How Covid-19 Changed the World

Have you ever imagined being stuck at home for months? Perhaps imagined having a
year long holiday? Or maybe wished for your parents to stay home more often with you? It
surely had passed our minds at least once in our lives. No matter how many times it had
crossed our minds too, it was still shocking to the world when this unrealistic wish struck
reality. On 31st of December 2019 the first covid case was identified. Covid-19 was officially
declared as a global pandemic on March 11 2020 and that’s when the world changed
drastically. Starting from the take away of classrooms which were replaced by online school,
working from home by video conferencing until using face masks and avoiding physical
contact to minimise the spread of this deadly virus.

Stated by the world health organization, Covid-19 started in Wuhan, Hubei, China on
31st of December 2019 and was caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory
system coronavirus 2). Studies have shown that the risk of serious illness from this disease
increases with age. In addition to those who suffer from existing medical issues including:
serious heart diseases, cancer, chronic kidney disease.In 2020 PCR test was used to test
patients for COVID-19 by sending samples from the nose, throat or saliva, to a lab for
testing. As with other infections caused by viruses, there is no cure for the infection caused
up to now. However, vaccines are taken by many people as a way of protection. People also
have been advised to limit contact with people who are showing symptoms of COVID-19 and
practice good hygiene and physical distancing.

The world being struck by this deadly virus and everyone having to stay home, people
had to find ways to keep themselves entertained, turning to their electronics. As social media
became the main form of interaction many changes occurred in the entertainment services
and the industry. According to the Financial Times, weekly downloads of apps and games
went up by 80% compared to in 2019. Though many shows, tours, concerts and movies were
either delayed or cancelled, other companies benefited positively from this pandemic. Food
delivering services (grab food), social media companies (instagram, etc..) and video
conferencing services (google meet, zoom) were the ones to benefit most. An increase of
10.5% of active social media users was recorded. People started binging movies and tv shows
and many new content creators appeared along with new trends. A new understanding of
what entertainment is, came to life.

Similarly to finding a new way of entertainment, people also had to find ways to keep
education going, and so they started online school. Everything was fine at first but now
students are noticing symptoms like nausea, and dizziness after a certain amount of
screentime. This is most probably due to cybersickness. What exactly is cybersickness you
may ask. Cybersickness is a technology version of motion sickness caused by moving things
on screens. People now use screens very frequently in their daily lives. So while
cybersickness may seem like a minor issue, it can cause problems for your productivity and
wellbeing. A review was conducted in the open online journal called “Frontiers in
Psychology” to prove the existence of cybersickness.
 In conclusion, a lot of changes happened during this ongoing pandemic. Starting from
health to lifestyle and education. During this pandemic the number of people who got
infected by COVID-19 reached 240,982,323 and the number of people who died reached
4,907,516 causing a decrease in population. Educational changes in students' understanding
and behaviour, students lost their social skills and suffered mental health issues having to be
stuck at home with the lack of interaction between school friends. The world had to cope
with new entertainment methods. People had adapted to these changes and it is rumoured to
be endemic.