My Digital Spaces
Digital Spaces
Understanding the Visitor–Resident Framework
The Visitor–Resident framework (White & Le Cornu, 2011) describes how individuals engage with digital tools. In visitor mode, users access a resource to accomplish a specific task, leaving little to no social trace—such as checking the weather or looking up a fact. In resident mode, users establish a presence and interact with others, leaving a footprint that contributes to ongoing conversations—such as posting on social media, emailing, or collaborating in shared documents.
Overlaying this continuum with the professional–personal axis enables us to better visualize how our digital practices vary across different contexts. My map represents this model by placing the applications I use into four quadrants: Visitor–Professional, Resident–Professional, Visitor–Personal, and Resident–Personal.
Mapping My Digital Space
This week, I created a “Digital Spaces Map” that divides my tools into four quadrants: Visitor, Resident, Professional, and Personal. The map helped me visually organize where I spend most of my time online and which apps I rely on most frequently. I placed each of my apps in the quadrant where they fit best and sized the logos to show how often I use them.
Image Source: created by Elizabeth Martinez, 2025
What I Learned from My Map
Looking at my map, I noticed that the bottom-right quadrant (Resident + Professional) is where I spend a lot of my time. The largest apps there are Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs, which reflect how central they are to my teaching and graduate work. These are tools I not only use daily but also “live in,” leaving a clear digital footprint through emails, assignments, meetings, and collaborative documents.
In contrast, the top-left quadrant (Visitor + Personal) comprises apps such as Netflix, Amazon, and Facebook. I use these tools to shop, browse, or watch shows, but I don’t really interact with them or leave much of a digital footprint. Their logos are smaller because I don’t use them nearly as often as my professional apps, except Amazon, which I use for both my personal and professional purposes.
The top-right quadrant (Resident+ Personal) includes Instagram, WhatsApp, and GameChanger. These are the apps where I actively engage with family, friends, and community—posting updates, commenting, or chatting. The size of WhatsApp and Instagram in my map shows how frequently I use them. Which is not as often as my Google calendar.
Finally, the bottom-left quadrant (Visitor + Professional) has tools like The Weather Channel. I stop in for information, but I don’t linger or contribute much content.
Surprises and Insights
One surprise was how blurred the line is between professional and personal use. For example, I initially thought of YouTube as purely a personal platform. Still, it sits on both quadrants of my map because I use it for both relaxation (watching videos) and education (finding educational clips). Similarly, Google Calendar helps me manage both my teaching schedule and family events, so it touches both my personal and professional life.
Another realization is how much of my digital world is resident-based. Even in the evenings or on weekends, I find myself checking WhatsApp, Facebook, or Gmail. My status changes slightly—I might lean more on Netflix or Amazon during personal downtime—but overall, my resident tools stay active across both work and personal contexts.
Reflection
Tallying my use over three days made it clear that my most consistent apps are Gmail, Google Classroom, WhatsApp, and YouTube. These are the tools I open multiple times a day, often without even thinking about it. Meanwhile, tools like The Weather Channel, Outlook, or Facebook are used far less frequently.
This exercise made me more aware of how intertwined my professional and personal spaces are. I don’t always have a clear boundary, since many tools overlap in both worlds. Moving forward, I may try to create more intentional “off” times from professional apps to separate work from personal life.
Overall, mapping my digital space was a helpful reflection on how I live online, and it confirmed just how central communication and collaboration tools have become to both my teaching and my personal connections.
I think it's a great idea to create some intentional "off" time. Do you think that off time will still include technology?
ReplyDeleteI spend too much time scrolling at night. So my off time would include a book. I have been so busy lately that I have not picked up a book for pleasure.
DeleteI was also surprised how the line between professional and personal use blurred. I am thinking this might be due to our profession; we are working in a school and going to school. It is pretty hard to shake the learning tools we are required to use for both. I had just the opposite, in that most of the tools I use were for personal as a visitor. I will admit to being scared of the footprint I leave when I visit these places. I like your idea of tallying the use of applications over three days, but would be scared of what I might learn about my digital habits. I dread looking at my daily phone usage when it pops up each morning.
ReplyDeleteI can completely relate. I never open that app when the notification comes up. In my mind, I have no time, so how am I spending so much time on my phone, and when is it happening?
DeleteHi Elizabeth!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it interesting how blurry the line can be between our personal and professional lives with our online use? It's cool to keep track of what apps and websites you use for three days to see what you use more often than others. I am also a person to use calendar for both my personal and professional life but it's color coded according to the event happening. I am interested of having more "time off" from using technology. I have started to try to not check my work email unless I am on work time.
I am guilty of trying to keep up to date with my email. I have also tried to make it a point not to check my work email if I am not in the building, but it's so difficult.
DeleteElizabeth, I also struggle having "off" time from those professional digital tools during my personal time. I work 2 part-time jobs and I only have access to my email on my phone for 1 of them because I know that I would constantly be looking at it! I also struggle with doom scrolling so I often take breaks from devices (particularly my phone) so that I won't absent mindly open things. Most of map was also heavily on the resident side.
ReplyDeleteIt's unsettling to consider how dependent we are on technology.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, I appreciated your reflection on how much our personal and professional digital footprints can intertwine. I discovered this myself not only in my personal usage, but through researching and engaging in information on how well-known social media sites are used for professional networking. (Ex: I never heavily used twitter but was flabbergasted in how often it was mentioned in the resources as a favorite networking source!) Seeing you place YouTube in both your personal and professional quadrants highlighted again in my mind how many platforms can be used for multiple purposes!
ReplyDelete