Your Pandemic Tech Habits

Therapy from afar. Books on the iPad. Friends via screens. Here’s the tech that’s sustained us.

A rock musician and a chamber orchestra violinist discovered apps that allowed them to play music with others far away. A woman in Toronto says she’s learned how to take courses and order groceries online, but she longs to be with her great-grandsons.

Some of you said you had formed new habits that you think might stick, including meditating online and gathering weekly with pals over Zoom. Some readers said they were grateful for virtual stand-ins but could not wait to get back to the library and hugging their family members. (Virtual hugs to you all.)

Thank goodness tech has helped us muddle through a crisis. Also, just ugh to all of it.

Here is a taste of readers’ views on technology that has helped them cope. The responses have been lightly edited. And wave hello to our On Tech editor Hanna Ingber for plucking a selection of your new habits:

I am 86 years old and haven’t hugged anyone in my family for one year. But I’ve learned to use Zoom and to order my groceries online, both of which helped me keep myself fed, independent and sane. I am taking a great course on rebel Russian authors. I’ve attended services at my synagogue without having to put on my snow boots. I’ve gone to art galleries and operas without having to dress up or worry about where to park.

I teach ballet to older women. When we had to stop dancing together in person, I was motivated to find a way to deliver a class in some form. With an iPhone, my teenager’s tripod and the tech advice of my three adult children and my son-in-law, I was able to quickly learn to record a ballet class, edit it on my laptop, make a YouTube channel, upload the video and share it.

Category: Technology

Source: New York Times