Sull’ovvietà della disponibilità e dell’accessibilità delle risorse digitali al tempo del lockdown

Abstract

The lockdown and the serious COVID-19 pandemic have forced all of us to experience a new approach to everyday life as mediated by digital tools: often this extensive use of technology was brought about in a forced manner; in other cases, however, the opening of wider horizons towards digital content took place in a more natural way. These considerations apply not only to individuals but also to cultural institutions. The Internet has in fact turned into the alias of mankind that is forced, held back, but for this very reason even more eager for expansion, evasion, and knowledge. With this in mind, the Viaggio intorno alla mia camera, Xavier de Maistre’s first work, can be used as a significant metaphor of what each of us has lived and is still experiencing, all projected into the digital dimension of the 21st century, from the now simplistic dimension of the online to the deeper pervasiveness of the infosphere, of onlife. All of us, in fact, are now used to quickly finding every type of service in digital form by applying the minimum effort but do not make the mistake of not considering the vast technical context in the background of the digital transformation in progress, underestimating the other side of this coin: in fact, specific implementation strategies, huge infrastructural investments (globally and locally), even more substantial financial resources, and highly qualified personnel are necessary to address the challenge to turn it into reality. So are digital assets really that obvious? Can ubiquitous access to them be considered so obvious?