Kate Brady- Nguyen et al. (2021) Staying connected while physically apart through digital communication during COVID-19. (9/8)

This week, I read Nguyen et al. (2021) Staying connected while physically apart through digital communication during COVID-19. I found this article interesting because it is recent and very relevant to today’s unique issues.

A big finding that this article put forth was that digital interactions lead to lower social connectedness. I agree with this notion in my own experience. In the very beginning of the pandemic when the rules were very strict, I definitely was suffering from a lack of connectedness that Facetimes with friends could not fill. Earlier this year when I had COVID-19, I was lucky enough to have a mild case and was physically doing well. The hardest part for me was definitely staying in my room for 10 days. Calling my family and friends would absolutely help, but I did not feel socially connected at all. I am so lucky to have made a full recovery, but the isolation was very difficult. Digital communication can definitely allow for a degree of connectedness, but at least for me I felt it did not lead to the same kind of connection that in-person interaction can offer.

I also agreed with the finding that according to the SPT synchronous video calling led to more togetherness than texting and asynchronous activities. During the nearly 3 semesters we spent remote, I definitely found that I did better in my synchronous classes and felt a sense of togetherness. Seeing and interacting with my professors definitely made a difference and kept me engaged.

Overall, I think Nguyen et al hit the nail on the head. I believe that online interactions can lead to a sense of togetherness. However, I don’t believe that they can achieve the same degree of togetherness that an in-person interaction can allow for.

2 thoughts on “Kate Brady- Nguyen et al. (2021) Staying connected while physically apart through digital communication during COVID-19. (9/8)

  1. I definitely agree that more digital interactions can lead to lower social connectedness. The beauty of digital interactions is to get you excited for those physical interactions, and as you noted in your blog post during quarantine that was extremely rough. For me, although I was able to talk to my friends and play video games with them every night, nothing compared to actually being with them in person, and I just felt less connected with everyone as the days went on. I also want to hammer another point that you mentioned, that not all digital interactions immediately lead to lower social connectedness. I think there is a fine line between what is too much and what isn’t. A healthy balance will probably not lead you directly to lower social connectedness.

  2. Kate, I really like your discussion of this article. I did not read it, but you gave a very clear summary and introduced interesting perspectives and examples. As you experienced, I also can relate to the decline of social connectedness in our digital world. Personally, as the digital world has developed and has become more prevalent in society, I find myself longing for face-to-face interaction and get easily sick of my phone or computer. While the virtual space can connect people across the entire globe, it can also distance people greatly and act as a blockage between true human communication.

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