Euro News
Dec 31, 2021
The surge of video conferencing due to Covid-19 restrictions has fuelled concerns about the impact they have on our environment
During the peak of worldwide lockdowns last year ,our dependance on digital technology plummeted as video calls, emails, online gaming,streaming and social media have become the norm. Virtual presence replaced social life including workplace interactions which have led to increase screen time. Between February and April of 2020, global internet traffic jumped up by nearly 40%, driven by video conferences and streaming. At this rate, web traffic is set to double by 2022, with mobile internet users expected to jump to 5 billion by 2025 from 3.8 billion last year,according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
A small step, which is as simple as turning off your camera during a video conference can help conserve water, land and cut emission. A recent study conducted by Purdue University revealed that as much as 12 liters of water, an area of land around the size of an iPad mini is being used and a range of 150 to 1000 grams of carbon dioxide are emitted every 60 minutes of streaming or video.
This new study is one of firsts where scientists have discovered the way our internet impacts our natural resources, rather than solely focusing on carbon emissions. (Source: Euro News) This means if you would want your company to be green and reduce its carbon footprint, you could instruct your employees to leave the sweats on, turn off their cameras as they're saving the environment. This new year as we wish our loved ones far away, remember to turn off the video after a while.
Let's start this year with a simple action that makes a huge impact. Wishing you the season’s best as you enter a new year!