A Second-Order Disaster? Digital Technologies During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Madianou, Mirca

doi:10.1177/2056305120948168

Cited by 53 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…While there has been intensified focus on the benefits of the ‘smart home’ during lockdown (Maalsen and Dowling, 2020), pre-existing digital inequalities, including poor access to online tools and Wi Fi, have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis (Madianou, 2020; Maalsen and Dowling, 2020). We noted that for our participants, who were all relatively socioeconomically privileged, their homes were experienced alternately and dynamically as places of refuge and safety and places of confinement.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pandemic fitness assemblages: The sociomaterialities and affective dimensions of exercising at home during the COVID-19 crisis

Clark

Lupton

2021

Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Med

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The implementation of physical distancing measures and lockdowns across the globe to control the spread of COVID-19 has led to the home becoming a focal point of exercise and fitness activities for many people. A plethora of digital tools were hastily assembled to help people workout at home or in spaces close to home: including apps with workout suggestions, online videos and livestreamed fitness classes. In this article, we draw on our empirical material collected through semi-structured interviews and virtual ethnographic home tours with Australian adults to explore the ‘pandemic fitness assemblages’ generated with and through their improvised pandemic fitness practices inside and outside their homes. These materials illustrate how bodies, digital and non-digital technologies, and place and space came together and help to surface the affects, sensations and embodiments that emerged. We describe how people’s re-imagined fitness practices contributed to daily routines, transformed the atmospheres of the home and yielded affective experiences of escape. To do so, we think with sociospatial and feminist materialism theoretical frameworks that emphasise the generative relationships emerging between human and more-than-human forces and entities. Our analysis further illuminates the situatedness and relationality of these heterogeneous forces and considers how they come to matter within the broader sociomaterial context of COVID-19.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pandemic fitness assemblages: The sociomaterialities and affective dimensions of exercising at home during the COVID-19 crisis

Clark

Lupton

2021

Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Med

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“…Therefore, respondents were confronted with potential new features that are not currently integrated in Coronalert but have been implemented in other countries’ CTAs or are being discussed as potential useful additional options to stimulate app uptake and continued use. In this regard, several authors have raised concerns about governments extending personal data collection and use beyond what was originally envisioned in the context of the pandemic (ie, “function creep”) [ 26 , 27 ]. Whereas there are crucial legal aspects connected to the implementation of CTAs and their functionalities [ 28 ], the perspective of the end user and the important role of public acceptance cannot be ignored.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reasons for Nonuse, Discontinuation of Use, and Acceptance of Additional Functionalities of a COVID-19 Contact Tracing App: Cross-sectional Survey Study

Walrave¹,

Waeterloos²,

Ponnet³

2022

JMIR Public Health Surveill

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Background In several countries, contact tracing apps (CTAs) have been introduced to warn users if they have had high-risk contacts that could expose them to SARS-CoV-2 and could, therefore, develop COVID-19 or further transmit the virus. For CTAs to be effective, a sufficient critical mass of users is needed. Until now, adoption of these apps in several countries has been limited, resulting in questions on which factors prevent app uptake or stimulate discontinuation of app use. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate individuals’ reasons for not using, or stopping use of, a CTA, in particular, the Coronalert app. Users’ and nonusers’ attitudes toward the app’s potential impact was assessed in Belgium. To further stimulate interest and potential use of a CTA, the study also investigated the population’s interest in new functionalities. Methods An online survey was administered in Belgium to a sample of 1850 respondents aged 18 to 64 years. Data were collected between October 30 and November 2, 2020. Sociodemographic differences were assessed between users and nonusers. We analyzed both groups’ attitudes toward the potential impact of CTAs and their acceptance of new app functionalities. Results Our data showed that 64.9% (1201/1850) of our respondents were nonusers of the CTA under study; this included individuals who did not install the app, those who downloaded but did not activate the app, and those who uninstalled the app. While we did not find any sociodemographic differences between users and nonusers, attitudes toward the app and its functionalities seemed to differ. The main reasons for not downloading and using the app were a perceived lack of advantages (308/991, 31.1%), worries about privacy (290/991, 29.3%), and, to a lesser extent, not having a smartphone (183/991, 18.5%). Users of the CTA agreed more with the potential of such apps to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic. Overall, nonusers found the possibility of extending the CTA with future functionalities to be less acceptable than users. However, among users, acceptability also tended to differ. Among users, functionalities relating to access and control, such as digital certificates or “green cards” for events, were less accepted (358/649, 55.2%) than functionalities focusing on informing citizens about the spread of the virus (453/649, 69.8%) or making an appointment to get tested (525/649, 80.9%). Conclusions Our results show that app users were more convinced of the CTA’s utility and more inclined to accept new app features than nonusers. Moreover, nonusers had more CTA-related privacy concerns. Therefore, to further stimulate app adoption and use, its potential advantages and privacy-preserving mechanisms need to be stressed. Building further knowledge on the forms of resistance among nonusers is important for responding to these barriers through the app’s further development and communication campaigns.

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“…Consequently, that can lead to an intensification of migrant surveillance practices. In addition, the urgency surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic has also led to public authorities increasingly experimenting with digital technologies without due public scrutiny-with migrants and other marginalized communities often more severely impacted [26,64].…”

Section: Protection Of Migrants' Human Rightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence in Migration and Mobility: Transnational Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021

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Digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in migration and mobility have incrementally expanded over recent years. Iterative approaches to AI deployment experienced a surge during 2020 and into 2021, largely due to COVID-19 forcing greater reliance on advanced digital technology to monitor, inform and respond to the pandemic. This paper critically examines the implications of intensifying digitalization and AI for migration and mobility systems for a post-COVID transnational context. First, it situates digitalization and AI in migration by analyzing its uptake throughout the Migration Cycle. Second, the article evaluates the current challenges and, opportunities to migrants and migration systems brought about by deepening digitalization due to COVID-19, finding that while these expanding technologies can bolster human rights and support international development, potential gains can and are being eroded because of design, development and implementation aspects. Through a critical review of available literature on the subject, this paper argues that recent changes brought about by COVID-19 highlight that computational advances need to incorporate human rights throughout design and development stages, extending well beyond technical feasibility. This also extends beyond tech company references to inclusivity and transparency and requires analysis of systemic risks to migration and mobility regimes arising from advances in AI and related technologies.

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A Second-Order Disaster? Digital Technologies During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cited by 53 publications

References 9 publications

Pandemic fitness assemblages: The sociomaterialities and affective dimensions of exercising at home during the COVID-19 crisis

Pandemic fitness assemblages: The sociomaterialities and affective dimensions of exercising at home during the COVID-19 crisis

Reasons for Nonuse, Discontinuation of Use, and Acceptance of Additional Functionalities of a COVID-19 Contact Tracing App: Cross-sectional Survey Study

Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence in Migration and Mobility: Transnational Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic

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