_{COVID-19 through the Prism of Communication Research}

Veronika Katermina

Kuban State University, Krasnodar, Russia

E-mail: veronika.katermina@yandex.ru

Talina Ilmaz-Ledeneva

Kuban State University, Krasnodar, Russia

E-mail: tal-ilmaz@yandex.ru

Abstract: Abstract: The emotional context of any communication process (including Internet communication and social media and networks) is its content, but it is not identical to the content of the communication process itself, it is a reaction to it. The choice of the social media Instagram can be explained by it being a tool for active self-promotion and self-presentation with the help of which desires to manage the impression of oneself are realized, to consciously form the image of the Self in the mainstream discourse or with a claim to exclusivity. It is modern and preferable, and people present positive emotions and personal success. The significance of the emotional factor of communication is quite high, as it is associated with the subjective world of a person. The emotional sphere of a person and the ways of its manifestation are characterized by gender differentiation. Three media and their Instagram sites are analysed: tvrussia, straits_times and fox5ny. [1] The observation covers the period from 15 March – 20 September 2020 on Instagram and the selection of examples includes the topics concerning COVID-19. The assumption is the following: when an Instagram user prefers to express an emotional attitude in the pandemic (COVID-19) gender stereotypes are erased. Men and women experience differently certain events and they demonstrate diverse and varied psychological reactions. Various methods are used during the study: namely content analysis, descriptive method, analysis of verbal and visual levels.

Keywords: COVID-19, emotions, discourse of social networks, gender, evaluation, gender factor.

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