A Social Diagnosis of Digitally Mediated COVID-19 Trauma

Abstract

Using a social diagnosis approach to COVID-19-related trauma, this research bridges the fields of sociology of medicine, disaster response, digital sociology, and digital divides. Bringing these literatures into dialogue, we problematize the digitally mediated trauma ensuing from COVID-19. We unpack two emergent media pathways or channels leading to a social diagnosis of trauma specific to sharp increases in reliance on digital media occasioned by the pandemic. The research advances the theoretical concept of the digital media trauma paradox in which trauma ensues from both oversaturation from toxic digital content and exclusion from digital resources. In either case, digital media engagements may act as a social determinant of health, particularly digital inequalities that to co-occur with other forms of disadvantage. The research closes by arguing that social diagnosis approaches are an excellent tool to understand the complexities of disaster response in the digital age.