Reconstructing creative work due to COVID-19 Exploring the impact of COVID-19 and the role of media for creatives newly working from home Photo Photo byPaweł Czerwiński onUnsplash By: Lucie Váňová Supervisor: Staffan Ericson Södertörn University | School of Culture and Education Master’s dissertation 30 credits Media, Communication and Cultural Analysis | spring 2020 Abstract The author: Lucie Váňová The supervisor: Staffan Ericson Term: Spring 2020 Title: Reconstructing creative work due to COVID-19 Keywords: boundary theory, covid-19, connectivity, connectedness, disconnection, creativity, creative industries, creative work, work from home The purpose of this thesis is to explore the impact of the situation imposed by the spread of COVID-19 on people working in creative industries and their creative processes, and analyse the role of media in reconstructing their work and leisure spaces at home. The research topics include handling of this change by the creatives, the role of media in reconstructing creatives' homes and the impact of this situation on their creativity. The methodology for gathering data is centred around interviews with the representatives of the group of people working in the creative industries. The empirical data is analysed with the help of the theoretical framework. Among the theories, the six most important topics are: Connectivity versus connectedness, Front region and back region, Boundary theory, Transformations between regions, Reasons to disconnect from media, and Influences on creativity. On one hand, the conclusion of this thesis is that creatives were handling the change of their work environment mostly well, possibly, perhaps creativity is usually influenced by internal factors, and as such the changed work environment as an external factor doesn't influence it as much as the social isolation situation due to COVID-19 as a whole. On the other hand, for many creatives the changed work environment provided calmer conditions for work and offered more time for leisure, although the majority of the participants were working more in this new situation than before. Due to the fact that all of the interviewees had to use their digital technologies and internet in order to work, the escape to the offline world often served as a place for relaxation. Moreover, the majority of the interviewees' devices was used for multi-functional purposes, for both work and for relax. Ultimately the impact on the creatives and their work was studied from different perspectives, offering a snapshot of creative work in extraordinary times. 1 Acknowledgment The process of writing this thesis has been rather difficult as the global situation around COVID-19 influenced the relevance of my previously chosen topic. It was with the help of my supervisor Staffan Ericson, that I found new relevant grounds for my thesis, and I dare to say that the current topic is better than the original. I sincerely thank him for his honest opinions and thorough remarks which helped to navigate this thesis into an improved direction. Further, I would like to thank my boyfriend Wolfgang Biersack whose proofreading and support provided tremendous help in delivering this thesis with sanity and calmness. Lastly, I would like to thank the participants in the interview process whose honest opinions and reflections made the analysis of this thesis possible. 2 Table of Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 5 2. The objective ................................................................................................................. 7 2.1 Research topic .............................................................................................................................................................. 8 2.2 The research questions ............................................................................................................................................. 8 3. Literature review ........................................................................................................... 9 3.1 Literature on digital connection ........................................................................................................................... 9 3.2 Literature on digital disconnection .................................................................................................................. 13 3.3 Boundaries and regions for different behaviours ...................................................................................... 16 3.4 Literature on creative Industries ...................................................................................................................... 18 3.4.1 Creative or cultural industries? ...................................................................................................................... 19 3.5 Literature on creativity and creative processes ......................................................................................... 20 4. Theoretical context ...................................................................................................... 24 4.1 Connectivity versus connectedness ................................................................................................................. 24 4.1.1 Isolation ..................................................................................................................................................................... 25 4.2 Front region and back region .............................................................................................................................. 25 4.3 Boundary theory ....................................................................................................................................................... 27 4.4 Transformations between regions ................................................................................................................... 28 4.5 Disconnection from media ................................................................................................................................... 29 4.6 Creativity ...................................................................................................................................................................... 30 4.6.1 Definition of creativity ........................................................................................................................................ 30 4.6.2 Influences on creativity ...................................................................................................................................... 32 5. Material and methods ................................................................................................. 33 5.1 Interviews .................................................................................................................................................................... 34 5.1.1 Interview style and setting (Strategy) ......................................................................................................... 35 5.1.2 Choice of participants (Tactics) ...................................................................................................................... 36 5.1.3 Practicalities (Technique) ................................................................................................................................. 38 5.1.4 Informed Consent .................................................................................................................................................. 39 5.1.5 Qualitative analysis .............................................................................................................................................. 39 5.1.6 Evaluation of the Interview Process ............................................................................................................. 39 5.1.7 Limitations ............................................................................................................................................................... 40 6. Result and analysis ...................................................................................................... 41 6.1 Human connectedness ........................................................................................................................................... 42 6.2 Digital connectivity .................................................................................................................................................. 44 6.2.1 Positive aspects of digital connectivity ........................................................................................................ 45 3 6.2.2 Negative aspects of digital connectivity ...................................................................................................... 47 6.2.3 Aspects which are missed in digital connectivity .................................................................................... 47 6.3 Front region and back region .............................................................................................................................. 49 6.3.1 Front region ............................................................................................................................................................. 49 6.3.2 Back region .............................................................................................................................................................