Digital Mediation of Hiking Experience: A Hike-Along Study of Wayfinding and Nature Engagement

Abstract

The project is part of a PhD project and investigated the influence digital technologies have on orientation practices and hiking experience. The underlying research question is: How do digital tools reshape hikers’ orientation practices and their hiking experience? The data was collected on Go-Along interviews, where research participants were accompanied on actual hiking trips. The interview guide consisted of questions regarding individual hiking behavior, use of digital technologies along the hiking Customer Journey, insights on the specific tour hiked with participants, subjective perception of the influence of digital media on orientation and nature engagement, and discussion on the future development of digital media in hiking contexts. Verbal data was recorded with a private smartphone and GPS-data with a smartwatch. The research data was analyzed with F4 and QGIS.