The matter of ‘virtual’ geographies

Abstract

Geographers have long wrestled with the spatial characteristics of digital mediation. In this regard, ‘the virtual’ as somehow other and immaterial has proven a persistent trope. The aim here is to argue for a greater attention to the material conditions of the digital. This article revisits the articulation of ‘virtual’ geographies and reviews recent discussion of digitally mediated activity. To materially address ‘the virtual’, the fundamental relationship between humans and technology is investigated as ‘technics’, using recent work in the geographies and philosophy of technology. Observations are made about how this may inform broader understandings of spatiality and culture.