The Contribution of New Technologies to Our Experiences of Nature

Increased technological capabilities, accessibility and connectivity have enabled the expansion and widespread adoption of digital platforms and media consumption in the most developed countries. This chapter addresses the broad spectrum of techno-mediated experiences, detailing several of them. With increasing urbanization and the use of digital technologies, technological or virtual vicarious representations of nature and biodiversity can increasingly replace direct experiences. New technologies thus offer a whole new range of experiences, depending on the degree of mediation they provide. The proliferation of new technologies is also cited as contributing to a decline in individual interactions with natural environments and their associated biodiversity, described as a gradual extinction of nature experiences. The smartphone enables both person-assisted and fully virtualized experiences. The chapter discusses the nature experiences in which the smartphone participates in a real experience and develops the other aspect, entirely digitized and no longer involving a direct relationship with a real environment.