Tactile digital ethnography: Researching mobile media through the hand

Abstract

In this article we focus on the relationship between vision and the hand to develop an understanding of the experience of mobile media use which in turn informs a methodology for researching it; a tactile digital ethnography. Theories of knowing through the hand, and uses of the hand in documentary practice already highlight its significance. We bring these together with our video ethnographies of mobile media use, to show how a focus on the hand offers both new insights into other people’s digital worlds, and an approach to learning about these.