Weaving the real and the virtual: young urban Indonesians’ lived experiences of making psychological homes

Abstract

ABSTRACT Home-making processes have been an important subject of investigation for decades. This research furthers the scholarship in this area by exploring how young urban Indonesians develop psychological homes to create habitable spaces for themselves, with reference to their various relational networks, activities, objects, and pets. We draw on fieldwork conducted over a 16-week period with 45 young people in Surabaya and subsequently extended through diary analysis. To analyze and interpret the empirical materials generated, we drew insights from assemblage theory which revealed that the lived experiences of youth in developing psychological homes for themselves are fluid and dynamic processes, involving both human and physical elements. Our exploration began with the key elements that participants used to develop psychological homes. We then also explored their practices in weaving together these key elements to navigate everyday tensions within their broader relational networks. This article demonstrates the utility of assemblage thinking in unpacking the everyday practices of homemaking among youth.