The New Normal: A Post-Pandemic Cyberspace
Now more than ever, it’s clear that digital technology is the way of the future. The internet has given us access to an infinite collection of information with the click of a button. At any given minute of any day, 9,722 Uber rides are ordered, 694,444 users log into Netflix, 1,389 Airbnbs are booked, 277,777 posts are uploaded on Instagram, and 188,000,000 emails zip through the WWW. Nevertheless, as technologically-advanced as we were in the past, COVID-19 has created an unavoidable and unprecedented need to bridge the digital divide between people, organizations, and countries.
As a Business major, I was interested in analyzing the trends of companies that are thriving or suffering in the midst of this global crisis, as a result of the prominence (or lack thereof) of a compelling digital identity. For instance, Air Canada, the country’s largest airline, reported a $1.05B loss in the first quarter of 2020. Other retail giants, such as H&M, K-Mart, Macy’s, and Victoria’s Secret have also announced a closure of over 50 locations each. With a sole focus on front-facing services, their online presence wasn’t strong enough to overcome the physical and financial barrier that the virus has caused.
On the flip side, several tech companies have been thriving as a result of the virus. Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, has recently come under fire for actually profiting during this time of crisis. With the sudden need for digitization, the online retailer has become even more popular among online shoppers. In fact, over the last three months, Bezos’ wealth has skyrocketed from a staggering $125 billion to $143 billion, largely from sales during the pandemic. One viral tweet, that garnered over 400K likes, criticized his soon-to-be status as the world’s first trillionaire while 33 million Americans were recently forced to file for unemployment.
Food-delivery services, including UberEats and Doordash, have also been thriving during this tough economic downturn. As well, streaming services — or rather, quarantine essentials — have been outperforming, including Netflix and Hulu. Due to their global connectivity and user friendliness on our devices, millions of consumers can interact with the brands at the click of a button.
The Job Market
It’s a terrifying time for the graduating class of 2020, alongside the millions of citizens who are now facing unemployment. In Canada, the government has called for the closure of all non-essential businesses, including all public parks and facilities, schools, shopping malls, child care services, restaurants and entertainment venues. With this, we’ve seen the highest unemployment rate of 13% since the early 1980s (Figure 1). Major public-facing Canadian companies — those who weren’t able to digitize their operations — have been forced to let off over 2 million jobs thus far.
For those who have managed to adapt to the new circumstances, it’s been a digital rollercoaster, to say the least. We’ve often held the workplace stereotype that Millennials are more tech-savvy and familiar with online softwares. Now, the entire Canadian workforce has been forced to digitize. Productivity and performance is measured by hours invested, and team meetings are hosted across various communication platforms, including Zoom Video Communications and Slack Technologies. The former has capitalized on a crucial customer need — the ability to host video conferences and work remotely.
The ubiquitous platform currently holds the #1 application spot on Google Play Store, hosting over 300 million daily meeting participants. Even Universities have transitioned to virtual learning through Zoom, allowing hundreds of students to log in and attend class during specific lecture times. Moreover, the latter recently reported it’s “most productive week ever”, with over 9,000 new customers and counting. Among this audience, user traffic has also increased by over 20% globally. Lastly, Microsoft launched its Microsoft Teams software that unifies all Microsoft 365 tools, including emails, documents and video conferencing. In the last week, the number of users on its platform climbed by 40%. Overall, the implications of living in a digital world couldn’t be clearer for struggling companies — You digitize or you lose.
An Unprecedented “Info-demic”
With an infinite amount of information at our fingertips, I’m sure we’ve all fallen victim to the misinformation that’s been circulating the internet, particularly surrounding COVID-19. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, has deemed this period as an “info-demic”. It’s much too easy for unverified rumours to be spread across the global web, most commonly on popular platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Whatsapp, and WeChat. Unfortunately, these often root in the themes of racism, xenophobia and transphobia, further provoking panic and victim-blaming in the digital landscape. In fact, to really grasp the dangers of misinformation in cyberspace, let’s compare the public’s digital engagement regarding COVID-19 to previous global pandemics.
In 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that the mortality rate for SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) was around 14%. In 2014, WHO estimated that the mortality rate for the deadly Ebola virus was 50%. In 2020, current data estimates that the mortality rate falls between 3% to 4%. In spite of this, why is there an unparalleled frenzy of panic that’s been circulating the internet? This is the heart of our info-demic. In 2003, there was no Facebook, no Instagram, and no Twitter. Information wasn’t circulating at the speed of light, being forwarded from families to friends to neighbours in a span of seconds. In 2014, Whatsapp only had around 430 million users. Today, it’s the most popular IM application in the world, amassing over 2 billion users.
All in all, it’s evident that digitalization is a double-edged sword. Though it’s provided our digital society with an exceptional amount of tools to interact remotely, it’s also created a platform for unverified news and misinformation to circulate uncontrollably, ultimately creating an even larger disconnect between users across the web. It certainly begs the question: Does a digital society bring people together, or does it drive us apart?
Self Reflection
Several days ago, I received my Future Me letter in which I had asked myself a very similar question:
“Does social media bring us closer or drive us apart?”
Prior to this course, I had never quite taken the time to reflect on my role as a digital citizen. When I thought of a digital society, I simply considered the interconnectivity of social media in today’s day and age; of how engagement online can be measured by comments and likes, or how we spend too much time finding the perfect filter for our imperfect lives. For far too long, we’ve been stuck in a silly era of “FOMO” and “Camera Eats First”, where we’re constantly trying to capture each milestone in our camera roll, rather than simply enjoying it in real life — and I’m certainly guilty of this.
Honestly, I can actually remember the precise moment where I realized just how guilty. Late 2019, I was attending the concert of one of my favourite singers, RUEL. I was trying to record a *perfect* video to post on social media, though it seemed that every other attendee had the exact same thought because I could barely see him through the wave of iPhones in front of me. In that moment, I realized that I was more invested in filming his singing on my phone, than creating a life-long memory for myself. I put my phone away and had a wonderful rest of the night.
Following this course, I’m grateful to have further explored the deeper levels of digitization — of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, of Smart Cities, of online privacy, and of global connectivity. I was certainly naive in thinking that my actions online weren’t being tracked and monitored, with targeted advertisements being funnelled directly back onto my feed. Beyond this, I’ve never taken a course where the content was posted on Medium and we were able to upload our own assignments in a blog format. I really enjoyed both topics that I explored for the first two assignments: “Barbie: The Rise and Fall of America’s It Girl” and “Porn: The Invention That Changed the World”. The platform was user-friendly and easy to share; I ended up sharing both articles with several friends who were equally interested in the topics! Unfortunately, my University back home doesn’t quite explore newer platforms for courses, but I’d love to suggest this to my professors as an alternative platform for virtual learning.
Now, in quarantine, I’ve had the time to reflect on the lessons that I’ve learned throughout this semester — and my personal (admittedly, poor) habits with my social media interactions. To answer my own question, I believe that social media has the power to do both — it all boils down to how we choose to use it. As a society, we’re constantly searching for the next “it” thing; the hottest trends, the latest fashion, the most advanced technology we can get our hands on. However, we don’t often take the time to reflect on our everyday lives and how interconnected we truly are with the technology that fuels our lifestyle. As long as we, as digital citizens, can develop a healthy relationship with social media, it’s an incredible tool in our pockets.
Ultimately, growing up in a digitized society, it used to be second nature for me to wake up and check my phone notifications. However, with my downtime spent at home and my self-reflection over the last few months, I’ve found peace in turning my phone off and connecting with my loved ones in real life.
