Restricted but satisfied: Google Maps and agency in the mundane life

  • The study grasps the transformation of agency in the context of mundane production and use of mapping apps. It is asked theoretically and empirically, who produces and maintains Google Maps as cartographic infrastructure and how is this kind of agency being reflected and acted upon from a lifeworld perspective. Firstly, findings are compiled from various interdisciplinary studies on digital cartography, platform capitalism and digital infrastructures. Since these studies focus on agency almost exclusively from a structural perspective, a qualitative study is conducted to explore the use of Google Maps in everyday life. 20 interviews with German users show that digitalization and datafication profoundly change the dynamics of how agency is perceived and reflected. It can be understood as a form of extension of agency because it is deeply rooted in the entanglement of Google Maps’ infrastructure and city dwellers everyday practices.

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Metadaten
Author:Peter Gentzel, Jeffrey WimmerORCiDGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:bvb:384-opus4-1139319
Frontdoor URLhttps://opus.bibliothek.uni-augsburg.de/opus4/113931
ISSN:1354-8565OPAC
ISSN:1748-7382OPAC
Parent Title (English):Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies
Publisher:SAGE Publications
Place of publication:London
Type:Article
Language:English
Year of first Publication:2024
Publishing Institution:Universität Augsburg
Release Date:2024/07/10
Volume:30
Issue:3
First Page:1041
Last Page:1057
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565231205869
Institutes:Philosophisch-Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakultät
Philosophisch-Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakultät / imwk - Institut für Medien, Wissen und Kommunikation
Philosophisch-Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakultät / imwk - Institut für Medien, Wissen und Kommunikation / Professur für Kommunikationswissenschaft mit Schwerpunkt Medienrealität
Dewey Decimal Classification:3 Sozialwissenschaften / 30 Sozialwissenschaften, Soziologie / 300 Sozialwissenschaften
Licence (German):CC-BY 4.0: Creative Commons: Namensnennung (mit Print on Demand)