Communication Among Generations In The Extended Family At The Time of Social Distancing Due To Coronavirus (covid-19)

In 2020, the world faced the spreading of the coronavirus (covid-19) infection. The World Health Organisation recommended avoiding physical or social contacts to be the most appropriate way of life and health protection, which affected the quality of life. The situation motivated people and societies to search for solutions using information and communication technology that modern technologies allow. The article presents qualitative research – the case study of an extended family consisting of several different generations that do not live in the same household. The method used was a semi-structured interview. The research question was defined: How does the extended family or separately living generations communicate at the time of social distancing? What technologies they used and how they assess the quality of social relationships at the time of social distancing? The research has shown the generations were able to find ways to communicate despite social distancing, yet the communication proved to be of a lesser quality than through personal contacts. The extended family members were able to preserve a certain level of life quality; however, personal contact still proved to be the most genuine. The research contributes to the understanding of the quality of life among separated generations in social distancing.