This chapter discusses environmental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and, more specifically, the impact of the overall shift towards digital technologies during the pandemic and in post-pandemic times. Drawing on small-scale observations of UK media coverage and a pilot systematic review of academic publications, the chapter focuses on the striking absence of intersections between discussions around pandemic digitization and questions of climate change and environmental degradation. The chapter considers two key elements of the digital disengagement paradigm: denaturalizing the digital, and using digital reduction and refusal as a starting point, rather than as an afterthought. In doing so, the chapter foregrounds digital reduction, refusal and opt-out, seeking new visions that promote climate-driven digital disengagement, instead of merely documenting digital harms or ways in which they are ignored.
How can we achieve digital justice in the age of COVID-19? This book explores how the pandemic has transformed our use and perception of digital technologies in various settings. It also examines the right to resist or reject these technologies and the politics of refusal in different contexts and scenarios. The book offers a timely and original analysis of the new realities and challenges of digital technologies, paving the way for a post-COVID-19 future.How can we achieve digital justice in the age of COVID-19? This book explores how the pandemic has transformed our use and perception of digital technologies in various settings. It also examines the right to resist or reject these technologies and the politics of refusal in different contexts and scenarios. The book offers a timely and original analysis of the new realities and challenges of digital technologies, paving the way for a post-COVID-19 future.Leading experts in the field ask what digital justice looks like in a time of pandemic across various interdisciplinary contexts and spheres in science, technology and society from public health to education, politics and everyday life.