When future historians study the global coronavirus pandemic and how Wales responded, the material available to them will differ from previous major events.
Because of the impermanent nature of Internet communications, it is crucial to consciously collect our history, believes Rosemary Davies, who teaches subject matter at the Ysgol Dyffryn Taf school in Whitland, Carmarthenshire.
"What the pencil notes and diaries of a century or two ago would have been now are WhatsApp messages and texts that can disappear in a moment," he said.
- Cardiff students take the final exams from home
- The young carers "moved away" from the closed shops
"I can take my students to the Imperial War Museum and show them letters written from the western front, letters that the author never expected to survive for so long.
"Although it seems strange, we have to start making a conscious effort to collect these electronic communications, even in the midst of all this madness, so future generations have access to the kind of contemporary primary sources that we have been able to use in other study events. historical ".
At least six projects across Wales are already underway to record and archive people's coronavirus experiences, including efforts by Swansea University, the National Museum Wales and the National Library of Wales.
The National Museum Wales aims to create a network of community collectors who will collect oral stories, pictures and objects related to the pandemic, such as a saucepan used to "clap the assistants" or a first attempt by someone learning a new skill how to work Knitted .
Share the experiences of changing times
Aberystwyth's National Library of Wales asks the public to share their experiences of how their daily lives have changed through letters, diaries, videos, voice recordings or photographs.
Chief executive and librarian Pedr ap Llwyd said officials were busy collecting a variety of articles - from newspapers to official publications and archiving Web content - but that they could not tell the whole story on their own.
"Since its inception over a century ago, the library has collected and preserved records of events in our history as Welsh people and making them available for current and future generations," he said.
"During this time we will file an official record of the Covid-19 crisis and its effects on Wales and the population of Wales.
"However, this would not provide a complete picture of the times. Therefore, we are also eager to collect personal experiences and record the effect of the current situation on the nation's daily life."
The Swansea University CoronaDiaries project, led by senior social science teacher Dr Michael Ward, was launched in mid-March and has since attracted more than 160 collaborators from 12 different countries, aged between 10 and 89 years.
"It's a social science experiment of how we feel right now, to be accessed and used immediately," he said.
"If it turns out to be useful in the future, all the better, but I believe there are potential dangers in consciously starting the log history."
The main concern of dr. Ward is that contributors can respond differently if they are aware that their accounts are forming social history.
He added: "Not all of them in any way, but many of the letters and diaries that we consider primary sources were sincere accounts of how the writer felt at the time, completely oblivious to the fact that centuries would be read in the future.
"If I went back in time and told them that what they were writing would shape our understanding of history, then they would probably have created a very different document."
Dr. Ward also warned against making too many comparisons with life during World War II.
"People are starting to look for parallels. In truth these are quite different times," he said.
"World War II was a frenzy of activity - a struggle for life with very little time to think - while the stories I am receiving are a much more contemplative experience."
Dr Ward urged anyone who wants to share their experiences to do so with a trusted source, such as a university or national museum and library.
Focal point
"As with everything in life, think about the personal data you share, who you share it with, and what it might be used for," he said.
As for life after the blockade, Ms. Davies believes that the company will need some sort of focal point to remember what happened.
"In the same way we have Holocaust Remembrance Day or Holocaust Remembrance Day, I think once it is over there should be a national day to commemorate the people who died, the efforts of key workers and the difficult times we all have lived ".
