A Technological Perspective to the COVID-19 Pandemic

By Ahsan Rahman

Throughout this pandemic, it has been abundantly clear that technology is what keeps us connected with those around us and those far away. We have used MS Teams, Skype, Zoom and a whole host of other digital tools to keep our education, friendships, hobbies and adventures alive and thriving even though life as we knew it is so far removed from what we are living now. Webcams have been used to show us what has been happening in zoos, we have been able to listen to radio stations from all around the world, we have used forums to make friends in countries we wouldn't have done before. With the vaccines coming to effect now, how will we continue to use technology to keep us connected to the whole world and not just those directly around us? 

As we will slowly creep back to our normal lives where lockdowns, face masks and social distancing will be just bad memories, there will be some aspects of our current lives that we will keep. Having our freedom of movement restricted has meant we have adapted and used technology to keep ourselves connected to the people and activities that we cherish. 

When we are given the go-ahead to start socialising again, it will not be physically possible to be at all the locations where our activities are based due to travelling times. However, with Zoom or MS Teams, we could attend a chess club based in Barnet at 10 on a Saturday morning for an hour and then be taking part in a karate lesson based in Redbridge straight after at 11 – this would not be possible if we had to factor in travelling time. We have become very accustomed to and reliant on doing clubs and activities straight after each other with a click of a button in the comfort of our homes not giving a second thought about where the teacher is based. 

Whilst not being able to actually go to zoos, nature reserves or global landmarks ourselves, we have been given unrestricted access to view these all on live streams and this has enabled us to see and experience things we would not have been able to do. I would hope these would continue even after lockdown as they have provided a wealth of information to people all around the world, especially for people who would never be able to experience it themselves.

In conclusion, although this whole pandemic has had a lot of negative impacts on people from all walks of life, it has also opened the doors for us to experience more and connect with people whose paths would not have normally crossed with ours. I hope that this continues and that we are able to not let country borders or time zones stop us from experiencing more and making connections with people we normally wouldn’t have been able to.