The use of digital resources is now very useful because of the pandemic. But I must also conclude that it is very unclear in terms of reach and operation. In the recent past, due to a lack of vision of the digital possibilities, little to nothing has been invested in reaching voters online in an appropriate way. And by 'reaching' I mean without selectivity or manipulation, and then also all voters !
For the next elections, but also for other situations, a concept for a 'citizen platform' could be developed and implemented. This is an environment that can be set up by the government to facilitate, protect and reach all citizens. It is a safe environment within the public internet. This also makes it possible to cast a vote online safely and not just once every four years.
Due to the enormous impact of the corona pandemic, all attention has been focused on it and another epidemic fax lists has been snowed under. Politicians may not be so sad about this, because they have unfortunately shown little understanding of this digital epidemic and its influence on society . And this while at the same time the consequences of the corona crisis are being mitigated in all kinds of areas by the use of digital resources. Just think of working from home, distance learning, online shopping or video calling.
Corona has given the digitalization of society a big push. But due to the prevailing lack of understanding, this has also resulted in undesirable consequences, such as cybercrime, spreading fake news, organizing riots, privacy violations or the exclusion of certain groups.
At the same time, digital options were poorly or too limitedly applied. As a result, certain things did not go well, such as processing test results or vaccinations. Society could have reopened further if digital options had been applied to, for example, access controls with vaccination or test certificates. Such a controlled approach to reopening society will only become more important. We will have to deal with viruses and their many mutations for years to come. If we do not prepare for this, the social and economic damage will be uncontrollable.