Picture taken by me, of sourdough made by me.
The first lockdown was a time of cosying up at home, eating our homemade sourdough while watching Netflix. To stay connected we used Zoom, Google Hangouts and Microsoft teams.
The way we used the Internet changed.
Museums opened their doors to the world online, as did theatres. And we started to experience art differently.
Book Festivals and musicians also went online, and we thought how wonderful it was not having to worry about how many drinks we had while driving home.
But that quickly changed
Then the second wave came, and for many of us time stood still.
We got sick of TikTok, and Houseparty, and not having to get dressed to leave the house in the mornings.
Our perception of time changed. Aristotle once said that time is the measure of change. Change is what we were lacking.
The repetitive nature of feeding my sourdough starter at the same time everyday, made me lose track of whether I had fed it or not.
Eventually, I lost interest in sourdough as well.
Collectively we lost track of the days, and our body clocks lost their rhythm.
We missed seeing friends, and family.
Watching friends drinking wine on Zoom, just didn’t cut it anymore.
We were bored, and we were sick of only seeing each other in the virtual world.
Eventually we all come to the realisation that we need real-life contact.
So how will we remember 2020?
Time will tell whether in years to come we will look back at 2020 with nostalgia.
Regardless, apart from the pandemic, I do think we will remember it as the year the use of the Internet went up dramatically.
But other things happened in 2020 as well. The Bushfires at the start of the year.
The Killing of George Floyd in May, propelling the Black Lives Matter Movement front and centre.
The Beirut Explosion. Trump losing the US Elections.
So as funny as the scene in the clip below is, from The IT Crowd, the Internet is special.
It has proved crucial in keeping us connected with each other during a time of crises.
Older Users and the Internet
The way older users used the Internet during periods of lockdown changed.
A study conducted comprising of 407 Israeli Internet users aged 60 years and over, showed that there was a significant increase in Internet usage during the Pandemic.
In that demographic the use of Zoom increased as did Skype and WhatsApp by 64.1 per cent. The use of social networking services went up by 40.1 per cent.
Interestingly, the well-being of those surveyed did not increase with the above platforms. Increases in well-being during Internet usage only occurred when using sites associated with hobbies.
Private Groups on Social Media
Staying connected is what platforms like Facebook can help us do.
While many people are concerned about the lack of privacy and security on social media platforms, you can set up private groups.
What this means is that you can control who becomes a member of your group.
Let us hope that we don’t have to deal with Lockdown 3.0, but being connected is fun and essential.
The right combination of online and real-life activity is what is best for everyone, regardless of age.
Ari Talantis 