Paper short abstract:

The textualisation of space by the Internet has led to advantages and disadvantages in researching Africa. While time and space have clearly been compressed for the benefit of an often poorly equipped researcher, there are still major ethical and philosophical questions that need to be addressed.

Paper long abstract:

The textualisation of space by the Internet has led to advantages and disadvantages in researching Africa. While time and space have clearly been compressed for the benefit of an often poorly equipped researcher, there are still major ethical and philosophical questions that need to be addressed especially in relation to online ethnographies of conflict. Using the case of Zimbabwe's most violent election in 2008 and what has been widely referred to as the Arab Spring; this paper explores the inherent dangers of what I see as a rise in the dependence on virtual realities. In exploring the ethical concern, the paper problematizes the relationship between the online virtuality realities and offline physical realities in conflict. The running commentary mainly addresses the question what happens to space when text becomes text? The paper therefore unravels the ontological and epistemological issues of reality in researching conflict. However, its aim is not to dismiss the validity of virtual ethnographies, but to call for reflexivity in its deployment not only in relation to ethics, but philosophical perceptions of the 'real'.