Was 2020 a Failure?

Looking back on 2020, there were a lot of disappointments to say the very least. I remember Covid-19 as the first. Then other health issues related or not… who knows for sure. Death. Job losses by way too many gainfully employed people. Isolation from family and friends causing loneliness and depression for many. Financial loss!

Oh, let us not forget the maturity of our foremost politicians. Has that been fun or what? And it continues today. Racial unrest, fake news, bad news, gathering places closed, limited access, small and larger business failures. Churches affected. Schools with delayed openings then A/B scheduling. Robin, my wife, and I ended the year on December 31 testing positive for Covid… what a great year!

Was there optimism anywhere? It was not anywhere near enough to make up for what the pandemic created, but the tech world was fortuitously ready to help.

One thing which helped many to keep going was the internet. If you are old enough to remember, like me, it used to be much harder to work than today’s internet. I remember the internet in the early ‘90s. Do you remember or have you ever heard of IRC? It officially stood for Internet Relay Chat. It was a very basic predecessor to messenger apps of today, and I mean very basic.

In 2020, the internet was ready to help. Think about if we had no internet or the related technologies. It provided a way to “go” to the doctor’s office for a visit. Telemedicine was an unfamiliar word that apparently many patients and doctors believe is here to stay after the pandemic is over. I read a report where telemedical visits save the doctor’s time and they say the patients on average save approximately 100 minutes per visit. They do not have to travel to the office, sign in, and sit in the waiting room. A patient has to be ready for the meeting about 10 minutes early and then see the doctor.

How about the millions of people that still have jobs by being able to work from home? Think of this also, depending on who your internet service provider is, those employees have uninterrupted access to complete all of their work. Employers have found that many people get to work earlier at home, work a little later, and are more productive.

Schools have been closed, opened, closed, and virtual, and I know parents are not always really excited by that (believe me, neither are the kids). However, with the internet from home, the kids can still get an education. As a former teacher, I know students need more socialization than they get with only mom, dad, older siblings, grandparents, or whoever. But the alternative could be no education going on in schools, colleges, universities, etc.

2020 was not even close to perfect for many reasons, but as we all realize, it could have been much worse. Let us hope that the pandemic ends as quickly as possible and life returns to normal. Remember, more people were working, not as many in poverty, and there were social gatherings in groups of however many could fit in the building. However, I still hope we keep some things like working from home, telemedicine, and one I did not mention; visiting long-distance relatives via Zoom. I especially like Zoom visits.