Digital Nomads as Extreme IS Users: Insights from a Self-Determination Perspective

Olbing, Sonja; Sinnemann, Matthias F.

Zusammenfassung

Digital Nomads rely heavily on Information Systems to sustain their location-independent lifestyles, using digital platforms in novel ways. Driven by the growing popularity of digital nomadism, this study investigates the key topics within the digital nomad community, explores the dominant emotions shaping their discussions, and examines how these topics have evolved through the lens of Self-Determination Theory. Using Term Frequency Analysis, Topic Modeling, Sentiment Analysis, and Time Series Analysis, the study analyzes 75,348 social media posts published between January 2017 and December 2024 from Reddit’s r/digitalnomad subreddit. The results reveal 19 topics, grouped into six thematic clusters, characterized by predominantly positive sentiment. The findings highlight autonomy as a central driver of the digital nomad lifestyle, providing a comprehensive framework for key topics. By combining large-scale social media data with theory-driven analysis, this research offers valuable insights for digital nomads, governments, and organizations.