Public interest in the digital transformation accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and perception of its future impact

Background/Aims The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has accelerated digital transformation (DT). We investigated the trend of the public interest in technologies regarding the DT and Koreans’ experiences and their perceptions of the future impact of these technologies. Methods Using Goo...

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Main Authors: Joo-Young Park, Kangsun Lee, Doo Ryeon Chung
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Korean Association of Internal Medicine 2022-11-01
Series:The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:http://kjim.org/upload/pdf/kjim-2022-129.pdf
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author Joo-Young Park
Kangsun Lee
Doo Ryeon Chung
author_facet Joo-Young Park
Kangsun Lee
Doo Ryeon Chung
author_sort Joo-Young Park
collection DOAJ
description Background/Aims The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has accelerated digital transformation (DT). We investigated the trend of the public interest in technologies regarding the DT and Koreans’ experiences and their perceptions of the future impact of these technologies. Methods Using Google Trends, the relative search volume (RSV) for topics including “coronavirus,” “artificial intelligence,” “cloud,” “big data,” and “metaverse” were retrieved for the period from January 2020 to January 2022. A survey was conducted to assess the population’s knowledge, experience, and perceptions regarding the DT. Results The RSV for “metaverse” showed an increasing trend, in contrast to those for “cloud,” “big data,” and “coronavirus.” The RSVs for DT-related keywords had a negative correlation with the number of new weekly COVID-19 cases. In our survey, 78.1% responded that the positive impact of the DT on future lives would outweigh the negative impact. The predictors for this positive perception included experiences with the metaverse (4.0-fold) and virtual reality (VR)/augmented reality (AR) education (3.8-fold). Respondents predicted that the biggest change would occur in the healthcare sector after transportation/communication. Conclusions Koreans’ search interest for “metaverse” showed an increasing trend during the COVID-19 pandemic. Koreans believe that DT will bring about big changes in the healthcare sector. Most of the survey respondents have a positive outlook about the impact of DT on future life, and the predictors for this positive perception include the experiences with the metaverse or VR/AR education. Healthcare professionals need to accelerate the adoption of DT in clinical practice, education and training.
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spelling doaj.art-4f66cad5557e4d3787b6b0c2e3de1d162022-12-22T04:39:41ZengThe Korean Association of Internal MedicineThe Korean Journal of Internal Medicine1226-33032005-66482022-11-013761223123310.3904/kjim.2022.129170727Public interest in the digital transformation accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and perception of its future impactJoo-Young Park0Kangsun Lee1Doo Ryeon Chung2 Department of Convergence Software, Myongji University, Seoul, Korea Department of Convergence Software, Myongji University, Seoul, Korea Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, KoreaBackground/Aims The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has accelerated digital transformation (DT). We investigated the trend of the public interest in technologies regarding the DT and Koreans’ experiences and their perceptions of the future impact of these technologies. Methods Using Google Trends, the relative search volume (RSV) for topics including “coronavirus,” “artificial intelligence,” “cloud,” “big data,” and “metaverse” were retrieved for the period from January 2020 to January 2022. A survey was conducted to assess the population’s knowledge, experience, and perceptions regarding the DT. Results The RSV for “metaverse” showed an increasing trend, in contrast to those for “cloud,” “big data,” and “coronavirus.” The RSVs for DT-related keywords had a negative correlation with the number of new weekly COVID-19 cases. In our survey, 78.1% responded that the positive impact of the DT on future lives would outweigh the negative impact. The predictors for this positive perception included experiences with the metaverse (4.0-fold) and virtual reality (VR)/augmented reality (AR) education (3.8-fold). Respondents predicted that the biggest change would occur in the healthcare sector after transportation/communication. Conclusions Koreans’ search interest for “metaverse” showed an increasing trend during the COVID-19 pandemic. Koreans believe that DT will bring about big changes in the healthcare sector. Most of the survey respondents have a positive outlook about the impact of DT on future life, and the predictors for this positive perception include the experiences with the metaverse or VR/AR education. Healthcare professionals need to accelerate the adoption of DT in clinical practice, education and training.http://kjim.org/upload/pdf/kjim-2022-129.pdfcoronavirusmetaversevirtual realityaugmented realitydelivery of health care
spellingShingle Joo-Young Park
Kangsun Lee
Doo Ryeon Chung
Public interest in the digital transformation accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and perception of its future impact
The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine
coronavirus
metaverse
virtual reality
augmented reality
delivery of health care
title Public interest in the digital transformation accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and perception of its future impact
title_full Public interest in the digital transformation accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and perception of its future impact
title_fullStr Public interest in the digital transformation accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and perception of its future impact
title_full_unstemmed Public interest in the digital transformation accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and perception of its future impact
title_short Public interest in the digital transformation accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and perception of its future impact
title_sort public interest in the digital transformation accelerated by the covid 19 pandemic and perception of its future impact
topic coronavirus
metaverse
virtual reality
augmented reality
delivery of health care
url http://kjim.org/upload/pdf/kjim-2022-129.pdf
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AT dooryeonchung publicinterestinthedigitaltransformationacceleratedbythecovid19pandemicandperceptionofitsfutureimpact