Mondi online e scenari di pandemia. Il significato della comunicazione online durante il primo lockdown in Italia dovuto a COVID-19

Abstract

Online worlds and pandemic scenarios. The meaning of online communication during the first lockdown in Italy due to COVID-19. Considering physical distancing as a strategy for contrast COVID-19 and the widespread use of technology as an integral part of daily life, various technological devices have provided a basis for maintaining social connections with friends, family, work and community networks during the lockdown. This work aims to explore the meaning attributed to online communication during the first lockdown in Italy. A sample of adolescents and young adults was selected – as the segment of population most involved in the use of technology – who were asked to respond in a narrative and free way to the stimulus "Being online at the time of Covid-19...". A qualitative multi-judge analysis allowed to identify five categories that organize narratives on online communication: (1) Differences between online and offline communication, (2) instrumental function of online communication, (3) specific tools of online communication, (4) emotions linked to online communication, (5) online communication as disinformation. The reference to communicating online is mainly represented in terms of the need to stay "in touch" in a situation of isolation. The results allow us to recognize different meanings associated with online communication and to develop, in a semiotic and cultural perspective, a broader reflection on the modalities of coexistence in a critical scenario.