Covid -19 brought a wide array of challenges and affected our day-to-day lives, businesses, and society. One of the most notable effects of the pandemic was the way it induced a high degree of fear and worry among people worldwide.
Impact on businesses
In the world of business, most industries faced a lot of obstacles because of the pandemic. Travel, retail, and hospitality are the most affected industries which went to a standstill. To avoid being exposed to the virus, most people started avoiding physical contact with others, social gatherings, and traveling to different cities and countries. The government restrictions led to the slowdown of businesses in every sector. While many businesses had to shut down their operations, others decided to make changes in their strategies and adopt the new technologies to survive in the market.
Technology allowed businesses to discover innovative ways to continue to serve their customer base. No matter the size of the enterprise, digital tools helped every business in functions like accounting, quality check, project management, customer services, etc in order to move fast in their fight against COVID -19, continue to say afloat, and even capitalize on the momentum. Remote working and outsourcing are the strategies that most tech companies followed to streamline the processes, cut down expenses, and ensure that deadlines are met. They started realizing the power of social media and its usefulness in communicating with their customers, understanding their needs, and maintaining a strong image among them. Safe internet services and their wide access helped people know about statistics of the outbreak, government policies, safety guidelines, etc, and make informed decisions about the various ways to keep their businesses running and alleviate the impact of the pandemic.
Impact on people’s well being
To mitigate the risk involved with the disease, most countries placed quarantine measures on the population. During this difficult time, technology helped us in coping with boredom, stress, and anxiety.
Although the entertainment industry was adversely affected by the outbreak, the demand for online entertainment services such as OTT media, video-on-demand, and online games increased during the lockdown. As in-person interactions reduced significantly, people started accepting technology as a companion to deal with their loneliness.
Sound mental health is as important as physical health to maintain an active lifestyle. Challenging yourself is necessary for progress in life. Gaining knowledge or learning a new skill
requires keeping your mind open for new ideas, perspectives, and experiences. Obstacles bring
us out of our comfort zone and fuel motivation. Games make us happy, provide unlimited entertainment, and give our brains a solid workout. Outsmarting an opponent in a mind game results in a boost in self-confidence and a feeling of accomplishment. Thanks to technological advancements, players can enjoy their favorite games on their smart devices whenever they want.
When we talk about online games, we usually think of them as just a leisure activity. But, in reality, games are must more than that. Playing games is one of the most effective ways to maintain good mental and physical health. Multiple studies have shown that games greatly help in combating anxiety and depression, which are known to have a catastrophic effect on the body and mind. You can even participate in money earning games and win cash rewards with your game knowledge.
Just like meditation and yoga, games provide a sense of peace, calm, and joy. Games help players in strengthening their focus and enhancing creativity. They provide your opportunities to improve your focus, patience, problem-solving, and decision-making skills in a fun way. The skills you earn by playing games help you greatly in understand people’s behavior, recognizing patterns, and take quick decisions even in real-life situations. For example – Poker is a classic card game that helps in sharpening your analytical abilities. To predict your opponent’s hand strength and spot the ‘tells’, you need to keep a close eye on his gameplay. The more information you collect, the easier it becomes to devise a strategy to outwit him. Your understanding of the basics of mathematics helps you determine your chances of winning the Poker hands and quickly decide whether to continue playing or fold the cards.
Playing skill games is one of the best de-stress therapies. There are lots of books, magazines, blogs, articles, and video tutorials available to learn the rules to play a game. The more you play, the better you become in making quick decisions under pressure situations on the table.
Even before the pandemic, technology had become an integral part of our everyday lives. It affects every aspect of the operations of a business entity, from communication to promotion, productivity, and socialization. Technology is a boon as it has created some amazing tools and resources to make things better, easier, faster, and fun for everyone.