Society. Spaces. Screens

Abstract

Digital technologies and screen-based interactions have reshaped how people inhabit and experience both urban and interior spaces. This paper explores the interplay between physical environments and digital engagement, focusing on how screens serve as conduits for interiority—providing spaces of comfort, refuge, and convenience within the context of urban life. Drawing on a study of participants documenting their digital and physical experiences, this research maps the temporal and spatial intersections of digital platforms with physical surroundings, including location, posture, and social engagement during screen use. Through an interior scale examination of digital-physical experience, this work explores how screen use shapes spatial perception and activity. By considering the parallels between digital environments and physical interiors, the study examines how screens offer users a form of digital interiority that can mimic or mediate the psychological functions of traditional designed spaces. Bachelard (1994) has suggested that interiors are places of refuge and comfort, and screens similarly enable personalized forms of respite and well-being, particularly in the public sphere where alienation is common (Simmel, 1903). Drawing on Latour’s (2005) Actor-Network Theory, this paper also considers how screens act as mediators and connectors, shaping interactions between people and their environments, and expanding the spatial dynamics of both urban and interior settings. Through this discussion, the paper reflects on how digital-physical experiences challenge and expand current notions of urbanism and interior design, proposing new directions for design practices that consider the evolving relationship between technology, space, and human well-being.