Geomedia speaker series - The practices and perception of digital disconnection among family members and emerging adults
The practices and perception of digital disconnection among family members and emerging adults.
Katarzyna Kopecka-Piech, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin
- Karlstad University
- Date: May 5, 2026
- Time: 14:00-15:30
- Room: 12A226 (house 12)
Research into digital disconnection is becoming increasingly broad as well as more and more specialised in terms of the populations studied, the stages of disconnection (causes and motivations, progression, effects) and the tools and strategies employed. As the field of research becomes more domain-specific, very aspects of digital disconnection are taking on greater significance. The presented studies adopted the perspective of disconnection as an expression of users’ regulation of digital technologies. This talk will focus on two populations: Polish families and Polish emerging adults. Particular attention will be paid to two contexts: the significance of physical activity and the emotions associated with digital technology regulation. Taking a broad view of the experience of digital disconnection it will consider both the practices of digital disconnection and its perception.
The presentation will aim to address a number of research questions, including those relating to practices, such as: What are the challenges involved in achieving subjective digital wellbeing through self-regulation? What role does physical activity play in this, and what emotions are associated with these experiences? Furthermore, with regard to the perception of the phenomenon of digital disconnection, it will be discussed how users frame the challenges associated with their own and others’ technology regulations, and how they envisage effective tools for this?
The findings presented are the result of several research projects carried out between 2018 and 2024, which concerned the regulation of different kinds of digital technologies by different users. The presentation will draw on research applying various qualitative methods. Those included traditional qualitative ones, such as individual, diad and group interviews; as well as less commonly used like social media group discussions, peer-conversations as well as projective and design-based methods, like story completion and speculative design. This allows for an integrated view of digital disconnection encompassing different perspectives as well as provides an overview of less common methods used in this kind of studies. Given the length of time covered by the projects, changes over time will also be captured, taking into account the pre-pandemic, pandemic and post-pandemic periods.
Katarzyna Kopecka-Piech is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mediatisation at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, Poland. Katarzyna’s work focuses on contemporary media and communication transformations, examined primarily from the users’ perspective. She conducts research on mediatisation, mainly of everyday life, with a particular focus on the family sphere and physical activity. For around a decade, she has also been researching processes of technology regulation by users, focusing mainly on Polish families and emerging adults. Her current projects also involve critical studies on the development of media and communication theories and concepts, including, for example, the integration of mediatisation theory, digital disconnection research, and post-digital studies.