Introduction

The relationship between public and private spheres is a long-standing theme in the social sciences. This introduction presents a framework for ethnographically examining people's access to various spheres and collectives as digital technologies reconfigure boundaries between the public and private. While asking questions of global relevance, our ethnographic focus is specifically on the Nordic countries, all of which rank among the most digitalised in the world. Methodologically and conceptually, we argue for the importance of ethnographic studies to grasp digital sociality across various scales and spheres of social life in specific regions. We propose the figure-ground reversal as analytical device, as it affords a non-digital-centric focus yet gives the digital attention as an always particular phenomenon in its specific context.