Digital Degrowth

From Rebound to Regeneration

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54337/plate2025-10296

Keywords:

Digital rebound, Sustainable digitalisation, Sufficiency, Twin Transition

Abstract

Digitalisation plays a central role in the transition to more sustainable futures. However, it also has negative impacts, such as rebound effects, significantly undermining digitalisation's efficiency gains. Digital degrowth is a relatively new concept in discourses on sustainable digitalisation. Building forth on the concept of degrowth, first proposed in 1972 and gaining strength in the past 20 years, digital degrowth refers to realigning digital technologies to become regenerative; ecological sound and socially just, while simultaneously contributing to resource efficiency in digitalisation efforts. This exploratory paper reflects on digital degrowth and the rebound effects of digitalisation.

Author Biography

Maja van der Velden, University of Oslo, Norway

Maja van der Velden is a professor of informatics and works at the intersection of politics, design, and use of digital technologies and infrastructures. Her particular interests are regenerative technologies, feminist technoscience, and design justice.

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Published

24-06-2025

How to Cite

van der Velden, M. (2025). Digital Degrowth: From Rebound to Regeneration. Proceedings of the 6th Product Lifetimes and the Environment Conference (PLATE2025), (6). https://doi.org/10.54337/plate2025-10296