Quarantine encounters with digital animals

What is it about?

In this we explore three different forms of nonhuman digital mediation which became prominent during quarantine, at drawing upon ideas from both media theory and more-than-human geography, interviews, and digital experiences. We discuss three forms of digital animals in lockdown: 1) 'creaturely cameos', the livestreaming of historically farmed animals into corporate videoconferencing platforms; 2) 'avatar acquaintances', where pre-existing relationships between humans and animals allow wider publics to encounter them in less accessible places; and 3) 'background birding', which discusses the widespread popularity of livestreamed webcams from birds' nests.

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Why is it important?

This paper highlights the fruitful interdisciplinary area between media studies and more-than-human geography.