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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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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The Korean Association of Internal Medicine
2022-11-01
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Series: | The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine |
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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. |
first_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:35:57Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-4f66cad5557e4d3787b6b0c2e3de1d16 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1226-3303 2005-6648 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:35:57Z |
publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
publisher | The Korean Association of Internal Medicine |
record_format | Article |
series | The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine |
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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