How is COVID-19 changing the way we use technology?

The unprecedented virus is making something possible that the governments around the world have been trying for a very long time. The global pandemic has led the world to stand still; lockdowns have forced every sector to rethink its way of working. Coronavirus has taught the world how to use technology in everyday life.

In the COVID-era, technology is playing a very crucial role. The social media platforms today, are a blessing in disguise; which is helping people to stay connected from home. Technology usage changed at the drop of the hat. So, what are the changing that we are witnessing during the pandemic? How is it affecting our life? And how would it change us in the long run?

How is the government using technology during the pandemic?

To contain the spread of this contagious virus, governments around the globe have come up with different ways to look over their citizens. Various applications have helped the authorities pinpoint the infected person and therefore test people who came in contact with them.

Location Tracker

For example in Italy, the government has allowed the country’s internet security agencies to use the location of every citizen for 30 days. China, Taiwan, and South Korea have also used their citizen location.

Europe has stricter rules on data privacy so, authorities in countries like Germany used different anonymous applications to trace its citizen.

Mobile Application

A startup company in the UK has launched an application named C-19 COVID Symptoms Tracker; they have seen 0.75 million downloads in the first three days. With this application, people can self-assess themselves and see the high-risk areas.

South Korea, has an application, Corona 100m. This application keeps details of the infected person and warns the user if they enter within a radius of 100m of the infected person. In China, Alibaba and Tencent collaborated to make an application. The application tells user’s health and their travel history using colors. This mobile application is important for a Chinese citizen to have; it determines whether the person can enter public places or not.

The Indian government has launched an application ‘Arogya Setu‘, which is mandatory for every citizen of the country to download. It is a phone application that uses users’ location and Bluetooth. The application tells the user the distance from the infected person and the user can also self-assess them whose reports go to the concerned government body.

Robots and Drones

Wuhan, China where for the first time coronavirus infection was detected; during the outbreak made an isolation ward for containing the spread of the virus. The wards were completely run by robots, which robots were programmed to monitor health. From measuring the temperatures of the patient to providing them with food and medicines.

Drones have been used worldwide to make sure that people are not gathering in one place; following the norms of social distancing strictly. The drones are fitted with a camera and loudspeakers for surveillance and making important announcements in public places.

Connecting with technology

We are living in the most connected times of all. With most of the schools and workplaces closed, we have been looking for new ways to stay in touch with each other.

According to a survey conducted by SimilarWeb and Apptopia about the changing behavior of people during the pandemic. The survey revealed that we are trying to connect less through chatting and more through video calls. The market of video calling apps like Google Duo, nextdoor.com (website), Houseparty, etc is witnessing high traffic.

Learning with technology

Schools and all the other educational institutes are now relying much more on technology than before. According to the survey by SimilarWeb and Apptopia, online data provider companies, online learning platforms are witnessing heavy traffic in the COVID era.

Applications like Zoom, and Google Classroom have become more popular for running online classes. The various meeting has also switched from offline to online seeing the global health emergency; giving a wider road for such platforms to flourish.

Else than this most entertainment application and websites is also flooding with new users like Netflix, TikTok, and Twitch tv (website). People cannot go out, therefore an online source of entertainment is helping them to entertain themselves within safe boundaries.

How will this change be in the long run?

Now, in many parts, the spread of the virus is declining while in some, it is still touching new peaks. Today we have become completely dependent on technology. For keeping things on track and life moving technology is what everyone is counting on. All the development done in the field of tech is paying us off at this time of crisis.

Even though for now these technologies are being deployed in coming over everyday hurdles while ensuring safety; most of them are expected to stick to us for a very long run. The unprecedented virus has caused a lot of human and economic loss to the world; but along the way, it has taught various important things.

After the pandemic ends, it will hopefully teach our healthcare system how to deal with such unprecedented infections. It has already taught us the right use of technology and with more advancement, in the future, we may become completely ready to battle any such outbreak, unlike today.