The “Estranged Self”. Selfie Through the Gaze of Amateur Drone

Abstract

The aim of this article is to investigate the practices of mediatization of the self through the analysis of the dronie, i.e. the custom of taking selfies using the amateur-drone camera. Given the increased presence of commercial and amateur drones in our “media habits”, it is necessary to investigate their characteristicsand the consequences of integrating these technologies into domestic user interaction. This paper, therefore, focuses on the personal use of the amateur drone, on the subject–object relationship, and on the consequent, mediatized, subject’s experience. Starting from the concept of hybrid agency between the media-object and the user, the analysis focuses on ten flight and shooting experiences from a subjective point of view. Adopting an exploratory approach to the topic, the research is conducted through an auto-drone-technography that allows two main elements to be observed: the relationship between operator–drone–subject; and the mediatization of the self through the estranged gaze of the dronie. These two elements are then discussed from the principles underlying the logic of the selfie, highlighting the continuities and differences between the two practices