In the early days of the Corona epidemic, there was a tremendous and impressive effort to convert many real-life interactions into virtual online in a short time, technology has always been considered a wonderful link, but we must remember its limits and frustrations, and we realize that it is not a substitute for face-to-face contact and challenge those Who seek to turn our temporary technical distances into a permanent state.
There is growing talk about making this shift online permanent, writer Claire Forge says in a report on The Times, so we never go back to the uncomfortable and stressful way of doing things face-to-face.
And British Health Minister Matt Hancock delivered a speech praising a new era of "medicine zoom", warning that the health system "must not fall back into bad old habits."
Hancock declared that "From now on, all consultations should be remote unless there is a compelling clinical reason not to do so."
Robert Buckland, the attorney general, said his department is considering using the Zoom trials, where juries scrutinize proceedings remotely, and this is already happening as Edinburgh Cinema was recently used as a jury headquarters to watch a trial on the big screen.
The executive vice president of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education wrote that the transition to more digital learning "is set to withstand the epidemic." Meanwhile, working from home is the transition from the new normal to the permanent normal for many companies.
Companies like Twitter and Fujitsu have announced that this will be their permanent way of operating, and a recent survey showed that the majority of British companies are planning to permanently shrink their office space.
It is not difficult to see why politicians and companies are keen to make our technological divergence permanent. Technology promises to be a shiny silver solution that will solve the problem of reducing resources, saving a lot of money, and making the government appear "ready for the future." For businesses, the appeal of working from home is, of course, the bottom line that means less costs.
In some cases, a permanent shift from realistic interactions to distant interactions is logical, for example ending most civil procedures in divorce cases via the Internet is considered a logical act, as is the process of updating prescriptions without the need to go to the doctor.
But enthusiasts of more technology often lose the vital human need for face-to-face communication, and its practical and social purpose. A good doctor will not tell you about your condition online the same way and trust them when talking about embarrassing things in person.
In the judicial system, the sober court atmosphere, the drama of the witness questioning, and the defendant's body language are all vital factors for the proper functioning of justice. Even Professor Richard Susskind, who has long championed the transmission of court cases over the Internet, says the idea of a scattered and scattered jury is a bad idea, as "the jury is a community activity ... you give the court your full attention."
Staff wellness
College students are already struggling with very long hours of wasted time online and little contact with teachers. Asking them to stare longer at their laptops into boxy rooms is a recipe for loneliness and depression.
Working from home is very good for those who have sunlit home offices equipped with work necessities such as healthy workplaces, but what about those who share an apartment with four others, or who are in their twenties who want to mix with people every day to find friends?
Statistics say that one in five of us met one of the important in his life through work, so will this happen through Zoom conferences? For many, working from home with little human contact is not a resilient utopia but a very bleak, lonely prospect.
There will be some who like to interact and work online, socialize online and talk to their doctor online, and who believe that the rest of us should participate in the program. But the issue is choice. We are heading to a world in which there will be fewer options about how we interact with others, where virtual space will be the imposed choice and perhaps after a while the only choice.
Technology has already built our walls, and the sirens on the screen whenever something new in this world reduces the time we spend each day interacting with other humans. We fear that we will enter a post-pandemic era where walls are rising and becoming impenetrable.