Streaming users as temporal publics: Recalibrating platform power in Latin America

Abstract

This article analyzes how streaming users in Latin America experience time in relation to platforms. Drawing on a mixed-methods approach that employed daily reports of platform usage, focus groups, and "rich picture" analysis, we examine the cases of two countries with some of the highest digital media usage statistics in Latin America: Brazil and Costa Rica. We conceptualize platform users in these countries as "temporal publics", defined by their varied experiences of time and the complexity of their "time work" practices. The article discusses how individuals engage in recalibration practices to navigate the temporal ambivalences of everyday life and what they perceive as the power of streaming platforms to control their time. By doing so, we demonstrate how users simultaneously reproduce and subvert specific temporal orders through their everyday interactions with streaming services, reflecting a sustained and intentional ambivalence toward the platforms' power.