Lecturer, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey
Lecturer, Universidad Iberoamericana Puebla
Contributing Editor, Platypus, The CASTAC Blog
Research Interests
Digital Anthropology | Digital Art | ethnography | Labour | Latin America | Leisure | Mexico | Video games | Work |
About Iván
Doctor en Ciencias Antropológicas por la UAM Iztapalapa. Me interesan los procesos de apropiación tecnológica, cuestionar la centralidad del trabajo, la importancia del ocio, el juego y el descanso en la sociedad contemporánea, así como pensar en alternativas que permitan alcanzar un estado de soberanía tecnológica, con especial énfasis en la protección del anonimato y la privacidad de lxs usuarixs. Formo parte del grupo “El trabajo en el capitalismo contemporáneo” de CLACSO, del grupo Psicosocial, integrado por profesores del ITESO Guadalajara y de la Ibero Puebla. Entusiasta del software libre, en los últimos meses he explorado cómo trasladar mis dinámicas de trabajo a Linux. - Doctor of Anthropological Sciences from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Iztapalapa. My interests include processes of technological appropriation, questioning the centrality of work, and the importance of leisure, play, and rest in contemporary society, as well as considering alternatives for achieving technological sovereignty, with special emphasis on protecting user anonymity and privacy. I am a member of the "Labor in Contemporary Capitalism" group at CLACSO, and the Psychosocial Group, comprised of professors from ITESO Guadalajara and Ibero Puebla. As a free software enthusiast, I have recently been exploring ways to migrate my workflows to Linux.
Contact
Contributions to Platypus, The CASTAC Blog
View all of Iván's posts on Platypus, The CASTAC Blog.
Chaotic Oscillation: Understanding the Paradoxical Presence of Video Games in Contemporary Society
Common sense tells us that play and work are opposing categories. However, in our society we often encounter situations where the boundaries between these two categories become difficult to distinguish. It’s common that people earn money from hobbies—activities not typically associated with the effort required for any form of work, mostly because they are fun. These include recording oneself dancing on the street, doing product unboxings, or streaming while playing video games. The variety of activities that can now be monetized is vast; almost any activity can become a niche ready to be used by the market to maintain a consumerist dynamic. (more…) (read more...)