“Individuals are now constituted as subjects in relation to these complex information systems: they are points in circuits of language-image flows; they are, in short textual- ized agents. Their perceptions are organised by information machines” (Mark Poster as cited in Dodge 2002).

With increased use (and reliance) on digital technologies, especially mobile media devices, we begin to accumulate mass amounts of archives as we constantly consume new information. A look at any smartphone will tell you that they are places that store an abundance of data, categorized according to different systems (different applications). This data defies both the temporal and spatial dimensions needed to organise traditional archives; a possible reason for their pervasiveness and popularity. The ease of use and ‘in the moment’ features can make the concept and practice of archiving a completely sub-conscious one (albeit, it often is). With things like cloud storage and syncing devices, archives can become archives without us even knowing.

An interesting note on ‘archiving an archive’: This image, taken as a screenshot (holding down two buttons) is an example of the ease of which these devices allow you to archive ‘the now’ and the fact that this feature has been included on such devices may represent the trend towards self-archiving reality.