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Paper short abstract:

Based on an ethnographic study, I seek to understand ways of making a living developed by app drivers in Rio de Janeiro around different work platforms - such as Uber, 99 and Instagram.

Paper long abstract:

In this paper, I conduct an ethnographic study of a small family business that provides mentoring and manages a paid group for more than 200 app drivers in Rio de Janeiro. I analyze how those app drivers constructs digital work platforms - whether mobility apps or social networks - as ways of “making a living” (Álvarez and Perelman, 2020) beyond on-demand work. For these drivers, their earnings on mobility platforms alone do not ensure their material well-being or their aspirations for a "dignified life" (Fernández Álvarez, 2017). I observed that the mentoring expands driver's "horizons of expectations” (De L'Estoile, 2020) since they are encouraged by their mentor to create opportunities beyond the mobility platforms. For instance, several of my interlocutors invest considerable time and resources into becoming digital influencers for other app drivers. Therefore, I examine how the "platformization of work" reshapes the life aspirations of social actors whose experiences are often misinterpreted when analyzed through traditional frameworks, such as the concept of a "proper job" (Ferguson and Li, 2018). In summary, this paper invites a deeper exploration of how social actors in the Global South collectively navigate and create opportunities for themselves in a changing labor world.