Presentation done by Dr. Cody Morris Paris, during "ICT & expriences" workshop, of the ENTER2015 eTourism conference.

1. Dr. Cody Morris Paris
Middlesex University Dubai
Edward Alexander Berger
University of Copenhagen
Simon Rubin & Mallory Casson

2.  Recent work on
technology and
travel…Mobilities and
New technologies…
Social Affordances
 Personal experience…
 What happens when we
are disconnected?

3.  The nearly ubiquitous spread of smart phones, portable
computers, and social media and networking technologies
marks a fundamental shift in the way we travel and the world
in which we travel
 We are also seeing a blurring of traditional binaries of tourism
research…home/away, present/absent,
connected/disconnected, leisure/work, etc. (Hannam, Butler,
& Paris, 2014)

4.  Forms of virtual,
imaginative, and
mediated travel
considered ‘new’
(Urry, 2000) only a
decade ago, are now
quite ordinary to a
large majority of
individuals.

5.  “Mobility Nexus” of Travel and Communication
• Mobile devices allow travelers to toggle back and forth
between various forms of mediated and physical co-
presence with distant social networks.
 Tourists today spend much of their time immersed
in hybrid spaces of in-betweeness…

6.  Creating and maintaining
co-presence is now an
important part of the travel
experience (White and
White, 2007)
 Mobile devices and social
media afford an individual’s
social networks with a
‘surveilling gaze’ through
which they can follow,
watch, monitor, and track
tourists virtually from a
distance (Germann Molz &
Paris)

7.  Shared virtual intimacy can sometimes be
troublesome, emotionally disruptive (White and
White, 2007), and generate feelings of discomfort
and claustrophobia (Crawford, 2009).
 Constant connectivity has enhanced the sense of
obligation for tourists to maintain a normative level
of presence, attention, and intimacy with their
friends and family (Larsen et al., 2007).
 ‘expectation of
availability’….’crackberry’…overwork.

8.  As this connectivity is based upon a physical
infrastructure of hardware and software, sometimes
tourists are disconnected from their virtual networks as
they travel through ‘technological dead zones’ (Pearce
and Gretzel, 2012).
 This forced or unexpected disconnection can cause
anxiety and distress, both for tourists and their virtual
networks.
 But, for some of the ‘hypermobile elite’, being
‘unplugged’ and denied mobility is intolerable,
particularly when not by choice.

9. Technology Addiction
• Videogames, Internet.
• Recent focus on Smart Phones
High Smart phone use vs Smart Phone
‘involvement’
Smart Phone Addiction
• Habit forming tendencies…
For many it’s not as simple as ‘just turning
it off’…

10.  Three Prompts sent to ‘tech-savvy’ travelers.
• 1) Share a story or experience about how technology
(ex. mobile or social media) has disrupted or
separated you from the ‘travel experience’,
• 2) Share a story or experience from traveling in a
‘technology deadzone’ where you were disconnected
from your online social networks,
• 3) Have you ever ‘unplugged’ by choice while
traveling? Why? Please share a story.
 Snowball Sampling, through email and
Facebook primarily in August 2013.
 Analysis of responses through multi-stage
process of coding/thematic analysis by the
authors.

11.  25 individuals
 13 Men, 12 Women.
 Age
• 21-30 years old (11)
• 31-40 years old (8)
• 41-50 years old (2)
• 51+ years old (4)
 Nationality
• 16 US/Canada
• 5 European
• 2 Australian
• 2 Latin America
 Required that all are self-identified ‘heavy’ users of
social media and mobile devices and bloggers.
 About 50% earn a living as travel bloggers

12. Pearce and Gretzel’s Technology Induced
Tensions (influential in undertaking of the
study)
 Young’s criteria for Internet Addiction
(emergent….based on the language used
by respondents…)

14.  Young’s (1998) criteria/’indications of addiction’
 These are:
• Preoccupation – constantly thinking about past/future use.
• Increased use - more and more time required to reach
satisfaction.
• Inability to stop – cannot reduce/halt use internet services.
• Withdrawal symptoms – noticeable impact on mood and state of
mind.
• Lost sense of time – regularly lose track of time and important
deadlines.
• Risky behaviors – jeopardizes key professional or personal
relationships.
• Lies – use of deception to hide extent of time spent online.
• Escapism – excessive use of internet to avoid real-life problems.

17. The clothing line developed by designer Kunihiko Morinaga
includes jackets, shirts and pants made out of material that will
block radio waves from reaching your smartphone.

30.  Technological advancements have provided us
with greater tools, opportunities, and affordances.
 But, these need to be critical examined and also
individually reflected upon.
 Negotiating Dis(connection), intimacy, home/away,
reduced anonymity, ‘safety-net’, work obligations,
‘constant presence’, surveilling gazes.
 Implications for Industry
 Personal Travel as one dimension of wider
personal/social mobilities…Geographically
independent lifestyles…’global citizens’….etc

31. Germann Molz, J. & Paris, C. (2013)
Social Affordances of Flashpacking:
Exploring the Mobility Nexus of Travel and
Communication. Mobilities
Hannam, K. Butler, G. & Paris, C. (2014).
Developments and Key Issues in Tourism
Mobilities. Annals of Tourism Research.
44, 171-185. (Section on Technology).

32. c.paris@mdx.ac