Digitalness

Digitalness is the state or quality of being digital, or the extent to which digital technologies, data, and networks are embedded in an object, process, or social practice. It describes not merely the existence of digital tools, but the pervasiveness and integration of digital capabilities into everyday life and organizational activity.

Scholars often distinguish digitalness from related terms such as digitization (conversion to digital form) and digitalization (the broad organizational adoption of digital technologies). Digitalness can be used to analyze artifacts, environments, and practices for their inherent digital character, regardless of a specific transformation process.

Examples include smart devices that generate continuous data, online platforms that mediate social interaction, or workflows in which data sharing and automation are routine. In organizations, digitalness reflects the degree to which digital infrastructures, data governance, and digital literacy shape culture and decision making.

High digitalness brings opportunities for efficiency, customization, and global reach, but also raises concerns about privacy, surveillance, inequality, and dependence on platforms. It challenges traditional design, policy, and ethical frameworks to consider persistent digital traces and the lifecycle of data.

Measuring digitalness is complex because it combines technical, social, and cultural dimensions that change over time and context. Critics caution against equating digital presence with value or resilience and call for critical assessments of power dynamics, interoperability, and sustainability.