Uncovering the Key Findings: Do Digital Nomads Want to Contribute to Local Communities? - 5/6

Data-Driven Insights: Understanding the Community Engagement of Digital Nomads

In the previous 4 posts in this series, we have looked in depth at who digital nomads (DNs) are, what their motivations are, and what impacts they cause in host communities. We also briefly explained the concepts of gentrification and voluntourism and how both relate to digital nomadism. In the last two parts, we will now go into the results and discussion of my findings, starting with data-driven insights.

How much do DNs really know about their impacts on the places they visit? Do they actively try to minimize the negative and enhance the positive effects? And, if they want to, what's stopping them? In our society that is increasingly focused on sustainability, these questions become paramount. By the end of this post, we will have explored these questions in depth, shedding light on the role DNs play in our rapidly changing world.

But first, let’s do a quick intro to the methodology behind the research of which the main goal was to answer the following three research questions:

• R1: Are DNs willing to influence the reduction of negative and increase of positive impacts of their residence on local communities?

• R2: Do DNs have access to information on how to reduce negative and increase positive impacts in local communities?

• R3: Are DNs willing to offer their skills to local stakeholders?

I could not find similar research on the topic of DNs' motivation to volunteer or give back to host communities in some way. In order to create a questionnaire and gain an understanding of the topic, I had to refer to similar research that explores the concept of giving back by learning from other travelers.

This made me realize that there is not enough research yet on how DNs, remote work, and voluntourism intersect and how they impact local communities. That's why I think this research is so important and timely - it seeks to fill those gaps. My goal is to expand our knowledge of DNs and how they can help society in positive ways.

To answer the research questions and get a better understanding of the phenomenon, I prepared an online survey, which was sent to various DN-specific groups, mostly located on Facebook and Discord, and to my private contacts. These groups included Plumia, Digital Nomads Around the World, Digital Nomads Buenos Aires, Travel Massive, Cabin, Coworking Bansko, and Nomads Giving Back, as well as the Global Eco Tourism Network, a specialized community committed to sustainable tourism.

Together I have managed to get 54 valid responses with my initial goal being 150. This study got fewer responses than hoped for, and there might be a few reasons why.

• First, in the DN circles, the topic of giving back to the places they visit is not talked about so much so the survey topic might not have caught their interest.

• Second, "digital nomad" means different things to different people. Some who live an alteration of this lifestyle may not identify with the term and might have thought the survey wasn't for them.

• Lastly, DNs are spread out across the world and across many online platforms, which can make it tricky to reach a lot of them for a survey. There's no single online or offline space where all digital nomads hang out, so distributing the survey to a wide audience was challenging.

Other methods like interviews or focus groups could have helped me understand people's thoughts and feelings in a more detailed way. Also, through observational studies, I could better understand how DNs behave in real life and might have given me more accurate information about their actions and choices.

After receiving the responses, I analyzed them and prepared a detailed overview and compared them to other similar studies. I will now present to you the results, starting with the demographics.

Understanding Our Research Segment

38% of the respondents were male, 52% were female, and 10% identified as non-binary. In terms of age, almost half of the respondents (40%) were aged between 31-40 years, with 34% in the 21-30 years range. The remaining 26% were spread across the 41-60 and above 60 years age brackets.

As for the employment status, 40% were freelancers, followed by full-time employees (36%) and business owners (30%).

I asked the respondents to define themselves on a location-independence scale provided by Reichenberger (described in my first post). The majority, 46% of DNs defined themselves as having a home base to which they return after their occasional travels. While 24% were defined as living a fully mobile lifestyle without a home base. Likewise, 24% defined themselves as location independent but choose to stay close to home.

In terms of how long they stay in one destination, almost half of them (46 %) stated that they stay for 1 - 3 months, which is interesting because the data from NomadList indicates DNs stay 8 months on average.

The question of which characteristics are important for DNs when choosing their destination illustrates that DNs prioritize infrastructure (such as internet connectivity), social and recreational aspects (sports), and safety above other considerations like financial incentives and nightlife when selecting their destinations.

Surprisingly, sustainability principles were not highly rated, achieving an average score of 2.28 out of 5, despite the discourse around sustainability and travel.

