If you want to get an insight into how people are dealing with the COVID-19 lockdown, you need look no further than the apps they’re downloading and sites they’re visiting. Here you get a real indication of what people are doing with their time, and the tools they need to live and work from home.
Here are some apps that have seen user numbers skyrocket as a result of the current regulations.
Slack is a business communications platform that aims to keep projects and communications together in one place. Though it was popular before the lockdown, changes to the way we work have seen its popularity increase – in fact, Slack’s share value increased by an enormous 33.5% in recent weeks.
It’s not all work and no play, however, as games have also done well. Psych is one such app, which uses a premise that has been the mainstay of countless ‘icebreaker’ sessions the world over. For this, you reveal a series of facts about yourself, some of which are true and some that aren’t. It’s then up to your fellow players to guess which is which. Following a mention on the hugely popular US chat show Ellen, the app has seen millions of downloads – showing the need for people to continue playing games and interacting with their friends, albeit from afar.
Finally, it seems people are still looking for love despite the regulations on social distancing. At a time when many may have expected a decrease in traffic, dating app Bumble has actually posted notable growth in its user numbers. This can perhaps be attributed to its video chat feature, which allows couples to go on a virtual date from the comfort of their own homes. Surely enough, both the number of video chats and their average duration have increased in recent weeks. It seems that whilst things seem far from normal currently, people are still looking for ways to go about their business, engage with friends and meet new people, just as they would do ordinarily.
