Policies and Practices of Virtual Communication during Social Isolation of COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to drastic changes in people’s lifestyle around the world, incl. those related to the natural way in which individuals interact and communicate. The topic of virtual communication in the context of social isolation during the spread of the new corona virus strain (SARS-CoV-2) and its associated disease COVID-19 is an extremely important scientific problem with paradigmatic dimensions and fundamental consequences for society. As a technologically mediated way of communication, it proved that during a pandemic, the virtual communication is the only alternative to traditional face-to-face communication, and its use was inevitable to partially or completely overcome the social restrictions imposed. In order to examine some of the effects of virtual communication during the social isolation, an academic research team from the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication at The St. Kliment Ohridsky Sofia University of Bulgaria undertook a study in the declared two month’s period (13.03.–13.05.2020) of the state of national emergency in the country. The researchers conducted a three-folded study: on the sociological polls and the media coverage during the pandemics; on the impacts of virtual communication during the social isolation; and on the activities of the telecommunication industry in Bulgaria. The results of the effects of virtual communication in social isolation were indicative. Keywords: COVID-19, virtual communication, social isolation, media, telecommunications