Abstract
Recent years have seen advances in the development of information and communication infrastructure where portable devices enable their users to be “always on” – connected permanently with their social contacts, their work and the information scape of the Internet. This perpetual connectivity not only bridges different spheres of life on an information level, but also allows users to physically bring formerly spatially defined practices with her wherever they go. The ensuing delimitations can be interpreted as part of a “liquid modernity” and the practices of connected mobilities can be defined as “digital nomadicity”. This paper argues that these new mobility practices come with new place-making practices and a heightened sensitivity to one’s spatial surroundings we call the care of place. Especially in the field of digitally nomadic work, mobility and the care of place complement each other as self-practices for managing one’s productivity and creativity.
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We prefer the concept of “nomadicity” because unlike “nomadism” it carries less of the anthropological baggage therefore enabling us to emphasize the discontinuity of digital nomadicity and traditional nomadic ways of life. We only use the term “nomadism” when quoting or alluding to other people’s works.
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Liegl, M., Bender, D. (2020). Digital Nomading and the Care of Place. In: Friese, H., Nolden, M., Rebane, G., Schreiter, M. (eds) Handbuch Soziale Praktiken und Digitale Alltagswelten. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-08357-1_24
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