Social linking practices across physical distance: The material constitution of sociality

Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis has resulted in physical distancing regulations, disrupting traditional practices of establishing and maintaining social relationships. We draw attention to digital nomadism as a mature case of navigating sociality in uncertainty to investigate how the linking value of materiality establishes social proximity without geographic contiguity through physical, virtual, and imagined practices. Using Miller’s (1987) theory of materiality and triangulating data collected from in-depth interviews and netnography, this study details the material constitution of co-presence with others in physical distance. We propose that consumers oscillate between work—instrumental practices of signaling and curating—and play—emotional practices of belonging and indulging—to experience social linking across different spatial and temporal frameworks.

Bracing community in rural coworking: emerging trends and categories

“…Although post-pandemic effects have abruptly affected coworking spaces in large cities (Brouwer et al , 2022; Manzini-Ceinar and Mariotti, 2021; Orel et al , 2022), increasing uncertainty and risks for community cohesion in those areas (Schwarz and Hemetsberger, 2022), coworking spaces in rural areas have witnessed a potential opportunity for development and growth (Merrell et al , 2022), minimising the degree of contagions, as well as the displacement of workers (Mariotti et al , 2022). As noted in a study by Mariotti et al (2021a), rural and peripheral coworking spaces were considered safer and more reliable because of their location than those in metropolitan areas, where the number of COVID-19 cases was considerably higher.…”

Introduction to the special section: Tribal marketing after Covid

“…While this certainly relieved boredom, Hietala adopts a feminist approach to explore the ways in which these art pieces challenge traditional representations of femininity and care, affording new aesthetic and subjective possibilities in the post-postmodern era through the creation of novel virtual tribes. Schwarz et al (2022) also studied online tribalism, but here in the form of digital nomadism where Covid-19 represented an existential threat to this mobile, sociable lifestyle. They make the point that digital nomads are already well-versed navigators of social and geographical complexity, but the virus posed far more difficult challenges to those who are usually able to connect and disconnect at will.…”

Exploring Co-Presence in Virtual Work: A Literature Review

“…Even though it occurs in cyberspace, virtual co-presence cannot be separated from the material world, as shown by Schwarz et al (2022). Virtual work cannot be done from locations with an unstable internet connection or without electricity.…”

“…Therefore, to optimize productivity, managers need to regulate copresence (Schiemer et al, 2022) Managers also need to pay attention to aspects of emotional satisfaction, job satisfaction, and feelings of belonging to workers (Nam et al, 2008b;Ryan & Mulholland, 2014), by increasing task significance, autonomy, and feedback (Gibson, 2011). Resource support also needs to be considered to support co-presence (Primdahl et al, 2021;Schwarz et al, 2022).…”