In a world where the line between physical and digital is blurry, are human beings closer to each other than ever before?

Our communication habits changed abruptly in 2020. The world over, people replaced physical contact with screen-to-screen interactions overnight. Work meetings, school lessons, chatting with friends and family… how did we embrace this shift in human relations? How are Information and Communication Technologies supporting us and enabling us along the way?

Walter Greenleaf, neuroscientist and medical product developer at Stanford University, helps us understand some trends in the Megatrends 2022 report, focusing on current and future human relations in an increasingly virtual world. How did the pandemic impact digitalization and in turn, relations?

The digitalization during the pandemic has had impact on us, but we still don’t know how or how much

Because “we need time to conduct the relevant studies”, says Walter Greenleaf, we “we do not yet have a comprehensive understanding of the degree and direction of impact on overall population brain heath” that less social interaction in 2020 may have had.

Besides, it is hard to differentiate that from the direct impact of COVID-19. For example, if a person has suffered some cognitive impairment, how can we trace the origin? Was it digitalization? Stress due to the pandemic? A side-effect of COVID? This is a complex matter; it would require time to research and isolate the relevant variables. We do know that “extensive use of video teleconferencing can result in extreme fatigue”, which entails “a shift in our ability to recognize emotional states in others”, compared with a physical meeting. For example, information from body position or hand gestures—which can be very expressive—is eliminated. 

It is estimated that 65% of the information exchanged in conversation is non-verbal information. Therefore, without a doubt, virtual meetings oversimplify conversations and leave out many elements.

New changes resulting from accelerated digitization

According to the first section of the Megatrends report, titled ‘Human Connections in an increasingly virtual world’, digital connections have unprecedently peaked in 2020. Lockdowns have had significant impact con social interactions, they have redefined work and put hitherto emerging technologies on the spotlight. They have paved the way for systemic changes.

It is important to highlight that there have been positive behavioral changes—and let me highlight the word behavioral, not conduct or performance—such as the fact that we “have learned to communicate more effectively by leveraging technology”, in the words of Walter Greenleaf. Besides, “many of us have learned better emotional regulation skills”.

It is often mentioned that crisis means opportunity in Chinese. The truth is that their word for crisis, 危机 (wēijī), is closely related to crucial moment or even fulcrum, a point when change and pivoting become feasible (and recommendable even) with the goal of adapting to new environments. This is exactly what has happened with digitalization.

New opportunities in a data horizon

It is important to note that this technological acceleration or leap forward brings many opportunities. One such opportunity is that wearable devices have become very popular. In the words of Walter Greenleaf, “Wearable sensors allow us to design and utilize technology that senses, interprets, and adapts to how you feel and act–technology that factors in your health status, your goals, and your priorities”. In the video ‘Digital health tools’, he talks about how technology will drive improvements around health.

Tecnologías de Salud Digital | Walter Greenleaf 

Wearable devices and biosensors help collect data and are intricately linked to “precision analytics” and “real-time physiological data”, which enable better health performance, by “indexing the effectiveness of different treatment paradigms and clinical pathways” and also “substantially more engaging and more personalized immersive digital experiences”. This is where wearable devices come in contact with the new Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. Many essays and studies have proven that “VR can promote behavior change by taking advantage of the way our brain’s learning and reward systems function”. It can be used through at least three methods:

• Activating neuroplastic change via reward systems.
• Shortening the reward feedback loop and showing progress.
• Leveraging the mirror neuron systems.

Something similar is at play with virtual reality. Trials have demonstrated its use for:

• Active involvement, “providing users with immersive experiences that maximize cognitive engagement”.
• Direct, immediate and relevant feedback, which reinforces the experience and lessons learned”.
• Engagement and motivation, through “immediate rewards given for progress”
• Cost-effective, because “the cost of face-to-face training is reduced”.

Adapting to the future leveraging innovation and technology

It is worth noting that given these changes, “we will not be returning to 2019” or a similar scenario. The great shifts in the history of humanity have proven that there is no going back to the conditions of the past once a technology becomes widespread. That possibility is simply non-existent, because the environment has changed: the printing machine, the steam engine, electricity or the Internet are a few examples.

Walter Greenleaf says that people “will incorporate the lessons learned and changes into our new mode of normal” and we will make them our own. We will embrace the new and in a few years, we will not even know there ever was a different way of commuting, having conversations by default or interacting. Nobody leaves home without their smartphone nowadays.

Without a doubt, the way we interact will change. And just like technology changes us, technology must adapt to the human scale. We will soon have better avatar representations that include non-verbal communication, such as facial expressions and body language, which will enable a “distributed workforce living worldwide”—much the same way as with the emergence of the Internet.

At the same time, it is important to “plan to incorporate better ways for people living and working remotely”, to make sure they can meet online but IRL (in real life) too. That is, virtualizations must be so real that you can barely distinguish it from reality, because you feel completely at ease.

Companies “play a critical role in promoting health and wellness”, because employers are in a better position to support and shape these trends. As Jane Piper explained in her talk ‘Work-life balance and wellbeing’, we must use the technologies that better our lives, and discard the rest.

Equilibrio de la vida laboral y bienestar por Jane Piper