The Week in Tech: We’re Testing How Much the Internet Can Handle – The New York Times

The Week in Tech: We’re Testing How Much the Internet Can Handle – The New York Times

We are more dependent on technology than ever. Can it handle the strain?

Lucas Dela Cruz leading a lesson over Zoom from One Martial Arts in Millbrae, Calif.Credit…Stephen Lam/Reuters

Next week, Bits will be evolving into the On Tech With Shira Ovide newsletter. With a pandemic upon us, the significant effect that technology is having on our families, work, safety and sense of self is even more apparent. What is this reliance on technology doing to us and our communities — and is it good or bad? Shira will be your guide to this constantly changing world, during the coronavirus crisis and beyond.

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We were already so dependent on technology. Now, even more so.

Hi, I’m Cade Metz. I write about emerging technology in The New York Times’s San Francisco bureau. Like many of you, I’m working from my home.

As my colleagues Mike Isaac and Sheera Frenkel reported, the volume of messages sent via Facebook and Instagram has grown more than 50 percent in countries that have ordered people to stay home amid the coronavirus outbreak. Voice calls over Facebook apps have more than doubled. In Italy, where a tight quarantine is in place, the number of group calls has climbed more than 1,000 percent.

And those are just the top-level stats from a single company.

As our dependence continues to rise, the question is whether the technology — and the companies behind it — can handle the added strain. If they can, their hold on our lives may grow even tighter.

Videoconferencing apps like Zoom and Google Hangouts, not to mention good old fashioned phone calls, are rapidly replacing the face-to-face communication so many of us crave. Microsoft said the number of people using its Teams app — a way for business colleagues to collaborate — grew 37 percent in one week, rising past 44 million.

Not everything can be delivered over the internet as easily as a video feed, but online retailers are an increasingly important path to all the stuff that can’t. Amazon is hiring more than 10,000 more workers to deal with the enormous spike in online shopping.

Nextdoor, a social networking app for connecting with neighbors, is helping people get their hands on prescription medicines and all sorts of other stuff they cannot exactly order through Amazon. As described by John Herrman, a Times tech and media reporter, no physical contact is required.

In the long run, the companies behind all this technology could emerge from the pandemic as an even greater force in our lives. So said a Mount Rushmore of Times tech reporters: Daisuke Wakabayashi, Jack Nicas, Steve Lohr and Mike Isaac.

But in the short term, these companies are facing their own problems.

Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, told The Times that the company was “just trying to keep the lights on” as its more than 45,000 employees — who are themselves working from home — struggled to accommodate the traffic increase. The surge is slowing download speeds and degrading video quality, as my colleagues Cecilia Kang, Davey Alba and Adam Satariano explained.

According to The Washington Post, workers at 10 of Amazon’s warehouses have tested positive for the coronavirus, and some facilities have been temporarily shut down for cleaning. Other workers have been quarantined.

Google and Facebook could lose more than $44 billion in revenue this year because of the pandemic, as the world’s businesses cut back on advertising. Of course, as Variety’s Todd Spangler pointed out, both tech giants will still be enormously profitable.

Though advertising dollars are dropping, the appetite for news on these services is moving rapidly in the other direction. According to an internal company report obtained by The Times, the past few weeks have brought “an unprecedented increase in the consumption of news articles on Facebook.”

Everyone wants to know what’s happening and what to do. Hopefully, the news will keep coming even as the ad dollars keep dropping.

  • Two start-ups were marketing at-home kits that let people collect saliva samples and throat swabs and send them to labs for coronavirus testing. But both companies suspended sales after the Food and Drug Administration said it had not authorized such products, Natasha Singer reported.

  • Two iPhone manufacturers in India suspended production because of the coronavirus lockdown, according to Bloomberg News.

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    • How does coronavirus spread?

      It seems to spread very easily from person to person, especially in homes, hospitals and other confined spaces. The pathogen can be carried on tiny respiratory droplets that fall as they are coughed or sneezed out. It may also be transmitted when we touch a contaminated surface and then touch our face.

    • What makes this outbreak so different?

      Unlike the flu, there is no known treatment or vaccine, and little is known about this particular virus so far. It seems to be more lethal than the flu, but the numbers are still uncertain. And it hits the elderly and those with underlying conditions — not just those with respiratory diseases — particularly hard.

    • What should I do if I feel sick?

      If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.

    • What if somebody in my family gets sick?

      If the family member doesn’t need hospitalization and can be cared for at home, you should help him or her with basic needs and monitor the symptoms, while also keeping as much distance as possible, according to guidelines issued by the C.D.C. If there’s space, the sick family member should stay in a separate room and use a separate bathroom. If masks are available, both the sick person and the caregiver should wear them when the caregiver enters the room. Make sure not to share any dishes or other household items and to regularly clean surfaces like counters, doorknobs, toilets and tables. Don’t forget to wash your hands frequently.

    • Should I wear a mask?

      Experts are divided on how much protection a regular surgical mask, or even a scarf, can provide for people who aren’t yet sick. The W.H.O. and C.D.C. say that unless you’re already sick, or caring for someone who is, wearing a face mask isn’t necessary. And stockpiling high-grade N95 masks will make it harder for nurses and other workers to access the resources they need. But researchers are also finding that there are more cases of asymptomatic transmission than were known early on in the pandemic. And a few experts say that masks could offer some protection in crowded places where it is not possible to stay 6 feet away from other people. Masks don’t replace hand-washing and social distancing.

    • Should I stock up on groceries?

      Plan two weeks of meals if possible. But people should not hoard food or supplies. Despite the empty shelves, the supply chain remains strong. And remember to wipe the handle of the grocery cart with a disinfecting wipe and wash your hands as soon as you get home.

    • Should I pull my money from the markets?

      That’s not a good idea. Even if you’re retired, having a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds so that your money keeps up with inflation, or even grows, makes sense. But retirees may want to think about having enough cash set aside for a year’s worth of living expenses and big payments needed over the next five years.