Digital Television and the Machine That Goes “PING!”: Autoethnography as a Method for Cultural Studies of Technology

Abstract In this article, the author discusses the possibilities, limits and conditions of autoethnography for gender‐sensitive cultural studies of technology. As examples, the author uses her own technological experiences with digital television and a certain technological health device. First, the author gives a brief introduction to the starting points of the study: cultural studies of technology and gender as well as autoethnography. The author then moves on to consider the benefits and disadvantages of autoethnographic research practices. Special attention is paid to the consequences that the requirement for evocativeness, which is embedded in autoethnography, has for the usefulness of the approach as a method. Furthermore, the author shows how it is possible to study technology‐related gendered everyday practices and make them visible with the help of autoethnography. In conclusion, the author claims that autoethnography is a useful way of doing research that intertwines the personal with the cultural and thus grasps everyday‐based small agency. Acknowledgements This article is dedicated to the intensive care unit of North Karelia Central Hospital. I also wish to thank the anonymous referee for the insightful comments.