What lasting effects will the corona crisis have on our behaviour? CTF, the Center for Service Research, wants to find out in a new study. The aim is to gain deeper knowledge of which digitization measures are worth investing in for the future.
Erik Wästlund, docent in psychology, is the project manager for CTF's study.
In the survey study, researchers from CTF at Karlstad University will examine how people's habits and behavior are changing due to the corona crisis. If new habits arise and which ones you want to continue with even after the crisis, but also which old habits are impossible to maintain with the help of digital technology.
- New technology makes it possible for us to maintain habits such as having coffee with loved ones, having meetings with colleagues and seeing a doctor - even if it happens digitally via the internet. However, not everything is feasible with new technology, such as spending time with other people in physical environments, says project manager Erik Wästlund, associate professor of psychology.
According to him, the corona crisis provides an opportunity to capture people's behaviors and experiences in real time via the survey study. The purpose of the study is to gain more knowledge about the development of digitized services with the user's needs in focus. The results are to be used in continued research around digitization to gain increased knowledge about what is worth digitizing. Knowledge that, in turn, can benefit business and the public sector in their work to develop digital services that meet the user's needs.
How big of an impact do you think the fact that many people have now been forced to switch to more digital behaviors will have on the rate of digitization in society?
- I think the current situation can be seen as an accelerator for digitalisation. Suddenly we are forced to depart from previous habits and imagined truths, says Erik Wästlund.
Are there any habits that you, even before the study is complete, are pretty sure will become more digital when the corona crisis is over?
- Definitely digital meetings. We will not ride the train for several hours for a one-hour meeting only to get on the train and go home again.
The survey was completed on April 28. According to Erik Wästlund, the first, preliminary results from the study will likely be presented before the summer.
