The Social Function of Museums in the Digital Age. A case study on the influence of digital media on the social dimension of National Museums in Portugal

A unique moment in Contemporary History, the COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the relevance of the reflection on the social responsibility of museums and the current (dis)framing of their traditional communication paradigms. The consecutive restrictions and limitations applied to museums in the context of a pandemic crisis have transformed the way they have operated in recent years. On the other hand, the growing awareness of the importance assumed by museums as institutions that promote cohesion and social inclusion, but also of knowledge, learning and leisure, has revived a debate with theoretical-conceptual foundations that has sought, since the Declaration of Santiago do Chile (1972) to understand their position in relation to their social dimension, today in a panorama of uncertainty that characterizes our days. Thus, there is an urgent need to rethink, in a prospective sense, the role of information management and digital communication models in the perception of these institutions within contemporary society. The present proposal seeks to present the preliminary results of a doctoral research in Museology, financed with a scholarship by the Fundacao para a Ciencia e para a Tecnologia in Portugal, which is focused on the theme of the relationship established between the approach by museums to their social functions in relation to their digital action strategies. As an interaction tool inherent to actions and activities with which we most closely identify, digital information and communication technologies shape daily the way we, as social beings, think and act. In this context, "museum" and "digital" cannot be dispersed concepts. In a study carried out with the visitors of seven National Museums in Portugal, presented here, we find some indications regarding the relationship between the visitors' digital action and consumption habits and their possible influence on museum visitors. These data allow us to reflect on how museums can position themselves in relation to the interests and habits of their visitors.