Page 177 - COVID-19: The Great Reset

the quality of the video. On a virtual conversation, we have
nothing other than intense, prolonged eye contact, which can

easily become intimidating or even threatening, particularly when
a hierarchical relationship exists. This problem is magnified by the
“gallery” view, when the central vision of our brains risks being
challenged by the sheer number of people on view. There is a

threshold beyond which we cannot decode so many people at
once. Psychologists have a word for this: “continuous partial
attention”. It is as if our brain were trying to multitask, in vain of
course. At the end of the call, the constant search for nonverbal

cues that cannot be found simply overwhelms our brain. We get
the feeling of being drained of energy and left with a sense of
profound dissatisfaction. This in turn negatively affects our sense
of mental well-being.

The impact of the COVID-19 has given rise to a wider and

deeper array of mental health problems affecting greater numbers
of the population, many of whom might have been spared in the
immediate future had it not been for the pandemic. Viewed in

these terms, the coronavirus has reinforced not reset mental
health issues. However, what the pandemic has achieved with
respect to mental health, as in so many other domains, is the
acceleration of a pre-existing trend; with this has come heightened
public awareness of the severity of the problem. Mental health,

the most significant single factor affecting people’s level of
satisfaction with their lives, [156] was already on the radar screen of
policy-makers. In the post-pandemic era, these issues may now

be given the priority they deserve. This indeed would constitute a
vital reset.

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