Today, at the height of the Covid pandemic, it is not easy to imagine these times will finally be over. Scientists develop vaccines to combat Covid, but the disease still rages on even among vaccinated people, albeit in a milder form. Wearing masks has become a typical attribute of any gathering; social distancing has turned into a habit. However, all pandemics finally end; the day will come when Covid becomes history like the plague and polio. This paper hypothesizes that along with the overload of health systems, Covid times will be remembered as a period when new lifestyles were elaborated with stress on increased digitalization in all spheres of life.
With the number of patients growing, many countries declared the near-collapse of medical systems and chose to play for time, introducing lockdowns in towns and cities. Outwardly, this measure allowed governments to reorganize their medical systems so that they could embrace a steeply increasing number of hospitalizations and outpatient treatment. However, lockdowns and social distancing have led to changes in all spheres of life, and the increasing digitalization encompassed every corner of human existence.
Thus, in the medical sphere, telemedicine has been introduced, where patients get online access to medical services. Now, if a person is ill, he can get an examination and consultation online, and the doctor can assess whether he needs to be taken to the hospital or not. This development is crucial for areas where no medical services can be quickly delivered due to the remoteness of these regions and the lack of medical personnel in these parts. Moreover, the technology brought about the opportunity of teleconsultations; when doctors are unsure of the diagnosis, they may consult the best specialists in this or that medical field. Technology has become a breakthrough in providing the best care to people living in remote areas.
In sales, the pandemic brought about a steep increase in online trading and delivery services. Due to lockdowns, people have got used to buying online everything they need, from food and medicines to furniture and appliances. Restaurant and café businesses were transformed in such a way as to allow customers to enjoy their favorite dishes at home, relying on delivery services.
Many companies, especially those where people work at a computer, had allowed their employees to work from home even when the lockdowns were over. Lately, there has been a boom in the development of computer programs catering to different business processes. These programs rely more and more on the online format, allowing companies’ employees to stay home (Algahtani et al., 2021). Many businesses have found the online format optimal since it saves space in the office and reduces working areas and expenses by renting smaller offices.
Moreover, people’s private lives have undergone significant changes. Thus, while earlier, people used to gather together to have a good time, today, due to Covid’s limitations, many of us go to online chat rooms to exchange opinions and state our views. Applications like WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook, Twitter, and some others have gained a large number of users; social networks often replace person-to-person communication.
Thus, the Covid pandemic brought about digitalization in all spheres of life, which will remain long after the pandemic; today, new digital trends determine the vector of development. While earlier there was a stone age, bronze age, and industrial age, we are witnessing the digital age that embraces all spheres of life. I firmly believe today’s Covid times will be remembered in history as a period of increased digitalization that will have a tremendous impact on the further history of humanity for years to come.
Work Cited
Algahtani, Fahad D., et al. “Assessment of the Quality of Life during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 3, no. 18, 2021, p. 847.