Why do we leave digital traces? The hypothesis of the will (or of the illusion?) To access a form of constructed eternity ; Pourquoi laissons-nous des traces numériques ? L'hypothèse de la volonté (ou de l'illusion ?) d'accéder à une forme d'éternité construite
International audience Why do digital users agree to leave traces when most of these Internet users know that this information can be used to try to assess and influence their commercial, political or security behavior? To try to answer this question, we considered digital traces as transitional instruments and then tried to define the projections and patterns mobilized when we leave such traces. The technical, semiotic and then anthropological analysis of analog and digital traces has led us to define the digital trace as a contract (in the sense of a standard, a transaction and a promise) between an Internet user and a publication platform: in particular, Intentional digital traces are a promise, in the sense that certain platforms (Facebook for example) to which we give our intentional digital traces, undertake, in return, to keep them forever. Could one of the possible causes which encourage users of technical devices to leave traces be a desire, apparently unconscious, to access a certain dimension of permanence, including beyond their own existence? To try to validate this hypothesis, we conducted comprehensive interviews with Facebook users. In conclusion, digital traces therefore seem to be, for some Facebook users, transitional instruments, allowing them to project themselves into a beyond, leading to a form of permanence. However, our work would need to be confirmed by additional comprehensive interviews conducted with users of other Digital Social Networks. ; Pourquoi les utilisateurs du numérique acceptent-ils de laisser des traces alors que la plupart de ces internautes savent que ces informations peuvent-être utilisées pour tenter d'évaluer et d'influencer leurs comportements commerciaux, politiques ou sécuritaires ? Pour tenter de répondre à cette question, nous avons considéré les traces numériques comme des instruments transitionnels puis tenté de définir les projections et les schèmes mobilisés lorsque nous laissons de telles traces. L'analyse technique, sémiotique puis anthropologique des ...