#VanLife: Materiality, Makeovers and Mobility amongst Digital Nomads

Information and communication technologies enable the emergence of new digital lifestylesthat are characterized by high mobility. This paper explores #vanlife as an emergingphenomenon that inspires a hyper-mobile life on the road. It connects it to digital nomadismand compares and contrasts it to RVing/camping. Using the visual components and hashtagsof 200 Instagram posts, it specifically delves into the role materiality plays for vanlifers anddiscusses how the seemingly opposite of materiality and mobility are reconciled in thiscontext. The resulting portrait painted of #vanlife adds significant knowledge to the mobility,digital nomadism and online consumer tribe literatures. Methodological and practicalimplications are also discussed