Technology adoption post Covid-19

Or what has the pandemic done for our digital skills? I've been thinking a lot about it and I'm keen to hear what you think!

How much time do you spend online these days, compared to 18 months ago? I can tell you that I spend crazy amounts of time zooming, shopping on the web, emailing and on social media.

It's also a generational thing!

The kids are zooming for school, so they are quite happy to zoom the grand-parents and their friends too - and for goodness sake - they love online gaming, and can lose hours to it.

How about the 'Baby Boomers'?

My parents belong to the post-war babies generation, and to be honest, they've always embraced technology, and are keen online-shoppers, but they've been forced to get familiar with online conferencing platforms, and Zoom is a fave. It has been the main way of spending quality time with relatives and friends who might live near or far, as during lockdown, no-one was going anywhere!

Zoom has done so well because it is simple. Just a few controls, it's easy to share the meeting details, and their generosity over the free version has won over so many people - including me - to their paid platform. I'm a convert!

What about streaming content?

Whether it is tik-tok, youtube or reluctantly signing up for Netflix, we've all been trying to avoid the TV repeats and 'best of' series. Instead, sharing recommendations for box-sets and maybe even trying some scandi thrillers (the ones with the super-quick subtitles!).

Have we changed for good?

The ease of ordering food - whether that is grocery shopping or some delicious takeaways, delivered to your doorstep - has been very useful... But seriously, will we abandon the high street or markets forever?

My money is on us being desperate to get back to dealing with people face-to-face, the joy of shopping, grabbing a leisurely coffee and chatting with friends is a bit of a dream at the moment, but one I'd be willing to wait for.