Impact of Online Emotions and Netiquette on Phubbing from a Gender Perspective: Educational Challenges

During adolescence, the Internet is mainly used for purposes of socialization. Non-verbal elements limit online communication, thus leading to widespread use of emotional resources. It would be preferable if virtual interaction did not reduce the quality of person-to-person contacts, particularly thanks to the adoption of netiquette (respectful treatment of others online). Phubbing, the tendency to check one’s mobile phone during a face-to-face conversation, has become a widespread practice that causes anxiety and can lead to social exclusion. Educating on this behavior could be related with emotional content and with netiquette. This study’s objectives are to analyze the extent to which the use of netiquette and online emotional content are associated with and can predict phubbing, taking gender differences into account. 935 adolescents (ages 12-17, 55,1% female) from 13 schools in the region of Aragon (Spain) responded to our questionnaire. Results are revealing: the level of online emotional content increases the level of phubbing; online emotional expression is the most influential risk factor in both genders; netiquette protects girls to a greater degree. We discuss the educational challenges posed by guaranteeing the responsible use of social networks.

Pendidikan Umat dan Potensi Gerakan Sosial Online di Era Pandemi COVID-19

Many issues are emerging during Covid-19 pandemic and one of them is mobility restriction. Some of society engagement research were still conducted in physical format with strict health protocols and some others were using hybrid methods of society engagement, combining offline and online activities. The purpose of this study is to provide an alternative way to deal with the pandemic. During pandemic, it is difficult to reach Indonesian society directly. This study conducted a series of full virtual interaction, in collaboration with the Leading Intellectual Network Community (JIB) supported mostly by Muhammadiyah young generation. The targeted audience of this society engagement were active members of JIB, its followers, and Islamic community in Indonesia at large. It focusses on actual discussion related to Covid-19 pandemic in the form of educative talk show to build public awareness. We invite credible speakers such as medical researchers, voluntary doctor on Covid-19, social scientists, and public policy advisor. This society engagement was based on Zoom platform that was broadcasted through JIB POST official website, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. These activities were evaluated and received feedback from WhatsApp Group JIB; expression of engagement of the audience based on subscribe, like, viewers, dan comments; and a report news on JIB POST official website. The activities presented a good result which are reaching the target of a thousand subscribers on the social media and hundreds of viewers with many positive responses from the members of JIB for every talk shows.

Personal User’s Communicative Competence of “Mediatized World” Construction

The relevance of this article is determined by the growing ubiquitous digitalization of mediatized communications, including under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021. The consequence of this process is the transformation of the structure of social space and approval of virtual interaction as a basic method of communication - instead of interpersonal. These transformations entail institutional changes, manifested in axiological and normative transitions of communicative space, semantic restructuring of communications under the influence of changing social reality. Induced by the technological infrastructure of communication, a mediatized social reality emerges, which also entails semantic changes in communication. All these circumstances actualize the phenomenon of communicative competence of an individual, which determines the effectiveness of interactions in the context of technological, semantic and institutional changes. The article presents some outcomes of empirical verification of communicative competence in contemporary Russian interaction practices. The phenomenon of hybridization of communicative competence during the transition of a person from the environment of real communications to the environment of virtual communications, contributes to the construction of mediatized social reality and expands his social reality. This ability of an individual and his communicative competence for transgression, combined with hybridity, is a factor in the integration of the communicative space of society with its contradictory characteristics.

Virtual interaction algorithm of cultural heritage based on multi feature fusion

During the traditional cultural heritage virtual interaction algorithm in the interaction action recognition, the database is too single, resulting in low recognition accuracy, recognition time-consumer and other issues. Therefore, this paper introduces the multi feature fusion method to optimize the cultural heritage virtual interaction algorithm. Kinect bone tracking technology is applied to identify the movement of the tracking object, 20 joints of the human body are tracked, and interactive action recognition is realized according to the fingertip candidate points. In order to carry out the judgment virtual interactive operation of subsequent recognition actions, a multi feature fusion database is established. The mean shift is used to derive the moving mean of the target’s action position and to track the interactive object. The Euclidean distance formula is used to train samples of multi feature fusion database data to realize the judgment of recognition action and virtual interaction. In order to verify the feasibility of the research algorithm, the virtual interactive script of ink painting in a cultural heritage museum is used to simulate the research algorithm, and a comparative experiment is designed. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is superior to the traditional virtual interactive algorithm in recognition accuracy and efficiency, which proves the feasibility of this method.

