jemprisonne

jemprisonne is a neologism used in some French-language digital culture discussions to describe a state or behavior in which a person constrains their life by excessive engagement with digital environments. It frames the act as a self-imposed confinement, akin to an imprisonment of time and movement within screens, feeds, and online communities.

The etymology is uncertain and the term appears in online essays and social media commentary in the late 2010s and early 2020s. It is typically treated as a verb ('jemprisonner') or noun indicating a condition of digital confinement, and is generally read as "I imprison myself" or "to imprison oneself."

Usage and meaning: jemprisonne describes both voluntary withdrawal from offline life due to preference or anxiety, and involuntary entrapment caused by platform design, notifications, and habit loops. It highlights how digital routines can become resistant to change and how time can be perceived through the lens of screens rather than physical activity.

Context and assessment: In discussions of digital wellbeing and ethics of platform design, jemprisonne is used to illustrate the potential for everyday technologies to shape behavior and social interaction. It is not a clinical term and is not recognized in formal diagnostic frameworks; researchers typically use terms such as problematic internet use or internet addiction when describing related phenomena. See also digital wellbeing, internet addiction, platform design ethics.