Transformation of Second Home Use in the Age of Online Social Networking

The starting point of the project is the question whether technological development and socio-economic changes in the postmodern/post-industrial world encourage the process of further social fragmentation, or enable the development of new forms of sociability which can contribute to strengthening the resilience and sustainability of the local community. Hence, the focus of the project is on the changes which second home use is going through, i.e. the practice of occasionally using another property for rest and recreation. These changes are related to the more intensive use of second homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, and after recent earthquakes in Croatia. Observing the amount of stay in or the realisation of the main life interests, in numerous cases it becomes difficult to see the difference between permanent and temporary residence. Such establishment of a new dwelling model which has the characteristics of residential multi-locality does not imply only a change in the ways and dynamics of second home use, but also changes the effect of its use on the local community. In this context, the spread of online social networking plays an increasingly important role. A good part of local social interaction has moved into the virtual dimension, and neighbourhood social groups more and more become catalysts of local social relations. Knowing that, the aim of this project is to look at the general features of the transformation of second home use in Croatia, and to investigate the role which online social networks play in the shaping of this practice, and especially the relationship which is established between the users of second homes, but also between permanent and temporary residents. We plan to achieve the indicated insights through research combining a secondary analysis of census results with the primary empirical research, which includes a survey on a national sample of second home users and on a sample of permanent and temporary residents of two settlements.