In this fifth and final episode, we delve into crypto finance—an alternative to traditional monetary systems driven by decentralized blockchain technology. Crypto has proven to attract investors with wide-ranging ideologies around value creation, including some users viewing it as a hedge against existing financial structures. We also explore how decentralized finance (DeFi) challenges traditional notions of money and its potential to subvert existing capitalist institutions.

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This is Clicks & Capital, a five-part series from the archives recorded in November 2023, exploring the role of digital technologies in individuals’ finances. I spoke with ⁠Anna Rohmann⁠ about her PhD research on this.

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Anna Rohmann (she/her) is doing anthropological research at Goldsmiths and works as Associate Lecturer across multiple universities of the University of London. Her PhD project examines financial technology and (digital) financial inclusion through ethnographic and intersectional frameworks. She focuses on the interplay between retail investors, start-ups, content creators, technologies, and wider socio-economic structures. Her broader research interests lie at the intersection of the (digitized) economy with language, queerness, online communities, and social change. Anna is on the editorial board of Anthways Journal, a Research & Marketing Coordinator for the Political Economy Research Center (PERC), and a member of the TikTok Ethnography Collective.

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Sources used in this episode:

• Asgari, N. and Schmitt, W. (2024). Bitcoin hits record above $75,000 as crypto industry celebrates Trump win. [online] @FinancialTimes. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/bdc3311d-3a29-4a3a-82e7-d646bc065dce [Accessed 6 Nov. 2024].
• McDonagh, S. (2024). Bitcoin Soars Past $75K as Trump Win Fuels Crypto Optimism. [online] Newsweek. Available at: https://www.newsweek.com/crypto-bitcoin-price-surge-trump-election-elon-musk-1981325 [Accessed 7 Nov. 2024].

In this fourth episode, we address how social stratification—such as gender, race, and class—has historically shaped inequality in retail investing and financial literacy. We focus on gender and discuss what forms of ‘FinTech Feminism’ are out there currently. While it aims to empower women and promote financial inclusion, there are potential downsides to this trend. Like inadvertently exposing marginalised groups who already face compounded disadvantages to the greater financial risk inherent to investment systems.

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This is Clicks & Capital, a five-part series from the archives recorded in November 2023, exploring the role of digital technologies in individuals’ finances. I spoke with ⁠Anna Rohmann⁠ about her PhD research on this.

***

Anna Rohmann (she/her) is doing anthropological research at Goldsmiths and works as Associate Lecturer across multiple universities of the University of London. Her PhD project examines financial technology and (digital) financial inclusion through ethnographic and intersectional frameworks. She focuses on the interplay between retail investors, start-ups, content creators, technologies, and wider socio-economic structures. Her broader research interests lie at the intersection of the (digitized) economy with language, queerness, online communities, and social change. Anna is on the editorial board of Anthways Journal, a Research & Marketing Coordinator for the Political Economy Research Center (PERC), and a member of the TikTok Ethnography Collective.

In this third episode, we discuss FinTech apps and how they influence people’s perception & relation to finance. By considering the physical or embodied experience of FinTech apps, we consider their additional effects on individuals. We explore how the glitzy promise of new technology is seen to positively democratise financial wealth for the people; however, this may still result in power inequalities.

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This is Clicks & Capital, a five-part series from the archives recorded in November 2023, exploring the role of digital technologies in individuals’ finances. I spoke with Anna Rohmann about her PhD research on this.

***

Anna Rohmann (she/her) is doing anthropological research at Goldsmiths and works as Associate Lecturer across multiple universities of the University of London. Her PhD project examines financial technology and (digital) financial inclusion through ethnographic and intersectional frameworks. She focuses on the interplay between retail investors, start-ups, content creators, technologies, and wider socio-economic structures. Her broader research interests lie at the intersection of the (digitized) economy with language, queerness, online communities, and social change. Anna is on the editorial board of Anthways Journal, a Research & Marketing Coordinator for the Political Economy Research Center (PERC), and a member of the TikTok Ethnography Collective.

In this second episode, we look at how social media has affected financial literacy. Platforms and finance influencers (or Finfluencers) have changed how people learn about finance, lowering barriers to financial knowledge and redefining who financial ‘experts’ are. Digital content like memes also play a role in socialising people into financial subjects.

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This is Clicks & Capital, a five-part series from the archives recorded in November 2023, exploring the role of digital technologies in individuals’ finances. I spoke with Anna Rohmann about her PhD research on this.

***

Anna Rohmann (she/her) is doing anthropological research at Goldsmiths and works as Associate Lecturer across multiple universities of the University of London. Her PhD project examines financial technology and (digital) financial inclusion through ethnographic and intersectional frameworks. She focuses on the interplay between retail investors, start-ups, content creators, technologies, and wider socio-economic structures. Her broader research interests lie at the intersection of the (digitized) economy with language, queerness, online communities, and social change. Anna is on the editorial board of Anthways Journal, a Research & Marketing Coordinator for the Political Economy Research Center (PERC), and a member of the TikTok Ethnography Collective.

