Our research delves into the structured narratives of the students who found themselves at the crossroads of digital transformation in the country and the looming pandemic. Our study highlights the complex forms of crises for male students ranging from engaging in online classes, to relying on the internet as a social space to handle their mental health or loneliness, to managing career choices, all of which had been affected by the pandemic. The paper illustrates findings from an intensive qualitative study centered on understanding and exploring the lives of university-going male students in Bangladesh. Conducted from December 2021 till August 2022, the narratives were collected from students from various disciplines across private and public universities and madrassas in Dhaka. 17 male students were interviewed from public and private universities and the madrassa stream of tertiary education. The interviews were done in person and on Zoom, depending on the state of the lockdowns and the availability of the students.
While the opportunity to avail online classes was available to most respondents, the quality-of-service delivery from each of the respective institutions differed, leading to various responses from the respondents. Private university students accounting for 4 out of the 17 respondents interviewed, felt online education, despite its setbacks, was more fruitful compared to 13 public university and madrassa-going students who had an overwhelmingly negative or mixed view of the education scenario during the time of Covid. Most students used digital spaces, especially Facebook, as a social interaction site to deal with mental health and loneliness, blaming the perpetual anxiety compounded by the pandemic for the uncertainty, loss of income, and erosion of relationships and friendships. Our research also looked at the points of fear these males have about their internet usage and the lives they lead in digital spaces.
