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Faire son administratif numérisé : des pratiques incertaines

Anne-Sylvie Pharabod (SENSE) and Céline Borelle (CEMS) are the guests at this seminar session. They will present their research on the practices and challenges of online administrative procedures.

Event, Research Seminar

Salle K.011, 1 place Saint Thomas d'Aquin 75007 Paris

Abstract

We will present the research journey of a project launched in 2020 on the completion of administrative procedures at a time when documents are stored and personal information is shared online. By varying the profiles of the survey respondents, from those most familiar with digital technology to those least so, we document digital administrative practices at the level of the infrastructure used, in an approach that complements existing research on inequalities in access to rights.

We will present the various aspects of this research:

  • The reconfiguration of domestic administrative tasks as they move online, using a sequential approach to the processes involved in carrying out these procedures.
  • The modes of engagement in carrying out these procedures, ranging from confident ease to tormenting doubt.
  • Interpersonal exchanges surrounding the completion of tasks, particularly in the context of social support.
  • Administrative life trajectories confronted with the instability of the digital environment.

This presentation will address the methodological challenges involved in examining digital-administrative practices as a sociological subject, drawing on both the observation of courses of action and the analysis of how ways of doing things evolve over the course of a lifetime. It will also outline our approach to developing a grassroots understanding of sensitivity to personal data, as this sensitivity emerges in the everyday practices of internet users.

Biographies

Trained in the anthropology of contemporary societies at EHESS, Anne-Sylvie Pharabod works on the use of digital technology in everyday life at Orange’s SENSE laboratory. Her research combines in-depth interviews and observation to analyse the social implications of the adoption of innovations. She is currently working on the digitisation of administrative procedures and on the everyday problematisation of digital technology use.

Sociologist at SENSE (Orange research) and associate researcher at CEMS (EHESS/CNRS/INSERM), Céline Borelle is interested in systems that integrate digital technology with professional care and support practices. Her research focuses on digital support in social work, the therapeutic uses of virtual reality and social robots in psychiatry, and the pathologisation of digital use in early childhood.

Practical informations

This seminar will be held in person and in French, on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM, in Room K.011, 1 Place Saint-Thomas d'Aquin, 75007 Paris.

Registration is mandatory via this link.