Based on a multi-sited ethnography conducted in Alaska, the Pyrenees and the French Alps, thiscontribution aims to lay the groundwork for a sociology of digital disconnection, viewed as a system ofsocial control or domination. It will demonstrate how voluntary disconnection emerges as a new form ofsocial struggle. Additionally, it will examine how the advent of satellite-based connectivity (e.g., Starlink)disrupts these efforts. After outlining 3 ethnographic cases, the presentation will examine theperspective of digital power and avoidance strategies as a means of rebalancing relations of dominationat a local level. It will also look at how these struggles take shape in communities between supporters ofhyper-connection and those defending the right to total disconnection. Ultimately, the work will draw onDavid Graeber's theories to explore the rearticulation of local resistance in the digital age.
Servais et al. (2025) studied this question.