Curating digital autobiographical memories
Type of research (qualitative empirical, quantitative empirical, mixed-method): qualitative
Description:
Almost everyone carries a smartphone nowadays. We use this for documenting many aspects of our lives, including memories in photos, videos, social media post, notes etcetera. In a sense, digital technology thereby adds an external autobiographical memory that might have overlap with, but also be different from our personal memories in our brains. This adds a whole new dynamic to reminiscing about one’s own life. We know yet little about the effects of this development. Hutmacher and colleagues (2024) recently developed a model for understanding autobiographical memory in the digital age. Yet, we do know little about how persons themselves view and use their external memories themselves. Hence, in this assignment you will conduct interviews to learn more about the preferences of how to curate, i.e. to store, use, or share digital memories. Together with your supervisor, you will work on a research question, discuss possible participants and conduct the research.
Who are we looking for?
Students who have an interest in the link between technology and autobiographical memory and who want to learn more about qualitative research
What do we offer?
An exciting topic that the student(s) can tweak towards their own interests.