Virtual 'Reality'

Times of crisis, particularly war, have always led to innovation. This pandemic isn’t war, but it’s definitely caused a fast-paced and unprecedented boom in communication technology innovation. Whilst this is important at the moment to keep things moving, and some amazing technologies have been created or adapted for various purposes, it scares the shit out of me. Why? Because people are talking about these virtual lectures, meetings, events and workplaces carrying on and replacing the live version even after the lock down is over.

In my latest (and final) course of my master’s degree, we have had to install 2 new programs to collaborate with our group members – the programs have some great functions, but to put it bluntly, I hate working in virtual groups – and I’m definitely not the only one. The most common question that my classmates and I have been asking each other is: ‘Why hasn’t the syllabus been changed to remove some of the group work during the pandemic?’

In theory, yes, it should be fine. We can see each other, hear each other, collaborate on virtual white boards or Google docs and make group chats to discuss things outside meetings. But something intangible is missing. One is the build-up of trust that comes when group members get to know each other which allows for constructive disagreement and progress. As much as we try, it doesn’t seem possible to manifest this trust when you’ve only ever met and worked with people online. Sure, this might not be an issue if you only need to discuss a few things with someone in another location or another organisation for a certain project. But when you are a new team, dependent on each other for delivering a project and have never been able to interact in person? In all the group work we have done these past three months (and it has a been a ridiculous amount), the lack of personal contact has really changed the quality, and the enjoyment of the degree for the worse.

Besides the building of trust, there is also the social aspect and the social atmosphere of interacting with people in your team, or with clients or even competition. In the virtual workspace, it’s all about getting to the point so you can get off the call in an efficient timeframe and take the next one or send the ever-important follow up email. There’s hardly any joking or discovering people’s interests or making friends. There’s no going out for drinks after a meeting because you’re all in different places, so even though the pubs and bars are open now, people aren’t going to jump off Zoom and make their way to the same pub which might be an hour across the city. So, we are missing out on the fun and the social development that would normally come with working in a team.

By taking the physical contact out of our work, be it educational or professional, it seems to me we may be in danger of destroying all of the effort that has gone into analysing and implementing effective team working environments over the past century. On top of this, from my personal experience, without the opportunity to make friends at work and university, people might grow increasingly lonely and demotivated, further lowering the quality of work produced overall as a society.

Many people complain about their commute – I used to find it a bit of a nuisance as well. But after three months of waking up to simply wash my face and walk two steps to the computer in my lounge (set up on my dining room table), as soon as I was allowed to make that commute back to the office, I did it with a smile. I don’t have lots of colleagues at the office – we are a small company, and not everyone is back, but I get to interact with the family who run the café where I buy my coffee; with people who might hold the door open for me or who I might let get on the train before me, or who I might just smile at on the street. It might not seem like much, but it’s a million times better than sitting in your house all day talking to people through a screen. And most of those people I’m seeing every day when I go to work now – they also don’t have to be back to the office yet, but they are – and I would say it’s for the same reasons as me.

As close to reality as the virtual world may be, it’s not real. It’s not human and it’s not helpful for our social development and the enjoyment of our lives. I just hope enough people see and feel that to prevent a virtual ‘reality’ replacing the real thing.