Did you know The EIU in collaboration with Facebook released their Inclusive Internet Index report which shows that the post COVID world won’t be same as it used to before the pandemic
The Inclusive Internet Index is conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit in partnership with Facebook which shows to what extent the Internet has become relevant and affordable for everyone and how the people all around the world are using it for. With the help of that it is then able to form positive social and economic outcomes at every level. We all are aware of the impact that COVID-19 has left on each and every one us, even if one did not get infected with this virus, he or she did face one thing or another. Whether it was any financial issue, mental health issue or anything at all for that matter. We all have different experiences to share from our part in COVID-19. The internet has been one of the greatest help to many of us out there in this pandemic, a help for some but very disastrous for others as well. In other words, the internet has become a place filled with negativity as well.
The many levels of transformation that the internet is folding itself into, has had new types of misinformation and misguidance related to the COVID-19 vaccine which became very chaotic, many people rely strictly to the sources present to the internet and when those sources will be the ones spreading misinformation then how will the general public actually rely on it for? This is creating many divisions in people and the unity and connection is getting lost somewhere.
The use of internet increased with the pandemic, according to the Inclusive Internet Index report, both the developing and developed countries had an increase in their improvements related to internet availability. Many countries including Uzbekistan, Slovakia and Kenya expanded their resources to make sure that the internet is available to everyone. Especially Costa Rica, who made big improvement in both government and private sectors to make Wi-Fi available, and Egypt made huge improvement in terms of online trust and safety. This shows that there has been some positive impact on moving forward as more people have become dependent on the internet for their every little chore.
The eCommerce field has received much success especially in this pandemic and more people now believe that there will be more improvements in many countries as the livelihood of many people has become dependent on the internet as well, this will have impact on day to day interactions of the people too. Due to the pandemic people have started doing everything from the comfort of their homes turning to the internet for each of their solutions, whether for online banking, shopping and what not, this has for sure resulted in them getting habitual of this and it is now believed that the post-pandemic world will not be as it used to be before the pandemic. Even though the results show great numbers and improvements but this complete dependence on the internet has created more divisions than before.
The pandemic has created some effects that will be everlasting. The report shows that as the digital economy has increased, the world will never the same as it used to be. The divisions that it has created and the impacts that has brought on socially, economically and even education wise is large and won’t be easily made up by new approaches even after the pandemic is over.
