Following, Othering, Taking Over

Abstract Based on fieldwork with migrants and border populations in Central America the story of a young Congolese woman particular, this article discusses how research participants’ use mobile communication technology provokes redefinition ethnographic field. Increasingly popular trajectory often sets out to follow migrants, yet focus keeping touch researchers at their own initiative discretion, following them , reveals entanglements selective on- offline engagement self-representation. Critical exploration differentiated digital for navigating social environment that includes researcher herself not only transforms our understanding field empirical, ethical, methodological terms, but also counteracts potentially voyeuristic life-threatening practices people move.