The Aftermath of Minds, Hearts, and Symbols: A Multidimensional Perspective on Digital Housework

Abstract

Digital housework is one of the outcomes of the spread of interactive, smart technologies in the home. This new type of work consists of domestic, personal, and professional activities that are carried out at home using technological and digital devices. This study seeks to provide a better understanding of the gender implications of the cognitive, emotional, symbolic, and outcome dimensions of digital housework. The research questions used in the study are: (1) What are cognitive, emotional, and symbolic digital housework tasks and their outcomes? (2) What gender patterns can be observed in the performance of cognitive, emotional, and symbolic digital housework? The results are drawn from a thematic analysis of 53 cultural biographies of domestic devices and indicate a distinction between cognitive, emotion, and symbolic digital housework tasks that lead to digital housework outcomes in the form of digital capital. The gender aspects of all the dimensions of digital housework are discussed along with the theoretical and practical implications of the study's findings.

Keywords

• digital housework
• gender
• digital capital