Over decades of technological change, digitalization has not only created new tools but has transformed how we interpret and use physical spaces. From a geography perspective — which focuses on spatiality and the interconnected social and natural processes that shape places — the spatial effects of digitalization mean both the reshaping of environments and the changing relationship people have to space.
Blurred boundaries: online and offline increasingly intertwined
Where earlier decades tied screens to specific locations — home or workplace PCs, internet cafés — today screens and online access are the norm, and it is the places without connectivity that are exceptional. The first year of the COVID‑19 pandemic illustrated how loss of physical access relocated many activities to screens. Conversely, the 2025 major Iberian blackout highlighted how the loss of digital services can reassert the primacy of physical environments.
In everyday life the boundary is less sharp: our attention often hops between the physical environment and information arriving via screens. Professional and popular estimates suggest some users pick up their phone more than 50 times a day, often without a clear prior purpose, demonstrating how integrated screens are in daily spatial practices.
Attention, addictive mechanics and social responses
Many platform business models center on maximizing attention: features such as infinite scrolling or unpredictably timed notifications extend time spent on platforms. Consequently, the flood of screen stimuli can disrupt lectures, driving or evening rest, and can intrude into places where digital presence was previously undesirable (for example, work intruding on vacations).
One common societal response has been regulation in public education: several countries restrict or ban devices for certain age groups in schools. Researchers and practitioners also warn about protecting users’ time management and mental health in the face of attention‑extracting designs.
Spatial homogenization and a more home‑centred lifestyle
Digitalization contributes to a form of spatial homogenization: as many services become available online, time spent at home increases and the role of physical locations changes. Everyday activities — shopping, dining, administrative tasks, socializing, entertainment and segments of work — have shifted online. This brings convenience and flexibility but can reduce chance encounters and micro‑interactions that were tied to shared public spaces.
Scholars link the decline in such encounters to social issues like loneliness and polarization. Social media does not fully replace face‑to‑face interactions, and may produce its own harms, especially for vulnerable groups such as children.
AI, chatbots and the transformation of relational exchange
Artificial intelligence–based chatbots and agents already perform many roles: friend, personal assistant, colleague or expert substitute. This trend can accelerate both spatial homogenization and the restructuring of human relationships: as fewer errands require leaving the house, opportunities for in‑person encounters may diminish.
Physical forms, new local spaces and hybrid services
Screens and digital services also reshape settlements physically. Local manifestations include parcel lockers dotted across streetscapes, the emergence of coworking spaces and intermediate places for remote workers. Most services now operate both online and offline, and consumer choices are often guided by online ratings and algorithms. We literally rely on online map applications to navigate physical space.
Resource and geopolitical constraints
It is important to stress that the apparent limitless nature of the online world rests on finite Earth resources. Digital device batteries require rare earth elements, and data centers demanded by artificial intelligence and storage have significant energy and water consumption — demands that are likely to grow. Technology therefore evolves embedded in physical‑geographical and geopolitical constraints: infrastructure needs, resource supply and regulation shape where and how services can be provided.
Attention, language and memory — the changing organization of society
Screens alter not only spatial practices but also modes of social communication: politicians increasingly use short social posts instead of long debates, filmmakers account for viewers’ phone use, universities see short videos displacing books in some contexts, and everyday communication often takes the form of brief text or voice messages. These trends affect how we think, remember and experience the world.
Conclusion: mutual shaping
Physical and digital worlds do not exist as separate islands; they continuously shape each other. The embedding of screens and the internet increases possibilities for connection and convenience, but also raises new social and spatial challenges: attention loss, fewer in‑person encounters, increased resource demands and geopolitical dependencies. Understanding contemporary space requires examining both physical and digital dimensions together.
Author’s note: the author did not use AI language models in producing this piece. The ideas and phrasing are the author’s own; the author does not consent to reuse without citation.
Dóra Bálint, geographer‑researcher, ELTE Közgazdaság‑ és Regionális Tudományi Kutatóközpont (KRTK), Regionális Kutatások Intézet (RKI). The article reflects the author’s views.