DNs appear to prefer to reside in beach/coastal locations and urban cities, with mountain areas achieving a high rating as well.

Not so surprisingly, DNs mostly (60%) use private apartments while traveling. Quite a high number of DNs (20%) opt for coliving spaces.

As to why they live the DN lifestyle, the strongest response was ‘‘to experience something new’’, followed by authenticity, traveling the world, fun and enjoyment, learning more about themselves and escaping the 9-5 life.

This was the first part of my survey to find out why and how they live their DN lifestyle. Now I will present the results from the part where I wanted to find out specifically if and how DNs want to give back to the communities they visit.

The Impacts of Digital Nomads

The findings suggest that DNs perceive themselves as beneficial to destinations. Although they appear to be less confident in their capacity to contribute positively to environmental aspects. Overall, 86 % believe that their presence has a positive influence on communities in which they reside.

A considerable 76% of DNs indicated their willingness to engage in voluntary activities within the communities they visit. Meanwhile, 22% expressed a potential interest in doing so, and only 2% confessed they hadn't given the idea any consideration.

When asked about their experience with volunteering in their home country in the last 3 years, 66% answered "yes," while the other 34% did not participate in such activities. Then we rephrased the question and asked if they had done any volunteering in the last 3 years on their DN trips. Here we got a slightly different result, as 52% answered that they had not volunteered as DN in the last 3 years.

Going deeper, the survey results also indicate a strong willingness among DNs to contribute positively to local communities, with the highest average ratings given to volunteering time (3.98), offering in-person skills to local entities (3.96), participating in environmental conservation activities (3.92), and purchasing goods for local NGOs (3.52).

Conversely, financial donations to local NGOs (2.94) and contributions to faith-based groups (2.20) were rated slightly lower, with medical projects (2.62) also receiving a modest rating.

This question explored potential barriers inhibiting DNs from participating in community-beneficial activities. Results revealed that 78% of DNs indicate a lack of time to volunteer and 70% a lack of information about such activities.

In my effort to maintain a digestible and reader-friendly format, I have distilled the results of my survey to the most essential and revealing data. Nevertheless, there is an are other intriguing findings that I was unable to include in this post due to these constraints. For those of you who are particularly keen on diving deeper into this subject matter, I will be uploading the full version of my thesis in the following weeks.

Answering the Research Questions

Now moving to the heart of our thesis, where we tackle our main research questions. Our aim isn't just to answer these questions, but to initiate a conversation about DNs and their role in our changing world.

R1: Are DNs willing to influence the reduction of negative and the increase of positive impacts of their residence on local communities?

Our findings show that DNs are quite keen on improving their influence within the local communities they visit. Judging by the average scores on financial, social, and environmental impacts, it seems they are committed to fostering a more beneficial footprint. In fact, 86% of them view their presence as having a positive effect, and 76% are open to volunteering in local communities. It's clear that DNs strive to reduce any negative impacts while amplifying the positives of their stay.

R2: Do DNs possess information on reducing negative and creating positive impacts in local communities?

Our study did reveal a few hurdles that prevent DNs from actively participating in community activities. One significant issue is information access. Around 70% of Digital Nomads report that they lack adequate information about such activities. This suggests there's an information gap that could be hampering Digital Nomads from contributing more effectively to local communities.

R3: Are DNs open to offering their skills to local stakeholders?

Several aspects of the DN lifestyle suggest a readiness to contribute their skills to local organizations. When asked about volunteering their time, offering their skills in person, and providing skills online, the responses were quite encouraging, with scores of 3.98, 3.96, and 3.48, respectively. These scores imply a strong willingness among DNs to lend their skills to local entities.

Having explored the research questions in detail, I've gathered some intriguing insights into the multidimensional impacts of DNs on their host communities. From the economic implications to sociocultural effects, and environmental considerations, we've delved into the varied and complex influences of this contemporary lifestyle.

What do you think about the potential impacts and benefits of digital nomadism? Have you had experiences as a DN that align with the findings or perhaps contradict them? I would love to hear your stories and perspectives. Please share them in the comments below.

If you found this post interesting, don't forget to share it with your networks, as I believe this is an important conversation worth having. Don't miss the last part of this series. Stay tuned and subscribe to receive future updates.

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