Departing Glances: A Sociotechnical Account of ΓÇ£LeavingΓÇ¥ Grindr

Опубликовано 12 августа 2016, 1:35

On Grindr, a location-based social networking application aimed at gay men and their smartphones, the objective is to see and be seen. Within this context this study asks, ΓÇ£Why do users leave?ΓÇ¥ In contrast with previous literature on non-use that focuses on ubiquitous infrastructures or services, Grindr is a non-ubiquitous system that never the less has gained broad adoption with its target demographic. Drawing on qualitative interviews with sixteen men who have ΓÇ£leftΓÇ¥ Grindr, this paper explicates the site of departure, the means by which individuals leave, and the significance of their departure. Analysis of the diverse experiences shared challenges normative definitions of ΓÇ£leavingΓÇ¥, as well as of the application itself. I argue that leaving is not a singular moment, but an attenuated process involving layered social and technical acts; that understandings of and departure from location-based media are bound up with the individualΓÇÖs location; and finally, that these stories of leaving Grindr destabilize normative definitions of both ΓÇ£GrindrΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£leavingΓÇ¥, and in turn expose a set of relational possibilities and spatial arrangement within which people move around. I conclude with implications for theories of non-use and technological departure.