Title: Societal transformations through web-based communities during and after the global lockdown from an ethnographic perspective

Authors: Iryna Sekret

Addresses: StartinForun International, Izzet Baysal Mah., Cemal Turkan Sokak., 12/16, Turkey

Abstract: The paper discusses the impact of the global lockdown of 2020 on societal processes and transformations from the traditional settings to the online environment. The focus is on the psychological wellbeing and social interactions, realised within online communities during the global lockdown, and the processes of education and business transfer from the physical mode to the virtual mode. This paper is an ethnographic study; its assumptions derive from the author's observations over behaviours in online communities, the author's experience in the conditions of the social distancing, and analysis of the formal and informal publications online, communications with the representatives of education and business from different countries of the world. Referring to the needs and gaps in socio-psychological life, revealed during the global lockdown, the author outlines strategies to revitalise education and business in online environment. This paper is a conceptual outline, meant for paradigmatic contributions to the online education and business management.

Keywords: global lockdown; social distancing; web-based communities; online community; online environment; online education; online business; transformation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJWBC.2021.119475

International Journal of Web Based Communities, 2021 Vol.17 No.4, pp.247 - 261

Received: 16 May 2020
Accepted: 19 May 2020
Published online: 06 Dec 2021 *

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