Lockdown has an effect on Society

For months, there has been speculation about how society will emerge from lockdown. From a rise in digital communication to an increase in neighbourly spirit, there have been promising signs of a better way out of this crisis, a just way forward that benefits millions across the nation.

There has been a new, digital way forward felt out by millions who have switched to platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, allowing for many businesses to continue operating. This has also been pioneered by schools, colleges, and universities in order to prevent the education system coming to a stand skill. Lockdown has allowed for a plethora of organisations to experiment with using technology as a means of operating, potentially transforming the fabric of modern living.

However, these hypotheses often forget those whose jobs would be incompatible with social distancing and can’t be moved online, the jobs that employ those on the lowest salaries such as manual labourers and retail workers. These are the people whose work is so essential to the economy yet are often forgotten in predictions for the future. If the ways we live are coming to an end then we will have to think about the impact it has on everybody in society.

It is essential that we come out of lockdown a changed society, one where people care more about those around them. However, real change must be implemented from government with more investment into public services that have been run down over the last decade; maybe a new normal wouldn’t be so bad.