Analyzing Memetic Isolation Fantasy Themes during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Normalization of a Previously Unknown Social Problem

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze memes about social isolation introduced in connection with the Covid-19 pandemic. The author’s contact with memes during the first weeks of the pandemic (March–April) was initially motivated only by the desire to fill leisure time in such strange circumstances as the time of quarantine. With time, the observation began to take on a more systematic character, and the images found on the web became an interesting research material illustrating strategies undertaken to normalize and familiarize people with forced isolation and imposed social distancing, measures previously unknown in society on such a large scale. The material thus collected was analyzed using the fantasy themes analysis (FTA) method.