Digital Nomadism: Work Anywhere, Belong Nowhere?

Desire for freedom and exploration is an innate part of reaching adulthood that young people have long channeled through worldly backpacking. Historically, the era of budget travel – hostel living, ramen dinners and sketchy transportation – has come with the tradeoff of delaying practical life and career planning. We are told that our 20s are the time to explore boldly, before we get too tied into making our future, and for good reason. It is difficult to find anyone who regretted spending a portion of their 20s traveling. 

Now, however, the sacrifice of building a career may no longer be necessary in order to travel the world. The current generation of young adults has access to both boundless travel and earning money through means that are not tied to their physical location. This population of roaming virtual workers have become known as “digital nomads”. The question is: do digital nomads truly live in the best of both worlds, or do they miss out on quintessential parts of both travel and work by combining the two?

The far reaches of digital nomad culture became clear to me while I was traveling for a yearlong fellowship. I spent time on four different continents, and found digital nomads on each one. There were the travel influencers, who make money through Tik Tok views or ad revenue on blogging sites. There were also the passive incomers, who get by through investing in crypto and running airbnb properties. Some of these people I met had left their home countries years earlier, unaware they would eventually earn a virtual income that allowed them to keep living abroad.

Aside from these somewhat stereotypical paths to digital nomadism, the group also includes those who simply work computer jobs based elsewhere. While living in places with much lower costs of living, but earning wages that are regulated by standards in their own, often more affluent countries, digital nomads are able to sustain the travel lifestyle for longer. Southeast Asia has become a hotspot for digital nomadism of this type. In Bali, Indonesia, digital nomads are notorious for pricing out local communities and even breaking the law to earn income while in the country. 

As a result of this digital culture, to be fully “off the grid” while traveling is a rare experience for Gen-Z. While traveling in some countries, my use of Google Maps to find the best hostels, food and experiences reached a level of addiction akin to impulsive use of social media. Speaking to older generations about their experiences traveling, I recognize how drastically different their mode of navigation was, from relying heavily on a tattered copy of The Lonely Planet to seeking help from strangers at every turn. While Gen-Z has gained an unprecedented level of flexibility to travel while also making an income (although many of these virtual jobs are not career-building material), we have reduced our opportunity for some of what makes travel so inspiring: untethered living.

Take, for example, the travel influencer who earns their income through ad revenue. They are required to identify the trending locations, restaurants, stays and activities, providing their input in order to create content for views. Their experience is ultimately guided by what appeals to the masses, as opposed to happenstance encounters and local discoveries that can make experiences feel more satiating.

Not to mention, digital nomadism has an array of impacts on both the participating individual and the communities they land in, which can be partially positive and negative. Individually, the digital nomads I have met are often the most socially adept travelers of the bunch. They know how to build deep connections quickly, like it's a skill on their resume. This ability is, in a sense, a mode of survival while living a life where movement is constant and social connection is a necessary part of mental wellbeing. While digital nomads tend to miss out on the community-building aspects that the in-person workplace and stationary living can provide, they have become adaptable to change and persistent relationship-builders.

But there are also cultural impacts to the hotspots where many of these individuals find themselves. On the one hand, many countries welcome foreign dollars or create economies reliant on tourism. Yet inevitably, these local cultures and economies turn into the version of themselves that is most accepted and profitable in the foreigner’s eyes. Further, digital nomads have been known to create “bubbles” in certain areas and contribute to a decrease in affordable housing for locals, while also creating a deficiency in tax money that would support public services in these locations. Digital nomads must navigate their existence at the epicenter of this tension, but not many appear to lean into the discomfort required to honestly do so. 

Despite these complexities, digital nomadism still has a strong appeal for Gen-Z, for reasons that need little explanation. Who wouldn’t want to travel freely or live in paradise for less than they would spend living in their home country? With the transition towards virtual work after the COVID pandemic and the role that social media plays in displaying the most enviable of lives at the top of our feed, digital nomadism is a natural result of today’s global conditions. On the one hand, it is an extension of the pattern of power dynamics between high and low income countries. On the other, an opportunity for greater cross-cultural connectivity. The problem is not necessarily with the individual choice to be a digital nomad, but that with so many people doing so – and with an innately Lazeez-affaire structure of earning a living – curbing the negative impacts of (predominantly Western) digital nomadism may prove difficult.

All said, it is quite possible that digital nomadism is our first taste of an emerging period of global migration and mobility, set in motion by younger generations. The increasing accessibility of the digital nomad lifestyle joins the evolving list of push and pull factors of migration, alongside climate change, that will define this current period in history, with Gen-Z at the helm.