Opportunities and Difficulties Presented to the Media and Society by the Pandemic
The COVID-19 Pandemic and Families
Obstacles and Potential for Communication at Home
2021 Volume 98 Pages 41-50
Details
2021 Volume 98 Pages 41-50
This paper examines Japanese families in 2020 and their circumstances
brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic in order to describe obstacles and
potential for their relationships and communication.
The stay home campaign run by the government has driven the public to
encroach into the private realm by encouraging people to perform work
remotely from home. Sounder relationships formed by necessary dialogues during
the transition provided the unprecedented potential for the dismantlement
of the gender-based division of work. Meanwhile, mothers clearly faced difficulties
in childcare while confined at home. Longstanding social exclusion of mothers
and children in Japan was exacerbated by peer pressure associated with
the pandemic. Normally, the government is supposed to address such difficulties.
As affairs now stand in Japan, the market is supporting families by offering
intangible experiences to cope with their circumstances.
