cuidado de crianças recai maciça e iniquamente sobre as mulheres, principalmente às mais empobrecidas e, entre estas, às mulheres negras (Bazzo, 2020c). Por seu turno, o fato de a maior parte das membras residir nas regiões Sul e Sudeste, as duas mais ricas do país, evidencia disparidades socioeconômicas na geografia, as quais se espelham em índices de inclusão digital, considerados nesse domínio tanto o acesso pleno às tecnologias da informação e comunicação, quanto o necessário letramento para delas usufruir (Spyer, 2017).…”

Minimal Effects, Maximum Panic: Social Media and Democracy in Latin America

“…On the other hand, most qualitative studies have concluded that individuals often prefer using platforms for everyday matters than for political expression (Boczkowski et al, 2018a; Harlow, 2017; Haynes, 2016; Nemer, 2016). Based on ethnographic research in a small Brazilian town, Spyer (2017) concluded that “party politics is the very last thing that people in Balduíno discuss on social media” (p. 189). It is possible that the focus on Twitter and Facebook, to the detriment of other platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, and WhatsApp, has contributed to further overestimating the role of political issues within social media.…”

“…Some studies have centered on how social media enable information dissemination and political expression (Halpern et al, 2017; Serrano-Puche et al, 2018; Spyer, 2017). Custódio (2017) reported on how “Mare Vive,” the Facebook page of the favelas of Complexo da Mare in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, “denounces political violence, governmental neglect” and celebrates “local culture and traditions” (p. 103).…”