Digital Objects of Memory: Screenshots from an Anthropological Perspective
Keywords:
screenshots, digital anthropology, memory studies, digital natives, evocative objects, material culture studies, digital objects, digital photography, digital materialityAbstract
This research explores screenshots as digital objects of memory in the lives of individuals born after 1990 in Serbia and the former Yugoslav republics. As the first academic inquiry into screenshots in this region, the study offers an anthropological perspective on their role and significance, highlighting the relevance of screenshot creation and preservation in the daily lives of young people. The ethnographic material analyzed includes testimonies from seven individual and group interviews and over ninety responses to an online survey distributed via social media. Drawing on the contributions of new material culture studies, digital anthropology, and memory studies, and referencing key concepts such as evocative and biographical objects, this anthropological analysis aims to provide a framework for further exploration of this topic within the broader social sciences and humanities. The research transcends the technical and aesthetic understanding of screenshots, seeking instead to comprehend them as fragments of events in the digital space that chronicle personal and social histories and, most importantly, as digital objects with the agency to evoke memories and shape identities.
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