Digital Intimacies 12: Intimately Disconnected 4-5 December 2026 (Friday and Saturday), The University of Sydney Submission Deadline: 28 August 2026 In 2017, our conference explored the theme of connection and disconnection. Since then, our society has experienced a distinct ?disconnection turn? (Fast, 2021). Concepts such as ?non-use,? ?withdrawal,? and ?resistance? have been increasingly applied to various forms of mobile and digital media. Disconnection has been theorised as an identity practice (Agai, 2022) and as a manifestation of class dynamics (Fast et al., 2021). It can take many forms?voluntary, involuntary, or reluctantly voluntary (Cassidy, 2018). More recently, we are witnessing the emergence of newer forms and discourses of disconnection: social media and dating app fatigue, social media bans, a Gen Z exodus from the internet, digital detoxes, trends in unsubscribing from film streaming platforms, return to in-person events after COVID, and more. For Digital Intimacies 12, we ask key questions that challenge our raison d??tre: What remains of digital intimacies when we are digitally disconnected? How do we develop and maintain intimacies while we are digitally disconnected? Do we develop new forms of intimacies because we are digitally disconnected? We invite submissions across disciplines to engage with, question, and appreciate the many manifestations of disconnection related to intimate practices. Potential topics include (but are not limited to): * The cultural politics of digital disconnection * Unsubscribing from _________ * Social media and dating app fatigue * Exploration of various forms of disconnections * Remote work * Post-digital intimacies, late-digital intimacies * Enshittification and platform death trajectory * The return to celluloid filmmaking and other analogue cultural practices * Consequences of social media bans in Australia and beyond * Broader practices and phenomena related to digital intimacies For our keynote speaker, conference format, submission guidelines, and timeline, please visit our website: https://digitalintimacies12.wordpress.com Enquiries: digitalintimacies.sydneyu at gmail.com Organisers: Sam Chan (USyd/MECO), Pao-chen Tang (USyd/Film Studies), Vivien Nara (USyd/Cultural Studies), Julie Zhang (USyd/Film Studies), and Tisha Dejmanee (UTS/Digital and Social Media) - - - - - - Lik Sam CHAN (he/him/his<https://www.mypronouns.org/>) Lecturer, Media and Communications The University of Sydney & Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Journalism and Communication The Chinese University of Hong Kong