Future developments in sociology in the age of the metaverse.

The intent of this article is to shed light on the future challenges that sociology, in concert with other disciplines, will have to face from now on, starting with one of the possible hypotheses of research methodology. Indeed, as much as some of these issues in the last two decades have become the preserve of neuroscience, their origins, namely the conceptualizations of the classics of sociology, should not be forgotten. In this regard, it will be the task of researchers and sociology to investigate, through applied research attempts, phenomena such as empathy and emotions from innovative methodologies and research different from the current ones, capable of highlighting how emotions are modified by cultural context and spaces of interaction, moving away from a depersonalizing structuralism we were used to, refuting, for example, what neuroscientists have pointed out, according to which empathy and emotions belong to biological universalisms. Therefore, within this brief and informative article we intend to present a possibility of investigation, without any claim to truth or the only way to be able to do research in this field, moved only by the desire to open a fruitful discourse that can lead to the methodological approach toward applied sociology or laboratory research. The idea is to move beyond online netnography, not because the latter cannot provide satisfactory results, but because it will be necessary to broaden the range of choices, such as analysis in the metaverse, generating a viable alternative where this type of analysis cannot be pursued.

Healthcare Professionals, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, and COVID-19: A Review of the Literature.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic impacted healthcare professionals psychologically. They were unprepared to handle such a powerful and unknown virus. Consequently, they had to face situations of extreme distress, developing vicarious traumatization and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The first one is associated with the "cost of caring" for others and affected persons who constantly are exposed to other sufferings. PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that could affect people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and correlated symptoms might impact the lives of healthcare professionals at the personal, professional, and relational levels. Furthermore, the pandemic could decrease the empathy of healthcare professionals, influencing their relationship with patients. This review aimed to describe the incidence of PTSD among HPs during the COVID-19 pandemic. We focused on the following aspects: (a) PTSD symptoms and correlated psychological issues, (b) repercussions at working and personal levels, (c) change in empathetic involvement of healthcare professionals.

The Psychological and Social Impact of Covid-19: New Perspectives of Well-Being.

The recent Covid-19 pandemic has had significant psychological and social effects on the population. Research has highlighted the impact on psychological well-being of the most exposed groups, including children, college students, and health workers, who are more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and other symptoms of distress. The social distance and the security measures have affected the relationship among people and their perception of empathy toward others. From this perspective, telepsychology and technological devices assume important roles to decrease the negative effects of the pandemic. These tools present benefits that could improve psychological treatment of patients online, such as the possibility to meet from home or from the workplace, saving money and time and maintaining the relationship between therapists and patients. The aim of this paper is to show empirical data from recent studies on the effect of the pandemic and reflect on possible interventions based on technological tools.

Cyberbullying and Empathy in the Age of Hyperconnection: An Interdisciplinary Approach.

Considering cyberbullying as a challenging frontier of analysis in the social sciences, we find ourselves today with the duty to analyze it within a much broader social context. Indeed, we must take into account the logic of exclusion, as a fact. Today, in the logic of how the Internet works, a thin line separates the victim from the perpetrator; this is also due to the Internet we know today, made up of a mass and a headless power. Trying to amplify this dichotomy, we can say that today we live in the era of the so-called "ban-opticon" (or the logic of prohibition). This logic ranges from simply removing Facebook friends from the list, to excluding sources of knowledge. This article has focused on the discussion of cyberbullying by applying an interdisciplinary approach from sociology to psychology, with the analysis of important aspects such as empathy, hyperconnection, individualization. The concept of empathy, studied several times through the terms Verstehen and Einfuhlung, has today been explored by many parties. In fact, the term Empathy has been used to describe sympathy or compassion. The interdisciplinary approach allows a broader and more innovative analysis to better understand the phenomenon of cyberbullying and to conceptualize new intervention strategies in the social and educational fields to open new frontiers in research.

COVID-19 Pandemic: Socio-Economic Consequences of Social Distancing Measures in Italy.

The lock-down measures adopted in all countries of the world have led to far-reaching social and economic changes. The health emergency had immediate repercussions first on the social system and then on the economic one. The social repression measures taken to limit the infection have generated a drastic change in daily life, detaching ourselves from the other emotionally and physically. The already difficult situation that Italy was experiencing from an economic and social point of view is immediately exposed by the health emergency, and then worsened and extended to all sectors. In this context, it is important to study different types of phenomena: the suspension of commercial activities and the consequent repercussions on the work sector, smart-working and infrastructural and cultural digital divide, the new forms of interaction and relationship that transform the emotions and, finally, the enormous fluctuation of world markets. To face such a far-reaching crisis, the measures taken not only at national level, but also supranational and international will be decisive.