Entre vidas: narrativas (im) possíveis sobre entregas via plataformas digitais

Abstract

This paper dives into the so-called “Work Platformization” waters, a sector where laborers work through digital platforms to make deliveries around the city. A study based on secondary data about digital platforms was developed as part of the methodology. Then, a virtual ethnography profile was conducted in WhatsApp groups — one focused on operational support for deliveries and the other offering support to delivery workers. Additionally, a field ethnography profile was carried out in a neighborhood in the city of Salvador to understand the rationale, structure, and challenges of this work from the perspective of an actual delivery worker. To understand and analyze the functioning of two virtual WhatsApp groups — one composed of businesses, delivery workers, and mediators, where orders and deliveries are coordinated, and the other aimed at supporting those working in the first group— a semi-structured interview was conducted with the founder of these groups. This research aimed to describe and analyze the experiences within the world of deliveries through digital platforms. The study focused on delivery apps alongside practical experience with an alternative delivery platform. Although it was not feasible to work directly through hegemonic apps like iFood, observing their operation through those who work in the app daily and with whom I interacted during the research was possible. Previous conversations and everyday perceptions gained, besides the study, also contributed to the process. As a result of this study, an original collection of short stories (Entre Contos) was created based on these experiences mentioned before. One particular story was co-produced with an AI, resulting in a profound experiment with an intriguing metalinguistic element for the collection. In addition, a daily journal (Entre Dias) was created based on the logbook used during the ethnography profile. Finally, a Social Management Technology (TGS) was developed, which purposefully outlines possibilities for supporting and promoting alternative delivery groups based on the principles of solidarity and cooperation. “Entre Vidas,” as the title cearly suggest, permeates the relationships of everyday life for those who endure labor mediated by digital plataforms, precarious and uberized work, as well as strategies and maneuvers to navigate the system, also using principles of cooperation as na organizational form. These experiences point to and illuminate Social Management. The (un)expected conclusion of this work is a luminous event, composed of shadows but, above all, of countless beams of light that highlight solidarity as a fundamental principle of community life.