Resilience in the gig economy: digital skills in online freelancing

Abstract

Abstract Research on digital inequality suggests that digital skills are integral to participation on gig platforms. Focusing on the case of online freelancing, this article asks what such skills look like and how gig workers translate them into opportunities. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 21 U.S. online freelancers, I identify moments in which participants approach the gig platform differently because of their digital skills. I find that digital skills enable online freelancers to (1) optimize their use of platform tools, (2) construct alternative pathways when existing tools malfunction, and (3) imagine and blaze new paths that go beyond the platform’s current functionality. These findings suggest that, in the volatile context of gig platforms, digital skills entail not only the ability to leverage platform tools as designed but also the capacity to creatively navigate situations in which the online environment changes, breaks, or proves inadequate for their needs.