TY - JOUR
T1 - The ‘lonely raver’: music livestreams during COVID-19 as a hotline to collective consciousness?
AU - Vandenberg, Femke
AU - Berghman, Michael
AU - Schaap, Julian
PY - 2020/9/14
Y1 - 2020/9/14
N2 - This paper offers an explorative analysis of the online social practices of livestreamed concerts as one of the most popular cultural outlets during the COVID-19 imposed ‘lockdown’ in Europe. Ritual theory is used to investigate the potential of these virtual concerts in generating a collective consciousness, and the related feelings of social solidarity and resilience, specifically important in times of physical isolation. Through a thematic content analysis of the comments (n = 1501) posted during livestreamed techno concerts in the Netherlands, we find that both old and new ritual actions are used to form online communities. While these ritual activities mark participation and remind members of a previous collective feeling, the omission of visceral elements of a physical audience hampers the establishment of a renewed sense of social solidarity.
AB - This paper offers an explorative analysis of the online social practices of livestreamed concerts as one of the most popular cultural outlets during the COVID-19 imposed ‘lockdown’ in Europe. Ritual theory is used to investigate the potential of these virtual concerts in generating a collective consciousness, and the related feelings of social solidarity and resilience, specifically important in times of physical isolation. Through a thematic content analysis of the comments (n = 1501) posted during livestreamed techno concerts in the Netherlands, we find that both old and new ritual actions are used to form online communities. While these ritual activities mark participation and remind members of a previous collective feeling, the omission of visceral elements of a physical audience hampers the establishment of a renewed sense of social solidarity.
UR - https://www-tandfonline-com.eur.idm.oclc.org/doi/citedby/10.1080/14616696.2020.1818271?scroll=top&needAccess=true
U2 - 10.1080/14616696.2020.1818271
DO - 10.1080/14616696.2020.1818271
M3 - Article
SN - 1461-6696
VL - 23
SP - 141
EP - 152
JO - European Societies
JF - European Societies
IS - 51
ER -