Social networking sites (SNSs) are hugely popular. In part this popularity revolves around SNSs enabling users to stay in contact with a variety of different social groups. A rising number of people throughout the world now use social media for numerous reasons. This growth has been met with mounting academic interest in SNSs and their social impact. It has been suggested SNSs represent an important area of research in the context of identity and self-presentation. This proposition has been borne out in the plethora of studies now surrounding this field. Research shows that people use social media to present curated versions of themselves in the form of textual descriptions, photos and videos.
As a result of SNSs, individuals seemingly have more freedom over their identities, and how they are presented to others. The growth of SNSs has likewise been met with the advancement of their communicative affordances. This progression has led to the development of location-based social networking sites (LBSNs) that enable users to real-time share their location with friends. As with SNSs, a body of research has similarly built around locative media. Studies show that LBSNs can be used to facilitate and coordinate certain social interactions, alter approaches to space and place, and in some instances turn ordinary life into a game. In this vein, much of the research surrounding locative media has focused on their impact on space and place.
This focus on space and place, however, has also meant a lack of academic circumspection in the area of locative media and self-presentation. A more detailed examination of the different ways locative media might be used to present identity though the sharing of location is therefore missing. To this end Schwartz and Halegoua (2014) propose the notion of the “spatial self” as a framework for approaching locative media and identity. Conceptually speaking the “spatial self” involves individuals actively thinking about the spaces they frequent and what they might suggest about their identity. The concept of an embodied, active agent that actively uses the sharing of location as part of their ongoing identity ‘project’ is the focus here.
This special issue seeks to address a significant gap in the research surrounding locative media and identity, by calling for papers of 8000 words that explore this issue. Bringing together contributions from prominent theorists in the field, this special issue seeks to cast a light on the different ways locative media are presently used in the context of self-presentation, and what impact this might be having. At the same time this special issue will help further develop the “spatial self” as a theoretical framework to approach locative media and identity.
Possible issues that respondents might address include:
- Developing identities through locative media
- Locative self-presentation, spatial decisions and mobility
- The physical practice of locative media and self-presentation
- Established social media and place-based impression management
- New LBSNs (see Shout, Swarm, Yik Yak) and emerging strategies for location-based presentations of self
- Wearable technologies, connectivity and identity
Peer Review
Please submit abstracts of up to 500 words to both michael.saker@solent.ac.uk and leightonevans@me.com by 1st November 2015. The editors will notify successful contributors by 1st December 2015. Full papers will then need to be submitted for peer-review by 1st March 2016.
All submissions will be handled through SAGE Open’s peer-review website at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/sageopen . If you do not already have an account you will be asked to create one in order to submit. All special issue submissions should adhere to the SAGE Open Manuscript Submission Guidelines.
Guest Editors
Michael Saker, Ph.D., Southampton Solent University
Leighton Evans, Ph.D., Maynooth University