Paper
Emotional labor guided by application: an anthropological research about why neoliberalism is selling mental wellness in the digital age
presenters
Milena Geisa Dos Santos Martins
Nationality: Brazil
Residence: Brazil
Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ)
Presence:Online
Focusing on the concept of mediation, we know that many human actions can be done through applications. Therefore, It is necessary to investigate the relationship between these technological resources and individuals. Especially with regard to apps aimed at mental health care. Since 2017, more than 10,000 apps have been developed and are available for use on smartphones (TOROUS, ROBERTS; 2017).
Also known as Mhealth, they have been programmed to offer tools that enable users to develop autonomy and personal growth in relation to their emotions (Mazzilli, 2019).
However, although they are related to the sphere of health, Mhealth, in the face of neoliberal logic, can arouse other interests in users. As indicated by Dardot, Laval (2016), people who invest in self-care and self-development can reflect the neoliberal phenomenon called self-entrepreneurship.
In Brazil, one of the famous app brings to their users the promises of: self development, self-control and the elucidation of emotional problems. Through data collected on a daily basis from its use, the Cingulo Guided Therapy gives to their users feedback aimed at improving their behavior and conduct.
It is important to note that Capitalism exercises its main form of domination over the bodies of individuals and extracts its profit from them (SCRIBANO, 2009). As far as apps are concerned, profit is generated from data collected/extracted from users. This is what Zuboff (2015) calls surveillance capitalism.
Then, from an Anthropological perspective in this exploratory investigation, using digital ethnography and interviews, I intend to understand how human beings are doing their emotional labor and trying to get their mental wellness based on algorithmic guidelines produced by the neoliberalism.
Keywords:
Digital Anthropology; Application; Mental Wellness; Emotional Labor; Neoliberalism.