The Coronavirus pandemic has a lot to answer for, especially the move to a ‘new normal’. But is this new reliance on the digital world a good or a bad thing? You decide.

What Happened in the Digital World When Covid-19 Hit?

At the start of the crisis, people feared for their lives, and the first lockdown saw the nation staying home and stopping doing the things they would normally do such as socialising, doing the grocery shopping and going to the gym. With schools and many businesses forced to close due to the risk of spread of infection, we had more reason than ever to stay at home and use the internet to navigate this uncertain time. Online grocery orders soared, while e-commerce sites like Amazon and eBay also became the people’s lifeline overnight.

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Will Shopping Habits Change Back?

Almost a year into this pandemic, there is still no certainty over when life can resume as normal. But will we ever return to the way we were?

Online shopping, for one, has been transformed over the last twelve months with companies investing in their e-commerce sites and hiring new terms to work on digital sales so that they can get by while their physical stores are closed. This attention on e-shops has left consumers realising that ordering online is hassle-free and, with many of us working from home, we never have to miss a delivery again!

An influencing factor in the way we shop will be whether be office-based workers ever return to their corporate spaces, because if more of us will be working from home in the long run, then online shopping is likely to remain an attractive prospect for many.

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What About Social Life?

Although people are desperate to get back to going out and seeing their friends after the restrictions are eased in the UK, a big change that has been highlighted through this pandemic is that people’s lives have turned a lot more digital – with Zoom being a part of our everyday lives suddenly, and sharing special birthdays or events with loved ones on Facetime has become the norm. We are adapting more and more each day to a digital lifestyle, and people are embracing this because, without it, we would find the lockdowns very lonely and unproductive indeed.

What’s more, though, is that even our wellbeing is now becoming digital, with track and trace apps advising us of risks to our health, doctor’s appointments taking place via SMS or phone call and, in some cases, our daily exercise being delivered by an online class. To be truthful, there’s not much that we cannot do using the digital landscape, but is that a positive pathway to follow for our future generations?