Paper short abstract:

Drawing from ethnographic and cyber-ethnographic research in Gurgaon, the paper attempts to look at the double-edged relationship women in cities share with new digital technologies and media - security and anxieties, independence and vulnerabilities, belongingness and apprehensions they bring in.

Paper long abstract:

An important part of current processes of urbanisation is the rapid technologisation of spaces. The digital sphere has become an extension of the physical space of the city, and Internet technologies a part of people's everyday lives. For women in the city, smart phones equipped with various kinds of apps, software and social networking sites, cut both ways. On the one hand, for many women, the tracking and mapping made possible through geo-locators and GPS enabled apps, provides a sense of security and ease of movement through the city. Social media sites help them to find others similarly placed, and provides platforms to make friends, voice concerns, share joys and sorrows. On the other hand, cases of cyber bullying and harassment, Internet trolling, possibilities of surveillance and stalking become new sources of apprehensions, anxieties and vulnerability.

Drawing from a combination of cyber-ethnographic and physical fieldwork in Gurgaon, this paper will try to examine the Janus-faced relationship that women in cities share with new digital technologies and media. As part of the wider research on 'Gendered Violence and Urban Transformations', this ethnographic exploration aims to shed light on the experiences of violence, and more importantly, the everyday practices women carry on to "prevent" violence from occurring. This paper, therefore, is an attempt to understand how technology becomes entwined with the urban landscape and its gendered social worlds. It will look at the ways women in Gurgaon make use of and negotiate with the digital space in order to navigate the cityscape.