The digitized infant : a field study of entangled emotions and affordances.

The digitization of one’s personal data is of growing interest in the information systems discipline. Parents digitizing their infant’s personal data in the form of infant monitoring is of particular interest. This study examines emotions and affordances within the context of remote infant monitoring. Through an affordance lens, this research conducts an exploratory field study to investigate the role of emotions in the use of an infant monitoring system (IMS). A qualitative analysis of 2,741 online reviews indicates emotional, behavioral, and physical drivers motivating the use of the IMS. Several emotional and behavioral affordances are available through the use of IMS features. Existing in tension with the affordances, constraints limit the affordances of the technology. Several positive and negative outcomes result from both the affordances and constraints. This research furthers the digitization of self literature by contributing to remote monitoring, emotions, and affordances through the development of the Affordance-Constraint-Outcome model.