This is Clicks & Capital, a five-part series from the archives recorded in November 2023, exploring the role of digital technologies in individuals’ finances. I spoke with Anna Rohmann about her PhD research on this.

***

In this first episode, we explore what inspired Anna's research: the GameStop short squeeze in January 2021, where retail investors on Reddit challenged Wall Street hedge funds. We recap the saga and discuss its implications for anthropologists and social scientists studying financial systems in the digital age, introducing concepts like the 'moral economy.'

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Anna Rohmann (she/her) is doing anthropological research at Goldsmiths and works as Associate Lecturer across multiple universities of the University of London. Her PhD project examines financial technology and (digital) financial inclusion through ethnographic and intersectional frameworks. She focuses on the interplay between retail investors, start-ups, content creators, technologies, and wider socio-economic structures. Her broader research interests lie at the intersection of the (digitized) economy with language, queerness, online communities, and social change. Anna is on the editorial board of Anthways Journal, a Research & Marketing Coordinator for the Political Economy Research Center (PERC), and a member of the TikTok Ethnography Collective.

***

Sources used in this episode:

• CNBC (2021). GameStop Mania: How Reddit Traders Took On Wall Street. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8rwmS4Y17c [Accessed 28 Sep. 2024].
• ‌CNN (2021). Investors on Reddit send GameStop stock soaring. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nKQ90CzxgM [Accessed 28 Sep. 2024].
• Financial Times (2021). GameStop stock short squeeze: Reddit traders take GME on a wild ride I FT Film. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzL5OLCwSPY [Accessed 28 Sep. 2024].
• Hughes, J., N. Megaw and M. Darbyshire (2018). Financial Times. [online] Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/8102fc65-0879-4b88-b3c6-097447a61f7d [Accessed 16 Nov. 2023].
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (2023). DUMB MONEY - Official Trailer (HD). [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmr8YmwnZ3w [Accessed 14 Oct. 2023].

This is the ‘Mastering the Digital’ series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research topics.

In this final episode, I speak with Max Roberts about his project on artists who use live coding in their music performances.

Max has a background rooted in anthropology but has since worked across education, healthcare and tech. While gaining extensive experience in product delivery, design, and consulting, Max developed an interest in how platform design influences people's abilities to access technology, leading to his pursuit of digital anthropology.

Some key takeaways:

• Live coding is a performance style that uses coding languages to create electronic music and visuals at live events.
• The (perhaps unexpected) marriage between the logical rationality of code and creative practices of music performance has been shown to produce budding forms of artistic expression and creative collaboration with the technology itself.
• Due to the public nature of live coding performances and the community's open-source approach, live coding has the potential to improve accessibility, digital literacy and public engagement with code.

Connect with Max via: https://linkedin.com/in/maxgroberts/

This is the ‘Mastering the Digital’ series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research topics.

In this 8th episode, I speak with Gabriella DeMaio about her project on Virtual YouTubers (aka 'VTubers') who work on Twitch, and how labour transforms in digital spaces.

Gabriella is a digital anthropologist and cultural insights researcher with an interest in virtual worlds and the evolving role of avatars and AI in digital media. She also enjoys cooking shows and finding cute stickers for her sticker journal.

Some key takeaways:

• Originating from Japan, many current VTubers draw from Japanese idol culture, such as the popularity of anime aesthetics and the nature of fan interactions.
• VTubers require a lot of infrastructure to stream smoothly, which is often invisible to viewers; from custom PCs to the software designers use to rig a model/avatar, this adds up to make virtual streaming a relatively cost-prohibitive form of content creation.
• Though streaming is happening virtually, the labour that goes into it is highly physical as well as emotional; this becomes challenging when fans develop a parasocial relationship with VTubers, underlining the importance of boundaries and moderators.

Connect with Gabriella via: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gdemaio/

We’ve reached Episode 7 of my Mastering the Digital series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research projects.

The popularity of astrology online initially inspired this week’s guest to embark on her research project exploring the magic of the online realm and spirituality in the Internet age.

I spoke with Eylül Bombacı, a researcher, anthropologist and editor; previously, her background was in sociology and psychology. She has experience in market research, writing and editing, as well as copywriting and music. Her research interests include religion, technology, art and mental health. She has been writing for different magazines as a freelance writer and worked as a market researcher before pursuing her master's degree.

Some key takeaways:

• Traditionally in anthropology (and perhaps also in popular beliefs), societies without technologies like the Internet and an industrial capitalist economy are seen as ‘pre-modern.’ They are considered more ‘enchanted’ (aka more in touch with spirituality) compared to ‘modern’ societies.
• However, users of social media apps like TikTok, or the popular astrology app CoStar, may see things differently; they still practice spirituality, but how they are ‘enchanted’ is just digitally mediated these days.
• But there are also others engaging with spirituality today who reject digital technologies; this ties in with their wider beliefs on well-being and how they relate to the larger universe.

Connect with Eylül via: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eylulbombaci/