Flat relationality in digital practices of belonging

This article explores flat relationality – a conceptual juxtaposition of relational and flat ontologies within practice theory – and examines how it unfolds in dynamic digital contexts. Social practice theory conceptualises social phenomena as inherently tied to practices, their arrangements, and the density, continuity and spatio-temporal distribution of constituent relations (Schatzki, 2019). Rather than focusing on discrete practice elements, we approach practices as organised through interconnected material and modal dimensions (Forno et al, 2022). We situate these dimensions within performances of belonging in the digital age, drawing empirically on the social media practices of children. Existing scholarship has addressed how digital technologies enable and constrain belonging, shaping patterns of inclusion, exclusion and relationality (for example, Bucher, 2018; Latikka et al, 2024). For us, digital belonging denotes an ongoing process of relational practices in technological infrastructures. Based on 40 interviews with Norwegian children aged 10–13, we trace connections across the materiality of hardware and software, platform (algorithmic) affordances and interrelations (that is, the dynamics of social interaction mediated by digital solutions). Our findings contribute to debates on the role of non-human actors in social practice and their (a)symmetrical relations with human practitioners (Gram-Hanssen, 2019), as well as the morphologies and outcomes of digital practices themselves.