The pandemic not only shifted the way the world operates, it also gave people a new kind of lifestyle: a fresh way to live their life.

Before the pandemic, people were always interacting with each other: students study in person at school, employees work together at their office, people hang out in the mall, we take time picking gifts for Christmas at a physical store. Many people miss how things were last year when everyone was doing things together.

“Technology” has long been the signal word in the 21st century. Passing through the industrial revolution, the information age is coming. We saw information technology being used everywhere: the phone you used to call your friends far away, the website you searched online to finish your homework, the fashion blog you checked out on Instagram, even the way you are reading this article right now. Information technology became such a crucial part of our lives in the past few years. “I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them,” American writer Isaac Asimov said.

However, people are still living their normal lives using booming technology. Technology is more like a tool. Just like we use Macbooks at school when studying, nobody ever thinks of the Macbook as a substitute for school.

Surprisingly, the information age seems to present us with another possibility of parts of the future. We could not only use the technology as a tool but also a platform that could connect us and even become the substitute for real life interaction. We experienced online school, distance working, online shopping, and all sorts of real-time meetings through a screen. People seem able to meet their objectives just by communicating through the internet. From the technology perspective, more and more companies are starting to invest or doing research in this field. A well known company, Zoom, has been experiencing an explosive growth over the pandemic. “Zoom’s video conferencing service is deepening its integral role in life during the pandemic as tens of thousands more businesses and other users pay for subscriptions to get more control over their virtual meetings,” AP Writer Michael Liedtke said.

Does that mean that our future is going to be like what we experienced during this pandemic? Not necessarily––this unique experience is more like a possibility for our society. After the pandemic, we have a new option for the future. We may take it, or change it to the form we like.