GI_Forum 2016, Volume 4, Issue 1, pp. 282-294, 2016/06/29
Journal for Geographic Information Science
In this article, we explore the relationship between location-dependent hashtags and the con-struction of space, as well as the implications that their interplay has for geography education. Hashtags referring to a specific place, e.g. #Frankfurt, acquire spatial impact when they are combined with certain traits of that place in a single post. We argue that social media activities combined with statements about places or spaces are becoming increasingly important for the understanding of digital geographies. Thus, geography education must respond to changes in the field of media culture that generate new practices of spatial construction. This means in particular that geographical media education should focus on reflective and reflexive analyses instead of a technical-based approach. To this end, we present a case study based on two ur-ban districts of Frankfurt am Main, where we traced and interpreted the process of spatial construction via hashtags in social media, and define its pedagogical potential for geography education.
Keywords: construction of space, social media, hashtag, geomedia, geography educationd
