This book investigates the use of digital technologies for social
organisation during the Covid-19 pandemic, interrogating the specific
relationship between digital technologies and social movements. Drawing
upon Marx's theory of alienation and Antonio Gramsci's concepts
concerning common-sense, good sense, hegemony and praxis, the author
examines the effectiveness of digital technologies in filling the social
void created by the pandemic.
A series of in-depth interviews across a spectrum of areas - from
community activism, mental health, trade union organisation, the
creative arts, and resistance movements - reveal how digital
technologies flourished during the pandemic crisis, facilitating new
ways to communicate. However, the interviews also throw into sharp
relief the inadequacies of digital technologies. The book challenges
conventional wisdom concerning the beneficial impact of digital machines
on our lives.
This book will have a broad appeal to anyone researching or teaching the
societal, ethical and political implications of digital technologies,
particularly from a qualitative perspective. It also has relevance for a
wider readership concerned about the influence of social media.