How much did Communication Change because of Covid-19?


Thursday, 16 July 2020

Socializing is an essential human need. This means that we can’t be isolated from others for too long because we need to have contact with people. Since its inception, coronavirus has made it impossible for many to meet and communicate with others in regular ways because everyone had to take care of themselves by being isolated. Let’s take a look at how communication has changed because of Covid-19 and its impact.




Since meetings with family, friends or any other social meeting were made impossible, we had to transform the way we communicate. Even though we were already used to using technology in order to communicate, this time is different. From celebrating birthdays to throwing parties and organizing work conferences, almost every kind of contact had to be transformed in order to be safe.

How would the situation turn out had this pandemic happened 30 years ago?

As technology wasn’t enough, it wouldn’t have been possible to interact as much as we have been doing for the past 4 months. For that reason, people would be much more isolated than they are now and many others would be completely alone. Without the possibility to contact others even if it is over a phone call, depression rates would have increased immeasurably and many would have died because of loneliness and lack of health care for other conditions.

Luckily, that is not the case because we live in the era of technology, which has helped go through these tough times taking care of ourselves while still staying in touch with our loved ones.

This upsurge in calls and video calls has been due to the fact that people want to stay connected even if they cannot meet them or help them when they need it. This is because humankind needs to socialize with others in order to be human.

Saved by the screen

As we are used to turning to our loved ones in times of crisis or any other problematic situation that disrupts our daily lives, the current situation has impeded us from doing so the regular way. Since many of us are cut off from normal social interaction, we are opting for voice and video calls so as to replace normal communication.

Even though it’s been a while since communication over the phone or the internet started, now it has become the only option so as to communicate with others.

However, this time is different. Not only are we communicating with those who we are used to, but also, many have found out they are even reconnecting with that old friend they haven’t spoken to for years. 

This pandemic has allowed us to have something in common to talk about because this has put us all under the same circumstances and the same danger. This caused a collective sense of worrying about others the same way we would do for those who we care about the most. 

How could this impact on those who are not comfortable with chatting over the phone or a video call?

If you’re not a “phone person”, how should you handle the current rush to connect?

“Phone anxiety is an offshoot of social anxiety disorder, which is one of the most common anxiety disorders,” says Jean Kim, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at George Washington University who has written about phone phobia. “It’s characterised by people feeling fear in social situations; they have a flood of automatic negative thoughts and are self-critical.” 

Some people get thrown by different social cues on the phone, she says, while for others being out of practice because of the ease of text and email can also lead to anxiety when using a less familiar form of communication.

However, many of those who suffer from “phone anxiety”, are still trying to leave that aside in order to connect with others and interact in a meaningful way as contact with others is made impossible and they don’t want to stay disconnected.

It is time to put anything else aside and adapt to the circumstances if you want to stay connected with your loved ones.

Not everyone wants to adapt

There are some people that are tired of receiving calls and of annoying interruptions. These individuals may isolate themselves and crawl to their shell because they don’t want to receive any more calls. But this should be worrying if it turns to complete isolation because it could cause serious health problems. 

Fortunately, setting boundaries is the best way of solving this situation.

One strategy for those receiving an overwhelming amount of calls from people of different kinds of environment is to carve out specific times for different activities. You could stick to work hours to get calls from work, and establish a certain hour to receive calls from family or friends. This way, you can avoid uncomfortable interruptions and annoying amounts of calls.

The key is to be organised and know and communicate your boundaries so that others don’t neglect your time or space.

We had taken daily contact with people for granted before this virus erupted. Suddenly, we are seeing how important it is to communicate with others and how much we need to get physical contact.

Once this pandemic is over, we will appreciate contact with others more than ever before and, hopefully, we won’t take that for granted.

Communication is an interesting topic to discuss. Necessary as it is, communication allows us to be human and stay in touch with others even at times when physical contact is made impossible. 

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