Virtual day center for people with dementia and their caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic suspended face-to-face assistance offered by community spaces, such as day centers (DCs). People with dementia (PwD) and their families were faced with the risks posed by social detachment and suspension of treatments. Objective: This study aimed to present a virtual day center (VDC) program offered as a preventive strategy to reduce the damage caused by social isolation and interruption of treatment imposed by the pandemic. Methods: The experience report, describing the feasibility of a VDC program, offered to 26 PwD and their caregivers, during the first year of the pandemic. The VDC held individual and group meetings with PwD and their families and psychoeducational support groups for caregivers. Results: The attendance rate in group activities was 80%, and that in the caregiver group was 68%, showing a good virtual interaction. Throughout the year, three PwD interrupted the service due to difficulties of the caregivers to reconcile the schedules of the activities with their professional commitments and the absence of a support network, three others died, and two were institutionalized. PwD remained physically, socially, and cognitively active through daily virtual activities. Guidance and support for caregivers contributed to the organization of routines and adaptation to the isolation and maintenance of the bond. Family meetings made it possible to mediate conflicts and expand the support network. Conclusions: VDC is a promising modality to assist the needs and demands of PwD and their caregivers. VDC can contribute to the expansion of this intervention to individuals and families who do not have access to face-to-face treatment.

Having more virtual interaction partners during COVID-19 physical distancing measures may benefit mental health

Social interactions play an extremely important role in maintaining health and well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated physical distancing measures, however, restricted the number of people one could physically interact with on a regular basis. A large percentage of social interactions moved online, resulting in reports of “Zoom fatigue,” or exhaustion from virtual interactions. These reports focused on how online communication differs from in-person communication, but it is possible that when in-person interactions are restricted, virtual interactions may benefit mental health overall. In a survey conducted near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (N2020 = 230), we found that having a greater number of virtual interaction partners was associated with better mental health. This relationship was statistically mediated by decreased loneliness and increased perceptions of social support. We replicated these findings during the pandemic 1 year later (N2021 = 256) and found that these effects held even after controlling for the amount of time people spent interacting online. Convergent with previous literature on social interactions, these findings suggest that virtual interactions may benefit overall mental health, particularly during physical distancing and other circumstances where opportunities to interact in-person with different people are limited.Open Science Framework repository: https://osf.io/6jsr2/.

Exposure to robotic virtual agent affects adoption of intentional stance

Understanding how and when humans attribute intentionality to artificial agents is a key issue in contemporary human and technological sciences. This paper addresses the question of whether adopting intentional stance can be modulated by exposure to a 3D animated robot character, and whether this depends on the human-likeness of the character's behavior. We report three experiments investigating how appearance and behavioral features of a virtual character affect humans’ attribution of intentionality toward artificial social agents. The results show that adoption of intentional stance can be modulated depending on participants' expectations about the agent. This study brings attention to specific features of virtual agents and insights for further work in the field of virtual interaction.

DIGITAL PRESENTATION AND COMMUNICATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE IN THE POST-PANDEMIC ERA

In the post-pandemic era, coronaviruses will forge a long-term coexistence with humanity, and the fight against the pandemic will become the normal. With international social isolation and limited physical space for communication during the COVID-19 pandemic, the digital communication of cultural heritage based on internet technology has not only proven the importance and necessity of cultural heritage digitalization, but will also greatly accelerate the digital transformation that has already begun. In the post-pandemic era, the accumulation of rich digital data on cultural heritage will form the basis for further cultural communication. However, the collection of digital data is not the final link in this digital chain. Effectively leveraging the advantages of the digital technology – which spreads rapidly and has a broad audience as well as vivid information presentation – to integrate and digitally process the existing and emerging cultural heritage data will continuously combine the cultural heritage with new communication technologies. We should use diversified media platforms to achieve further breakthroughs in the communication model, present the digital communication content of the cultural heritage showing the characteristics of the times, and form real and virtual interaction of cultural heritage in a converged media environment, in order to further ease interpersonal isolation and even space-time constraints brought about by the pandemic, reconstruct the communication ecology of cultural heritage, and inherit and utilize the precious wealth left to humanity by history.