Moments, spaces and temporalities in the virtual interview: reflections from the study of social policies

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to revisit some aspects of the virtual interview on the Facebook platform, carried out within the framework of two research projects that investigate social programs recipients who organize and manage soup kitchens and picnic areas, in the pandemic context by COVID-19 during 2020 and 2021. This work is based on the review and reflection of the field notes that accompanied the virtual interviews. The systematization of the virtual interview experience makes it possible to delineate that the "opening moment" of the interview involves negotiations around the rhythm of the conversation and the platform for conducting it, while distrust emerges from the interviewees. In the "meantime", the intermittence of communication and its development in different temporalities is observed. "The closure" can occur in an agreed or untimely manner due to the fatigue or mistrust of the interviewed. It is concluded that the different forms of digitalization of life imply observing the locations where interactions take shape, regardless of whether they are physical or virtual media.