“Covid-19 vs. Social Isolation: the Impact Technology can have on Communities, Social Connections and Citizens” lays out the emotions and experiences we all went through in the first days of Covid and quarantining, and analyzes the ways in which social media and technology can be extremely beneficial in a situation such as a pandemic. By now, we are all accustomed to the Covid lifestyle, as it has been a year and a half since the beginning of the biggest change we will probably ever have to go through in our lives. But, technology has not only been a friend in this lifestyle, but something that saved many of us from a wide variety of mental breakdowns, fear of isolation, and much more.
This article is intriguing as it discusses the different ways and groups of people that benefit the most from the use of technology throughout Covid-19, or something that hinders us from resuming our normal lives and being out in the world. There is discussion of FaceBook groups for neighborhoods and communities, a four year old Lakeland Terrier that provides people with some sort of simple happiness, the question of whether or not a baby boom is bound to occur, and a discussion of a case study involving a Women’s Institute. All being very random in their selection in this article, I think it is significant to emphasize the ways in which people and groups have coped with isolation, even if it is not in the most traditional sense that we all know.
This article emphasizes that “The COVID 19 virus is the cruellest stress test of institutional and individual health and social care activities.” And I believe this is true. Though I am still young, I strongly believe the pandemic will be the biggest test of technology adapting to the lifestyle we have all come to know and fit in with, at least in my lifetime. I think it is important to note that this article was written March 18th, 2020. This was the first couple of days that lockdowns were put in place, and Covid was extremely new to all of us. I believe it is safe to say that the research in this article would be much more effective in determining the impact technology has on communities, social connections, and citizens, if it was done now. These early days of Covid can’t determine this impact, as the pandemic wasn’t even in full swing. And I can be certain that the person I am in my relationship with technology is extremely different than it is now, now that it has been a year and a half of living in the Covid world.
Leah, your blog post was really interesting. I did not read this article, but your summary was helpful in understanding what the author was trying to communicate in regards to the impact of technology during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was beneficial that you pointed out that the article was written in March 2020. Since every day of the pandemic brought new surprises and challenges, it is imperative to contextualize when something was written/what is being argued. I agree with you in that my relationship with technology has also changed a lot. Before the stay-at-home order was put in place, I did not use FaceTime that often. Once COVID-19 hit our country, I probably FaceTimed every day. When I am thinking about how much more reliant I became on technology, I always think about those that did not have as much (or no) access to technology and how isolated they likely felt.
Hi Leah. Great job on your blog post for this week. I found it extremely informative since I did not read this article. I agree that it would be very interesting to see what the results of this study would be like now, since we have been living through the pandemic for more than a year now. Like Megan, I too think about life before the pandemic and my use of technology. I had only used Zoom once, prior to lockdown and was still unfamiliar with it when Lehigh professors decided to use it to teach classes. Even my use of Tik Tok changed during the pandemic. The amount of time I spent on Tik Tok during lockdown skyrocketed.
I think you make a great point about the differences between this article being published in March 2020 and the information we would have if it were published today. In March 2020 I was under the impression that we would lay low for two weeks and then resume normal life. I never would have imagined the tremendous loss and adjustments of the last year and a half. I think a follow up article would be very interesting here. I am curious about the effectiveness of the Facebook groups you mentioned and whether or not a baby boom occurred as the piece predicted.
Hi Leah. I also read this article and I agreed with your comment about the time this article was published. Like Alana said, I think a follow-up article is necessary because in March 2020 we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. However, I do think our society successfully adapted to the new social norms. I witnessed my grandparents, who are not tech savvy in the slightest, set up Zoom and try to stay connected with us as much as possible. As someone in Gen Z, I feel like the switch to only socializing and communicating through technology wasn’t a challenge at all. But now as we start to wrap up the pandemic, I find myself so sick of technology because of the overuse.