Mobile self-configuration between tracking, embodied presence, and shared encounters

This essay explores how mobile devices and digital platforms have reshaped spatial practices and the formation of personal identity through the concept of the “spatial self.” Drawing on Human Geography and Media Studies, it examines the intersection of geolocation technologies, mobile media, and identity, focusing on both traditional social platforms and location-based social networks (LBSN). The essay expands the notion of the “spatial self”, foregrounds the identity-producing dimension of spatial practices, and proposes an updated temporal framework that extends the chronological boundaries typically addressed in the previous literature. It highlights the emergence of a more introspective use of spatial data in the construction of the “spatial self”, in which traces are not primarily intended for external display, but are internalised as tools for memory crystallisation and self-understanding.