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The Covid-19 pandemic has brought with it an explosion of challenges for people across the world. Loss of jobs, poor mental health, isolation, confusion and most of all, a search for a new of centre of gravity, a "new normal," as one often hears people say.
While some people have also used this opportunity to reflect and recalibrate, most people find themselves immersed in their day-to-day existential issues and are barely keeping their head above the water. Almost everyone's lives have been touched in some way or the other, and that includes the vast number of students everywhere in the world.
As schools have migrated to virtual spaces, students, educators and parents find themselves in a bind over how to navigate these choppy waters of change. Students have to adjust to the lack of socialisation and a healthy peer environment in the real world. They spend hours before a screen, their already short attention spans dwindling even further with the monotony of virtual classes. They have much to be distracted by, and there is no sure-shot way for educators to monitor them at the other end of a screen. In addition to attending online classes, students also end up socialising and entertaining themselves via a screen. This causes immense digital fatigue.
Then there are the educators who find themselves in an extraordinarily challenging situation that they were not geared up for. They have had to quickly set up online systems of education that they have not had the time to test, or train for. There is also their own learning curve that has to be considered, in addition to the pressure of having to manage and meet the expectations of their management. parents, students, often, even the government. All that, plus having to manage their own lives, health, homes and often, children. It's a lot.
Finally, coming to the parents, especially the ones that are working from home. They too are spending masses of time before a screen, often dealing with longer working hours, and the many challenges of working from home. Their lives are also mostly spent in virtual space -- working, knocking off chores online (like ordering groceries, paying bills etc), and the lines between their real and virtual worlds are blurred.
In this podcast from School From Home https://bit.ly/2ZQnzl0, Shivangi Dave talks to me about how you can manage your digital health and wellness better, deal with digital fatigue and create healthier boundaries with technology in the times of the pandemic. Tune in for simple, yet effective tips that you can start applying to your life right away.
Hope you enjoy listening. Stay well, sit tight, and know that this too ,shall pass.
Bindiya