Capturing familism through cameras: Imaginaries and practices of the mobile smart home

This study explores the media imaginaries surrounding home smart cameras in China and how new imaginaries are reflected in individual usage through interviews with parents and analyses of camera advertisements and news stories. Through a sociocultural lens of media imaginaries and local familism, our qualitative analysis identifies five key themes across media discourses and individual practices: tracking risks, maintaining connections, capturing familial affections, disciplining children’s behaviors, and exposing family tensions. We observe a direct alignment between the technological affordances of smart cameras and the cultural values of local familism. We propose the concept of “capturing familism” to encapsulate family life under cameras. This concept underscores that home smart cameras not only reinforce local traditional familistic values but also introduce a reflexive gaze into family life, prompting new reflections on family relationships.