Attitudes Towards Online Social Interactions and Technology in the Offering of Help During the COVID-19 Pandemic

As the COVID-19 pandemic confined millions across the globe to their homes, technology proved an indispensable tool that allowed humanity to sustain many aspects of everyday life, including social behaviours. In compliance with quarantine restrictions, communities were unable to support each other in the usual manner;simultaneously, the demand for such support grew, owing to the difficult circumstances. This study (N = 196) explores whether technology enabled or hindered this specific type of social interaction – helping others. We discovered that General Online Social Interaction Propensity correlated positively with helping – although it demonstrated stronger correlations with online support. The Technology Adoption Propensity Index Optimism and Proficiency subscales failed to correlate significantly with helping and only Vulnerability subscale showed significant correlation. In conclusion, both GOSIP and TAP Vulnerability are valid predictors of proneness to offer help online. We suggest considering various personality predispositions may help to maximize the effectiveness of online helping. © 2022, The Author(s).

Remote Conference in the Times of the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic forced a sudden increase of remote activities including work, learning and also scientific conferences. Almost a year of experience in remote work, remote meetings and remote conferences clearly showed that these events are markedly different from their traditional counterparts. The aim of this workshop is to analyse factors influencing the user experience of remote conferences, thereby creating a set of guidelines for their future organizers. Patterns may be identified from personal experiences shared by HCI researchers as participants or organizers of remote conferences. Methodologically, the methods of Design Thinking combined with the auto-ethnographic approach will be employed for the workshop. Participants will be able to find new insights into the process of the organization of remote conferences and transform such insights into an actionable set of guidelines for future remote conference organization. © 2021, IFIP International Federation for Information Processing.