Digital Sociotechnical Systems of Mutual Aid: How Communities Connected, Adapted, and Innovated During the COVID-19 Pandemic in New York City

Abstract

New York City was one of the hardest-hit areas in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 and strategies to prevent and respond to outbreaks were incipient. Social distancing created additional challenges. As such, people turned to digital technologies to find creative ways, not only to keep in touch with their loved ones, but also to find help and to assist strangers in need. In this essay, we describe how individuals and organizations in New York City used digital technologies to monitor and share information on COVID-19, to provide support for vulnerable people, and to get medical devices to those in need. Using the concepts of citizen science, mutual aid, and digital sociotechnical systems, we make three arguments. First, digital sociotechnical systems have a unique capacity to enroll and connect people—including strangers—over long distances, therefore enabling participation in mutual aid initiatives despite strict social-distancing limitations. Second, pre-existing mutual aid initiatives supported by digital sociotechnical systems demonstrated high adaptability and were quickly repurposed for COVID-19 mutual aid. Lastly, mutual aid initiatives, confronted with certain limitations of digital sociotechnical systems, engendered innovations and calls for transformations toward more inclusive systems. Time will tell whether these emerging transformations outlast the disaster itself and enhance long-term community resilience.

Keywords

• disaster
• crisis
• citizen science
• technology
• solidarity