Who had thought of a day when we would be working from the safety of our homes with minimal contact with fellow humans? Certainly not the seven billion people calling planet Earth their home.
A pandemic was the last thing we had expected walking into 2020. But here we are, almost eight months into this Pandemic, forging new kinds of relationships with people. And the one that stands out is the Digital Relationship.
Let’s take a look at how much the world has changed — Online Meetings, Online Learning, Online Shopping, and more.
ONLINE MEETINGS
Be it Zoom or Google Meet, we have all made use of video conferencing for our work, for our various meetings that have taken a digital turn, and also for some long-distance family gatherings and reunions!
All it takes is signing up, hosting your own meeting, or joining one straight through an invite. Who would have thought meeting people would be that easy? You certainly don’t have to drive to someplace for a meeting anymore.
Now, meeting someone online is the very essence of a digital relationship we have forged. But, does it work?
In my personal opinion, yes. To put it simply, I feel more connected with people now than I have ever been. Being a part of a meeting for work, as we share our screens and let others see what we see. Or simply joining a video chat with my cousins and catching up to them, the digital relationship I have forged with people during this pandemic, I feel this has helped not just me but all of us to shorten the distance despite the physical distancing we have been advised to maintain.
ONLINE LEARNING
The pandemic took a major toll on the younger generation as they had to give up on their normal lifestyle to ensure their safety. From taking their classes online and not having to meet their friends, youngsters found themselves forging digital relationships with their teachers and fellow students. Would they be able to maintain it as adults do? There is a low probability because once the pandemic is over and they go back to school and university, their lifestyle would go back to how it was pre-COVID-19. But, this could possibly bring them closer to their siblings/cousins or friends whom they spent time talking to online.
ONLINE SHOPPING
From groceries to medicine to food, all of these became available to us with a click of a button. This took me back in time to when I was high school and we were reading about E-Commerce. This was something I experienced through amazon.com. Of course, there are many portals now making it even more convenient to shop online, one question that remains is: will we still shop online after the pandemic ends? The answer is pretty simple: yes. Even if people don’t make a habit out of this, they will still prefer to order online until the world gets back to normal. And here is another digital relationship we are forging. If not with humans, this sure counts for the various portals we use and some we prefer, offering our patronage to them and getting their products and services conveniently without having to leave the comfort of our homes.
The world sure has taken a turn. Is it towards the better? Do you also feel that digital relationships work and can be beneficial to us?
Share your thoughts with me! I’m more than happy to hear them out.
