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BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic brought digital practices and engagement to the forefront of society, which were based on behavioral changes associated with adhering to different government mandates. Further behavioral changes included transitioning from working in the office to working from home, with the use of various social media and communication platforms to maintain a level of social connectedness, especially given that many people who were living in different types of communities, such as rural, urban, and city spaces, were socially isolated from friends, family members, and community groups. Although there is a growing body of research exploring how technology is being used by people, there is limited information and insight about the digital practices employed across different age cohorts living in different physical spaces and residing in different countries. ObjectiveThis paper presents the findings from an international multisite study exploring the impact of social media and the internet on the health and well-being of individuals in different countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. MethodsData were collected via a series of online surveys deployed between April 4, 2020, and September 30, 2021. The age of respondents varied from 18 years to over 60 years across the 3 regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. On exploring the associations of technology use, social connectedness, and sociodemographic factors with loneliness and well-being through bivariate and multivariate analyses, significant differences were observed. ResultsThe levels of loneliness were higher among respondents who used social media messengers or many social media apps than among those who did not use social media messengers or used ≤1 social media app. Additionally, the levels of loneliness were higher among respondents who were not members of an online community support group than among those who were members of an online community support group. Psychological well-being was significantly lower and loneliness was significantly higher among people living in small towns and rural areas than among those living in suburban and urban communities. Younger respondents (18-29 years old), single adults, unemployed individuals, and those with lower levels of education were more likely to experience loneliness. ConclusionsFrom an international and interdisciplinary perspective, policymakers and stakeholders should extend and explore interventions targeting loneliness experienced by single young adults and further examine how this may vary across geographies. The study findings have implications across the fields of gerontechnology, health sciences, social sciences, media communication, computers, and information technology. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)RR2-10.3389/fsoc.2020.574811

Drawn from the stress process model, the pandemic has imposed substantial stress to individual economic and mental well-being and has brought unprecedented disruptions to social life. In light of social distancing measures, and in particular physical distancing because of lockdown policies, the use of digital technologies has been regarded as the alternative to maintain economic and social activities. This paper aims to describe the design and implementation of an online survey created as an urgent, international response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The online survey described here responds to the need of understanding the effects of the pandemic on social interactions/relations and to provide findings on the extent to which digital technology is being utilized by citizens across different communities and countries around the world. It also aims to analyze the association of use of digital technologies with psychological well-being and levels of loneliness. The data will be based on the ongoing survey (comprised of several existing and validated instruments on digital use, psychological well-being and loneliness), open for 3 months after roll out (ends September) across 11 countries (Austria, France, Germany, India, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey, and UK). Participants include residents aged 18 years and older in the countries and snowball sampling is employed via social media platforms. We anticipate that the findings of the survey will provide useful and much needed information on the prevalence of use and intensities of digital technologies among different age groups, gender, socioeconomic groups in a comparative perspective. Moreover, we expect that the future analysis of the data collected will show that different types of digital technologies and intensities of use are associated with psychological well-being and loneliness. To conclude, these findings from the study are expected to bring in our understanding the role of digital technologies in affecting individual social and emotional connections during a crisis.

本研究探索二十種台灣社會門專業期刊引用網絡位置和階層化關係的變遷,且將社會學門專業期刊間的引用行為視為專業社會學社群期刊組織間的引用行為。我們仰賴社會網絡分析作為研究方法,資料分析上先是建構2001~2006年社會學門期刊在三個不同時間下(1993~1996、1997~2000與2001~2004)的引用網絡,描述網絡的變遷;接著分析期刊組織間的結構相似(structuralequivalence)與位置與角色分析(positionalandroleanalysis)。研究發現顯示:第一,在時間變化下,歸類為社會學專業的期刊具有高度的被引用度集中性(degreecentrality)。第二,社會學門專業期刊期刊根據引用網絡而分類出不同的結構位置,屬於社會學專業的期刊組織是具有首要優勢(primaryposition)的位置,同時歸類為社會工作與社會福利的期刊組織已有獨立的內部引用網絡連結。This study explores structures of citation networks of Taiwan sociology journals, conceiving these citation networks as the citation behavior of inter-sociology journals in the professional sociology community. We investigate the structural changes in numbers and density of citations and formations of subgroups over time. The data set covers 20 Taiwan sociology journals between 2001 and 2006 and traces their citations of sociology journals from 1993 to 2006. We demonstrate our results by visualizing the citation networks and then employing structural equivalence, blockmodeling and positional and role analysis to analyze different blocks and roles. This research indicates two major findings: (1) The centrality of core professional sociology journals in the citation networks has been rising over time. (2) The primary position is composed of core professional sociology journals. Additionally, the journals of social work and social welfare cite each other within their own subfields.

Drawing on governmental statements, press releases and major news reports on COVID-19 related measures, support and social issues, we illustrate and examine the challenges families are facing in Singapore during the pandemic. Employing a dual approach, we illustrate the extent of various institutional support and resources for families offered by the government in tandem with social distancing measures to restrict social activities, and closure of non-essential business, and also document issues related to the economy, education, family interactions and mental well-being of families from different social backgrounds. This approach enables us to show the extent to which Singaporean families have adapted to the different economic and social stressors and how institutional support has been utilized as a catalyst to resilience. The pandemic as a force of social change demands urgent research on the social impact on and resilience of families in Singapore. Future research directions should include children's development with the interaction of family socioeconomic conditions, focus on mental well-being of all generations in the family, continuous safeguard of victims of domestic violence, empowerment, and investigations of the shifting family values. A concerted research strategy will offer the opportunity for a better understanding of the paradigm shift experienced by Singaporean families, and, to identify policy implications on strengthening the resilience of families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores structures of citation networks of Taiwan sociology journals, conceiving these citation networks as the citation behavior of intersociology journals in the professional sociology community. We investigate the structural changes in numbers and density of citations and formations of subgroups over time. The data set covers 20 Taiwan sociology journals between 2001 and 2006 and traces their citations of sociology journals from 1993 to 2006. We demonstrate our results by visualizing the citation networks and then employing structural equivalence, blockmodeling and positional and role analysis to analyze different blocks and roles. This research indicates two major findings: 1. The centrality of core professional sociology journals in the citation networks has been rising over time. 2. The primary position is composed of core professional sociology journals. Additionally, the journals of social work and social welfare cite each other within their own subfields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]