Playful engagements in digital spaces as source material on the everyday

Digital media or spaces have over the years taken various forms that include emails; instant messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Parler and Viber; social media platforms such as blogs and microblog sites (e.g. Twitter, Tumblr); social networking sites (e.g. Facebook, MySpace); content communities (e.g. YouTube, Daily Motion, Pinterest, Instagram, Flickr, TikTok, Vine); collaborative projects (e.g. Wikipedia); virtual game-worlds (e.g. World of Warcraft); and virtual social worlds (e.g. Second Life, Farmville). Scholarship has focused largely on social media platforms as opposed to instant messaging apps. In their guide to social media research ethics, which can be applied to instant messaging apps as well, Leanne Townsend and Claire Wallace highlight the significance of social media platforms as key locations for networking, socialising and importantly, for reflecting on all aspects of everyday life. Online spaces provide researchers with a great opportunity to gather information which, under different circumstances, would have taken more time and resources to assemble. It is within this context that this paper explores the potential of digital media in re-enacting contemporary histories of the everyday. In particular, I explore WhatsApp humour entries to as instructive playful engagements.<p></p>