Hearing someone say “the year 2020” seems a bit like a far-off sci-fi future, but the future is here, and in many ways, it’s pretty incredible. With a combination of rapidly-developing tech in general and the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 has been an incredible year for technology to change and adapt to the way it’s needed right now. Here are some of the most interesting ways tech in 2020 has adapted to the public’s needs.
More Accessibility for All
In 2020, more people than ever are working from home, with many businesses shutting down or whittling their in-store staff down to skeleton crews. In turn, that’s meant that tech has started to become more accessible in general. That includes everything from bookstores offering certain books for free to governments recognizing that internet access is more essential than ever, and pushing to deliver it to more and more rural areas. People are gaining access to tech at an unprecedented rate, and it’s served to help more people access much-needed services.
Information From Many Different Sources
Along with more access to tech, 2020 has seen a huge boost in access to information. It’s easier than ever to publish an article online or even just create your own blog to get information out to people. Within minutes, thousands of people can see the latest update on an interesting piece of information, even if that information is happening across the world from where they are. People are able to be educated with just a few clicks, and that’s more apparent than ever.
A Different Understanding of Sociability
One thing many people have pointed out recently is that the public’s understanding of “social functions” has needed to change in the face of COVID-19. That change may well persist past lockdowns and viruses, as well. With more people coming together online, it’s helping to fill a void of loneliness that has otherwise had no real cure for many people. Being social can mean a lot of things — an Instagram live video, a post on Twitter, or even a “virtual house party” — and many of those things weren’t possible only a few years ago.
A Slant Toward Education
For many years, people have been trying to use the internet to help with education. There have been online classes for years, so online education definitely isn’t something new that’s happening in 2020. However, it is something that’s happening at a more significant rate in today’s world, whether targeted at grade school kids or college-aged adults.
Education-based tech can take a variety of forms: just look at OneClass’ livestream [1], which is teaching high school, college, and university-level math and chemistry seven days a week. These lessons can help current students maintain their grades or help introduce new students to the concept. Either way, they play a vitally important role in education.
Conclusion
2020 has certainly created a new and different concept of tech, but it’s one that’s definitely not alien to the people who have been using tech for years now. Some of these developments may be new and exciting, but they’re easy to start using, especially for those who are already accustomed to tech in their daily lives. General tech development is an amazing tool, and from the looks of it, people in 2020 are using it in the best way possible.