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Paper short abstract

This pper explores how visual anthropology can enrich visual sociology, focusing on the MIG-AGE project, which studies migrants' retirement experiences across Europe and integrates visual methods, sharing findings via a multimodal platform while addressing ethical and methodological challenges.

Paper long abstract

The proliferation of visual methodologies and social media has transformed how images are created and disseminated within the social sciences. This paper examines how visual anthropology can enrich visual sociology, fostering insightful research practices. It focuses on the interdisciplinary project MIG-AGE: Do Migrants in Europe Age Well?

This project unites sociologists and anthropologists from four universities, employing both quantitative and qualitative methods. Extensive interviews explore and compare the retirement experiences of economic migrants across Northern and Southern Europe. Visual methods, including photography and photo-elicitation, have been integrated into fieldwork to evoke richer narratives and foster deeper connections with participants. This visual research will also contribute to the development of an ethnographic documentary.

To enhance the representation of diverse data generated during fieldwork, a dedicated website and social media accounts share and integrate written fieldnotes with photographs, creating a multimodal platform for presenting findings. However, challenges arise, particularly regarding time constraints and collaboration within multidisciplinary teams that span different methodological traditions.

Furthermore, social media platforms play a pivotal role in disseminating research findings to broader audiences, but ethical concerns remain. Although participants provide consent for image use, evolving risks related to AI-driven fraud and unauthorized content sharing persist. Recent policy changes by major platforms such as X and Meta, which have reduced fact-checking and content moderation, exacerbate these vulnerabilities.

This paper underscores the ethical and methodological complexities of visual research, advocating for interdisciplinary collaboration and advancing digital ethics discourse.