Psycho-social Impact of Covid 19 and Technological Intervention towards Preserving Social Interactions in Sri Lanka

Abstract

COVID 19 pandemic has been made plenty of socio-economic and health crisis in worldwide. The research problem in this study was, how does technology intervene in social interaction and the research question was ‘what is the psycho-social effects of social distance during the Covid 19 period’. Study Objectives were limited to identifying the features of the psycho-social situation of students who are in the age group of 18-25 and to identifying the technological impact of maintaining social interaction. The alternative hypothesis was, ‘there is an impact between technological intervention towards preserving social interactions. The ontological approach of this research is objectivism and the epistemological approach is positivistic. The research type is descriptive, cross-sectional and quantitative. The research was designed with a survey method. The hypothesis was tested through validated questionnaires. The sample was obtained using the simple random method which is representing the probability sampling method. There is more time to spend with family members. Family contact for more than 16 hours has been increased by 9%. Talking time with friends has been increased. The time allocated for studies has been relatively reduced. But the time for leisure time activities has been increased. Outdoor sports by young people have dropped by 32%. Young people are isolated in every way. Young people use technology to reduce distance. The most common devices are smartphones and laptops. 47% of young people have not seen a doctor during the Covid period for any disease. Only about 10% have seen a doctor for mucosal diseases. About 50% of young people have stress. Anxiety and depression are also more with young people. There is no mental disease with 33% of them. They mostly feel loneliness, tension, and frustration. But some of them feel relaxed and happy. 50% of them feel that they have extra time during this period. They use it to chat with family members and friends. But they lost their extra-curricula activities. They have an idea to adjust to new normal situations via technology.