Main topic
ESSAYS AND STUDIES
SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE INTERNET IN NEW REALITY DUE TO COVID-19
Abstract
The social implications of information communication technology (ICT), the Internet and cyberspace depend on economic, legal, and policy decisions. The Pandemic made a new reality that is shaping the Internet as it becomes institutionalized in each domain of its usage. This paper discusses the new reality of social existence during COVID-19 using three levels of analysis: macro, mezo and micro level analysis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing became part of everyday life worldwide and the home became an office. How does the COVID-19 threat suddenly transform institutional priorities and burst public-private sphere boundaries? Much of the debate over pandemics, the Internet and their influence on social capital is about whether the Internet attenuates users human relationships, or whether it serves to reinforce them in this new reality. There is a need to study the Internet more actively and, particularly, to synthesize research findings on the social implications of the Internet.
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