On 11 March 2025, the seminar explored the concept of flow, originally theorized by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, highlighting its paradoxes in digital and organisational contexts. While flow fosters deep engagement, speakers critically examined its darker implications, such as social alienation, individualism, and self-exploitation in performance-driven cultures.
Keynote speaker and visiting professor Braxton Soderman (University of California, Irvine) outlined how flow, widely applied in game design and education, can lead to uncritical immersion and the commodification of learning and work. Discussions by Professors Paolo Monti and Andrea Galimberti connected flow to compulsive freedom, self-surveillance, and the erosion of boundaries in contemporary work and education systems.
Students from the Master’s Degrees in Advanced Educational Sciences and Human Resource Development attended the event both in person and online.
Part of the Permanent Seminar “Educational and socio-cultural changes and potentials related to the digital transition” promoted by Departmental Research Center CAPTED (Excellence Project 2023-2027).
Seminar report now available for download, authored by Maddalena Sottocorno (research fellow and CAPTED member).