Touch and contact during COVID‐19: Insights from queer digital spaces

The aim of this conceptual paper is to discuss the transformation of socialization processes due to the digitalization of entertainment and community formation during COVID‐19. More specifically, we focus on alternative modes of touch and contact within the context of queer digital entertainment spaces and question how the world is shaped and sensed in a (post‐) COVID‐19 era. Inspired by the work of Karen Barad on a quantum theory of queer intimacies, we highlight that the rise of hybridized experiences in‐between physical and digital spaces captures a series of spatiotemporal, material, and symbolic dimensions of touch and contact. We conclude by drawing implications for the future of organizations and work.