Alternatives to Disenchantment? An Internet-Mediated Research During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

"Over the past three decades, extraordinary changes have taken place in the daily lives of families with sufficiently high purchasing power to guarantee access to digital devices and internet connection. Nowadays people have access to nearly unlimited information on their digital, mobile and ubiquitous devices and are themselves information to be accessed from anywhere in the world. Not only does the internet connect people to machines, but also to other people through social networks, online games, blogs / websites and the most diverse digital platforms, such as Facebook, Google, Uber, Ifood, Netflix, Tinder and Spotify. The notions of time and space are transformed, and we start to live in a hybrid space, where real and virtual coexist. In parallel with the use of digital platforms, balance and health started to be sought, more and more, by means of psychotropic drugs, whose consumption starts in childhood and makes us wonder what this world is, which saddens, shakes, bewilders, and disenchants. It is in this sense that people seem to be adapting to a new historical moment in which a large part of thoughts and feelings disturbs them. By struggling against those, human beings struggle against their own humanity. Some other problems came to light with the COVID-19 pandemic: the physical contact restriction confined people to their homes, where they often found even more discomfort and, in many cases, violence of all kinds. On the other hand, digital technologies have enabled social isolation to be circumvented, given the countless possibilities for interaction that they offer. Therefore, this study aims to reflect on the possibilities of personal and social action in the face of challenging situations, towards the construction of assertive and respectful, non-coercive relationships. To this end, based on Behavior Analysis concepts, we attempt to clarify the extent to which the same circumstances that cause pleasure can justify an increasing difficulty in dealing with frustrations, boredom and other emotions identified as being negative, taking into account consideration the internet use during the COVID-19 pandemic. To illustrate this perspective, we present an internet-mediated research, developed this year with ten families, aiming the creation of spaces for dialogue and reflection between a child and its mother or father, favoring the quality of the relationship between them and the child’s self-esteem. We point out that participants, as well as us all, can reinvent contemplative activities alongside greater proactivity."