Moving Then, Moving Now, Moving Later: Understanding Digital Nomadism from a Life Course Perspective

Juul Henkens , NIDI

An extreme form of adult residential mobility is digital nomadism: a nomadic lifestyle in which individuals combine the freedom of location-independent digital work with the ability to travel. Frequent moving can be stressful, disrupting social relationships, stability, and security, and in turn lead to lower well-being. This raises the question of why individuals choose a digital nomadic lifestyle. Those who move frequently in adulthood, are more likely to have experience with frequent moving in childhood or adolescence, highlighting the importance of a life course perspective on mobility. This qualitative research explores the life course mobility of 27 digital nomads in Bali, Indonesia, linking childhood mobility, current mobility patterns, and future mobility aspirations. Preliminary findings indicate that the majority of digital nomads had experiences with internal or international migration in childhood. In addition, digital nomads preferred to stay at least one month in one place to be able to connect to the place and people. Finally, digital nomadism is seen as a life phase by most but is likely to be a gateway to permanent migration or rotation migration. This knowledge may provide guidance for policy on digital nomadism or migration.

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 Presented in Session 60. Fertility and Migration