Algorithmic Subjectivation and Digital Self-Care: An Ethnographic Analysis of Mental Health Application in Brazil

Abstract (English)

Since 2017, over 10,000 mental health applications have been developed globally, positioning themselves as accessible therapeutic tools. In Brazil, the most used one, with more than 2 thousand downloads, is called Cingulo Guided Therapy. It is important to consider that the increasing prevalence of self-help applications for mental health management requires broader shifts in digital ethnographic methodologies, also raising critical ethical and epistemological concerns. Thus, this study aims to investigate the relationship between users and the(ir) self-care practices promoted by Cíngulo. By employing digital ethnography and semi-structured interviews, this research examines how the app is able to construct subjectivity through self-discipline narratives rooted in neoliberal governance. For instance, in 2021, Cíngulo launched the slogan “Do all on your own,” exemplifying how mental health care can be framed by the individual, rather than collective, duty. In other words, beyond offering emotional support, it uses to employ imperative self-care rhetoric, reinforcing personal responsibility for mental well-being. This aligns with the transition from Foucault's panoptic model — where external surveillance disciplines individuals — to contemporary biopolitical governance, wherein subjects internalize and enact their own regulation. Furthermore, the growing reliance on artificial intelligence and big data in mental health care also raises concerns about digital extraction and surveillance capitalism. Regarding a lot of apps, the user-generated data is collected, analyzed, and monetized by them, reinforcing the commodification of emotional labor while the applications claim to offer personalized support. This study argues that such mechanisms illustrate an emerging form of algorithmic governance, aligned with colonial legacies of extraction. Therefore, it is important to highlight that by integrating digital ethnographic methods with critical theory, supported by interviews, this paper also contributes to ongoing debates on the ethics of data-driven research, the methodological challenges of studying digital self-care, and the implications of algorithmic subjectivation in anthropology. In other words, as anthropology continues adapting its fieldwork methodologies to new technological landscapes, it must critically engage with the ethical responsibilities of studying digital subjects. Thus, this discussion urges us to develop participatory and decolonial approaches that resist extractive research practices while remaining attuned to the contemporary selfhood shaped by socio-technical realities.