Artifacts Creation—a Qualitative Method Using WhatsApp: Reflections on the Process

Through an adaptation of photo-based methods, which we call artifact creation, we wanted to understand the risks and strategies of young South African people regarding intimate-partner violence and HIV exposure. We worked with 17 young men and women (ages 18-24 years) from urban informal settlements and a rural village in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, to understand the everyday lives of young people. This article reflects on the strengths and limitations of the artifact-creation process. The artifact creation highlighted the advantages and disadvantages of using visual methods as a method and WhatsApp as a collection tool. This included the ease of sending artifacts deemed appropriate by young people and the rich stories that were shared based on these artifacts. The cost and connectivity of cellular data hampered this ease of sending artifacts at times, especially in rural areas. Overall, the artifact creation provided valuable lessons in furthering nontraditional qualitative methods. We argue that visual methods and tools such as WhatsApp can be beneficial when working with young people. However, there are apparent limitations as to what research can effectively be achieved through social media platforms.