Online systems and platforms have and will continue to help our society greatly in many ways amidst

the changes that the pandemic has made these recent years. Essentially, online platforms are digital
services that facilitate interaction between people, wherein they can exchange content, goods, and
services through a network. Due to these unforeseen circumstances, these online platforms and
systems have become a necessity for many people. It has become an essential part of our economy,
livelihoods, and even our culture and way of life. Thus, it is important for us to understand how it can
better help our society in the face of the pandemic. So for this reflection paper, I will discuss the
different ways that each of these platforms helps our society in relation to the pandemic.

Ease of access to information has been the greatest help that online platforms have given our
society. Sharing of factual information is a must during a pandemic -or any kind of crisis for that
matter- because it helps people make better-informed decisions, which in turn lessens the bad effects
of the pandemic. Online platforms will make this sharing of information more accessible through the
use of news aggregators, search engines, communication platforms, and social networks.

Access to goods and services is one of the things that is heavily affected by pandemics due to social
distancing. Luckily, online platforms such as online marketplaces and sharing economy exist, which
will give us access to these goods and services with limited social contacts during pandemics. In
addition, we can pay each other in cashless ways through the use of payment systems.

Online platforms can also help our society in unique ways, like the development of our culture for
instance. Due to the boredom of social distancing, many people have turned to music and video-
sharing platforms to entertain themselves. Because of this, music and culture were able to be shared
at a faster rate than normal.

Even though we weren't able to go outside during the pandemic, Google Maps was still one of the
most visited sites in the early stages of the pandemic. I personally used it as a simulation for traveling
the world and going outside using its street view function. But the biggest use of it during the
pandemic was the “Covid-19 Google Maps update” which showed a graphical estimation of the
number of cases in a given region, which helped us mitigate the spread of the virus.

I personally think that search engines and the app stores are the most important online platforms of
them all. With the use of these two online platforms, we are able to access or download other online
platforms that will be beneficial for our society at large with just a few keywords.

Online systems and platforms are indeed helpful in our society, especially during a pandemic. There
are numerous ways that online platforms can be used to help our society, and I haven’t even
mentioned the economic and educational ones. Understanding these never-ending ways that online
systems and platforms can help society is important so that we can always be ready to adapt and
change for any unpredictable challenges ahead of us with the aid of these platforms.