The need to go digital was felt worldwide when COVID-19 struck the world. From Zoom official calls to online classes, both adults and children felt the importance of going digital, which was a luxury and became a necessity. The need for having a common digital future was felt due to globalization but restricted international travel.
Table of Contents
7 Building Blocks For A Common Digital Future
Here is a list of seven building blocks for a common digital future that, if implemented by the governments of different countries, will improve the economy and the overall well-being of its citizens.
Access
With social distancing and country-wide lockdowns in different countries, both businesses and education were forced into online platforms. This reinforced the importance of having the basic communication infrastructure that gives access to everyone, no matter how remotely they are placed for socio-economic opportunities.
The rural-urban digital divide can be addressed by ensuring broadband and high-speed internet connection access. However, it can also be ensured by boosting the physical infrastructure to provide all basic internet services.
Use
With the world going digital, citizens should be ensured that they are equipped with the proper skills to make them fit for the digital economy.
People with proper skill sets were seen to deter the use of the digital tools available to them for creating new opportunities and be a part of the digital transformation which is happening. More people should be trained to fit into the new technology-driven world.
Innovation
Digital innovation will create new services and opportunities for the businesses both in terms of models and markets and thus, increasing the efficiency both in the public and private sector. Entrepreneurship should be promoted for further enhancing the digital transformation by providing proper financial help. Also, research and development towards digital innovation should be praised and promoted for giving rise to new business models.
Trust
When something new is introduced, there is an overall hesitation to adopt it. It was clearly seen that people were reluctant to get vaccinated against COVID. The same mindset holds true even for the digital transformation which is taking place on such a massive scale.
Governments should work hard to earn the citizens’ trust in the digital environment they are building. When working online, security issues become a huge problem for many with phishing cases. In such a scenario, boosting digital security is of utmost importance to earn users’ trust.
Jobs
Digital transformation has already started changing the market and organization landscape and creating new job opportunities. Things are uncertain, and people have now started having doubts even of their current job because of the rampant firing which is taking place due to the slow economy.
The crisis should be solved by creating jobs and offering new ways to earn money with programs like Lottery Sambad. In addition to that, a fresh perspective is also required for the labor market structure to ensure that even the migrant workers who are getting displaced due to the pandemic can earn their livelihood.
Society
With the members of society spending more time on the online world during the pandemic, there is an urgent need to consider their well-being. Government should use these opportunities to handle different societal issues which are raised by digital transformation.
Also, the lack of economic opportunities can result in violence at home which should be minimized by creating new financial opportunities like Bodoland Lottery to ensure a steady flow of income for managing the household.
Market Openness
The COVID-19 crisis has particularly proved to be tough for start-ups and medium-sized enterprises. The government should try their best to ensure that the entrepreneurship attitude of the country stays afloat using digital mediums to expand and grow. Further, it is important to stay inclusive in the online world.
Even after the pandemic, digital technology will survive and even change how we live and work. With growing technologies like 5G and IoT, things will improve. However, the resilience for the same should be maintained and boosted, and there is an urgent need to revise the traditional way of working to accommodate the digital environment.
