King's College London

In the realm of digital technologies, imagination is often evoked to describe the creative quality possessed by visionary technology developers. In contrast, we describe the idea of gaining a “digital imagination” as a process through which the non-elite—here, potential and new users of digital technologies in Myanmar and rural China—envision something that is not yet part of their lives and thus begin appropriating it. The digital imagination is a framing that prefigures everyday uses of technology and is shaped by individual aspirations, the organization of society, and images of digital media that exist in the surrounding environment. A locally grounded imagination can provide locally appropriated innovation that is often lacking in digital technologies developed in urban areas.