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Reframing everyday life. Implications of social distancing in Italy

Riccardo Pronzato (Department of Communication, Arts and Media, IULM University, Milan, Italy)
Elisabetta Risi (Department of Communication, Arts and Media, IULM University, Milan, Italy)

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy

ISSN: 0144-333X

Article publication date: 2 February 2021

Issue publication date: 5 April 2022

173

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the measures of social distancing and home confinement have been perceived and experienced in the Italian socio-cultural context, how they reshaped everyday life and which are their social implications.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was exploratory and interpretative in nature and a qualitative research design was adopted accordingly. A total of 60 in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted.

Findings

Research findings highlight the fact that the boundaries of everyday practices have been completely reframed during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Italy. Informants show that scarcity of personal spaces, intertwined with the collapse of the boundaries between private and professional life, and also the lack of physical contact, resulted in a complex management of different social roles and in a stress overload.

Originality/value

There are no prior studies that critically analyse the lived experiences of individuals during the lockdown and the impact of home confinement on their meaning-making processes. This paper sheds light on the reframing of everyday life, thereby enhancing our understanding of a novel issue that is of primary concern for social scientists.

Keywords

Citation

Pronzato, R. and Risi, E. (2022), "Reframing everyday life. Implications of social distancing in Italy", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 42 No. 3/4, pp. 348-368. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-07-2020-0350

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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