Abstract
Online Experiences (OEs) are shared digital participatory experiences which involve social interaction between (on average 5-35) group members, based in activities which are simultaneously learned online and performed in the home. Whether by working out with an American Olympic champion, being part of an intimate houseboat concert with a band in Amsterdam or learning how to brew the best cup of coffee from an expert barista in Mexico City, participants are united via the Internet for about an hour’s time to experience something outside the quotidian and meet others from around the world who are also interested in doing so. In light of being unable to offer “physical” experiences due to pandemic quarantine orders, online experience economy platforms have opened e-experience branches for people to share leisure and touristic experiences, digitally. This ethnographic study explores how people socially interact and experience the shared space of online participatory experiences by way of ethnographic interviews and participant observation. Do participants feel a sense of “togetherness” as they engage socially with each other from a distance? How do hosts and participants of OEs enable digital sociality, experience experience and feel a sense of presence with one another? The focused discussion explores the cross-cultural connections being made through the screen and at home, ultimately complicating traditional frameworks of place-based and online tourism and leisure.
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
Changing Dimensions of Contemporary Tourism
KEYWORDS
Digital Sociality, Online Experiences, Experience Economy, Virtual Tourism, Cross-cultural, Presence
