Colleen McClain, Olivia Sidoti and Monica Anderson contributed to this chapter.
For many Americans, life in the early days of COVID-19 was lived on screens. Schools pivoted to virtual learning and businesses shuttered or moved online as in-person contact risked spreading the virus.
Not everyone could – or wanted to – avoid in-person interaction. And some did not have the resources or skills to navigate this technological shift. But for others, relying more on technology was the “new normal.”
Some of these changes are still with us: 48% of Americans say the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way they now use technology, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in October 2024.
This includes 18% who say the pandemic changed their current technology use in a major way.
Like Americans’ pandemic experiences, these changes – and their impacts – are far from one-size-fits-all.
