ISOLATION IN THE DIGITAL SOCIETY

Abstract

This paper explores the phenomenon of isolation in modern digital society. The topic wasdeveloped with a group of 90 IT design students in two generations. The positive andnegative aspects of isolation are presented through the eyes of the students of the ZagrebUniversity of Applied Sciences. An initiative and incentive is the project entitled Isolatedpeople and communities in Slovenia and Croatia - Isolation (IPS-2022-02-3741). Theproject itself examines the contemporary isolation in both countries, Slovenia andCroatia. The perception of isolation is different for each person and does not necessarilyinvolve geographic or spatial isolation. One would think that isolation would beminimized today, in the digital age where the Internet and social networks bring us alltogether. Isolation has been given new frameworks that affect the lives of individuals andcommunities.During a semester in 2022/2023 under our mentorship the IT design students of theZagreb University of Applied Sciences dealt with the concept of isolation, its perceptionand as a result of this reflection they produced and presented their interpretation of theconcept of isolation and they visualized their understanding of the problem creatinggraphic works. During this process students were encouraged to use available digitalmedia, anthropological knowledge and express themselves through graphic design.The selected student works presented in this paper show various interpretations ofisolation including social, individual, spatial and digital. Students have explored and weare presenting in this paper how the different types of isolation shape their own valuesand attitudes in the contemporary context.