Social networks, technology and acceleration at the Gas Breakwater in Barcelona

An ethnography of sport in liquid times

Abstract

In the present article we reflect on the consequences derived from the loss of sports social capital on a certain public space, in this case the so-called Espigón del Gas in the city of Barcelona, in the period between 2005 and 2020, as a consequence of a commodification process that the environment has gone through, the general trends of contemporary sport towards the individualization of practices and the popularization of the use of ICT. We note that throughout these years, the traditional social relationships of sport based on proximity, sociability and their promotion by the public administration have been progressively disappearing, giving way to a sporting experience oriented towards consumption, the instrumental exploitation of bodies, the widespread use of ICTs and the private interests of transnational companies. To examine the relevance of the changes occurred in this space, we have conducted a long-term ethnographic approach.