Mobility and Modes of Communication in the Conditions of the COVID-19 Pandemic Cover Image

Мобилност и форми на общуване в условията на пандемия от COVID-19
Mobility and Modes of Communication in the Conditions of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author(s): Ivaylo Markov, Desislava Pileva
Subject(s): Anthropology, Social Sciences, Psychology, Customs / Folklore, Sociology, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Culture and social structure
Published by: Институт за етнология и фолклористика с Етнографски музей при БАН
Keywords: COVID-19; distance; co-presence; ICT; social networks; relationships

Summary/Abstract: The global COVID-19 pandemic and the measures introduced to limit the spread of the infection in a number of countries around the world (including Bulgaria), created a crisis. It was a new social reality in which people continued their lives but in a manner deferring from the previous routine. The aim of the article is to draw attention to the impact of the pandemic on social (in terms of family, friends, colleagues, etc.) ties and relationships, examined in the context of mobility between settlements within the country and abroad, as an essential part of everyday life. The main questions we are examining from an ethnological point of view areas follows: What are the effects of the restrictive measures on the mobility within the country and abroad? How do communication practices with relatives and friends change? What is the impact of the crisis on ways of spending weekdays and holidays? What are the compensatory mechanisms for dealing with the limitations of mobility and physical contact (including the role of communication and information technologies and the importance of virtual reality)? The article presents some of the results of an online inquiry on the subject of “Mobility and Sociocultural Transformation in Conditions of the COVID-19Pandemic“ conducted by the authors. Along with it, their observations on the strategies, attitudes and practices of people in this situation are presented. The quantitative data are supplemented with ethnographic case studies, in order to offer a more nuanced picture of information and results, as well as a more complex research analysis.

  • Issue Year: 2021
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 584-604
  • Page Count: 21
  • Language: Bulgarian