Approximation: using tech to replicate in-person connections during the COVID lockdowns

The earliest lockdown in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, saw widespread disruption of in-person support for new parents, both formally and informally. The offline and the online were separated, demarcated, and these separations had profound importance attached to them. The absence and interruption of in-person support, both formal and informal, had implications for new mothers, babies and families. For www.parenting.digital, Prof Ranjana Das discusses her research with 14 new mothers and pregnant women and her new paper, exploring attempts to ‘approximate’ in-person ties within the confines of mandatorily digitally mediated interactions.