The digital void of voluntourism: Here, there and new currencies of care

Woods, Orlando; Shee, Siew Ying

Abstract

This paper explores some of the ways in which “care” is being transformed in response to the mediatory role of digital technologies. Digital mediation has caused care to become an increasingly cross-border practice, and a more expansive construct, that destabilises the assumption of presence (“here”) and absence (“there”). Indeed, as the physical and digital merge into one integrated way of being in the world, they enable connectivity across geographical distance, but so too can they create emotional distance within situations of geographical proximity. These outcomes reflect the “digital void” within which caregivers, and society more generally, are implicated. Digital voids are created when individuals immerse themselves within, and become responsive to, digital networks of connectivity, distraction and representation that can implicate the beneficiaries of care, their family and friends, and themselves as well. We illustrate these ideas through an empirical analysis of Singaporean voluntourists, who are shown to actively reproduce digital voids when engaged in volunteer projects overseas. Specifically, we explore the space-times of the digital void, the representations of “care” in a digital world, and how (dis)connectivity can foreground the (un)doing of care.

Citation

Woods, O., & Shee, S. Y. (2021). The digital void of voluntourism: Here, there and new currencies of care. Geoforum, 124, 46-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2021.05.016

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 1, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Aug 1, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-08
• Deposit Date: Apr 11, 2024
• Journal: Geoforum
• Print ISSN: 0016-7185
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 124
• Pages: 46-53
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2021.05.016
• Keywords: Sociology and Political Science
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2023585