Time Across the Lines: Collaborative Wonderings Under COVID-19

Area of Science:

• Qualitative Research Methods
• Sociology of Technology
• Pandemic Studies

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a rapid shift from offline to online interactions.
• This transition significantly impacted daily routines and the perception of time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the meaning of time from an autoethnographic perspective.
• To investigate changes in the sense of time during the pandemic.
• To understand the relationship between temporal shifts and the online/offline space compression.

Main Methods:

• Autoethnography
• Dialogic play script form
• Collaborative writing and conversation analysis (email, WhatsApp, Google Docs)
• Engagement with scholarship and peer reviewers

Main Results:

• Time's meaning is fluid and context-dependent, influenced by the online/offline compression.
• The pandemic altered the subjective experience of time, often leading to a sense of compression.
• The integration of online and offline spaces blurred temporal boundaries.

Conclusions:

• The study offers insights into the subjective experience of time during periods of significant societal change.
• Findings highlight the profound impact of digital technologies on temporal perception.
• Autoethnography provides a valuable lens for understanding lived experiences of time in a digitally mediated world.