Locative disconnection: The use of location-based technologies to make disconnection easier, enforceable and exclusive

Abstract

Today we live in a time of unprecedented connectivity making it increasingly difficult to disconnect from the Internet. In this article we theorize that location-based technologies are transforming the practice of disconnecting from the Internet. To justify this claim we cross-articulate perspectives on disconnection and locative media studies, two scholarly fields in media studies that intersect with location and place. In a review of disconnection literature, we argue that views towards disconnection have been informed by changing perceptions of location and place in relation to Internet connectivity. Conversely, we observe locative media scholarship that has demonstrated the influence of location-based technologies in creating location-based connections that have become integral to Internet platforms and applications. We then synthesise disconnection and locative media studies to theorize the dynamics between the practice of disconnecting from the Internet, a physical location and a location-based technology. We first offer the concept of locative disconnection to describe the designation or localization of disconnective practice to a specific place. Secondly, we argue that location-based technologies are increasingly utilized to simulate locative disconnection in response to the spread of mobile connectivity and have the effect of making practices of disconnection easier, enforceable and more exclusive. Through the discussion of examples from leisure, entertainment and education, we demonstrate how locative disconnection is increasingly operationalized as both a luxury commodity and/or risk management tool and critically examine the threat and appeal of such technologies for governing populations and user behaviour.