Prior to the epidemic, digital nomads usually referred to fashionistas or hipster millennials who freelanced on faraway beaches. The term “digital nomad” may be confusing to most people.
But as telecommuting has accelerated, and working people have begun to travel the world with their work computers at their disposal, the digital nomad lifestyle has begun to gain traction: a report by consulting group MBO Partners shows a 131 percent increase in the number of digital nomads in the U.S. from 2019 to 2022.
The growing popularity naturally means that the population of digital nomads is becoming more diverse, and not just the stereotypical millennials. In a new paper published by World Leisure Journal, anthropologist Dave Cook categorizes them into five groups.
Cook reviewed a number of studies, surveys and interviews about how digital nomads define themselves before and after the epidemic. He found that the term “digital nomad” is used rather loosely, and that a more precise definition was needed after it was integrated into the discussion of teleworking. As a result, he categorized digital nomads based on the following six factors: “mobility autonomy, telecommuting practices, domestic vs. transnational travel, legal compliance, work-life balance, and use of co-working spaces.”
Which category do you fall into?
1. Freelance digital nomads
The reason why these digital nomads can send emails from a café in Spain instead of in front of a computer screen in an office is because they are not tied down to any one job. They are freelancers in creative or technical fields such as graphic design, journalism, YouTube content creation or software development. Cook writes that most research on digital nomads until 2020 has focused on this group. They fit the initial stereotype of the digital nomad, which is still very common today, and this group has more autonomy over their schedules and where they land.
2. Digital nomad business owners
Cook writes that people often confuse digital nomad business owners with freelancers, but the former aren’t as common as the latter, and they’re more complex – they have contract employees, a larger inventory of merchandise, or larger-scale business systems (think financial coaches who move to Portugal on a digital nomad visa). You might be thinking of entrepreneurs, and you’re not wrong. Cook said, but the concept of entrepreneurs is much broader, and the definition of “digital nomad business owner” is more accurate.
3. Digital nomads on the payroll
This group, which emerged mostly during the epidemic, refers to people who work and travel to at least three locations a year. But it’s hard to know how much the number of people in this group has grown recently because, as Cook says, very little research had been done specifically on this group until the last few years. Their existence shakes up our notions about work and exposes the chasms in our work culture. Cook writes that the difference between companies that encourage employees to work wherever they want and those that want them to sit at their desks “highlights the cultural tensions that are emerging in the workplace.”
4. Experimental digital nomads
If you’re trying to be a digital nomad but don’t have enough money to sustain this lifestyle, you’re not alone – go home and tell your mom who worries about you that you’re an experimental digital nomad. This is a group of adventurous people who may be undecided about adopting this lifestyle, but are trying. They manage their time according to their work structure or entrepreneurial arrangement, and they’re often found in co-working spaces or at conferences. Such intentions, Cook writes, mean that they are not tourists, but “backpackers who perhaps combine traveling with performative work practices.”
5. Armchair digital nomads
There’s also value in dreaming of living the life of a digital nomad off-site. Armchair digital nomads are doing just that, and while they haven’t started traveling yet, they are earning and saving money and may be on their way to becoming digital nomads in the future. While it’s uncertain where the future of flexible working will go, interest in people expecting to become digital nomads continues to grow; Cook points out that MBO estimates that 72 million armchair digital nomads in the U.S. expect to become true digital nomads in the next few years.
Between golden visas and sporadic “quiet trips,” digital nomads are finding their way. But if left unchecked, the surge in travel for work could have consequences; some countries have already halted visa programs due to the economic impact of digital nomads and the loss of local populations.
Cook writes: “This new type of structure affects urban planning, housing supply, increases the demand for short-term rentals, and some scholars have argued that it contributes to middle-classification.” He argues that better categorization of digital nomads could help “governments, organizations, and individuals decide whether digital nomads are an opportunity or a threat.”
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