Digital nomads: transient social interactions and local (dis)embeddedness in DNA, China

Abstract

Social interactions between digital nomads and local residents reflect the embeddedness of digital nomads into a destination and what impacts they bring to the destination. In this study, we qualitatively examined the first digital nomad community in China, Digital Nomad Anji (DNA), and evaluated how domestic digital nomads in the community interact with the locality. We identified the characteristics of transient interactions between digital nomads and local residents. Such interactions manifest through daily communication, commercial exchanges, cultural engagement, and co-presence. Based on these interactions, we proposed five core dimensions of (dis)embeddedness: physical, emotional, cultural, economic, and relational. Digital nomads’ local interactions served as an experience enhancer. We also identified the heterogeneity and territoriality of the digital nomad group and their processes of social characterization and comparison. This study contributes to the understanding of digital nomadism in a domestic context and extends the literature on transient interactions in the context of tourism and lifestyle mobility.

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