So, we are being told to get our “digital Christmas ready now”.

Nobody thinks that every restriction will be able to be lifted by December given where we are now with controlling Covid-19.

And it is obvious to most of us that increased compliance now will give us the best chance of being able to lift some restrictions before the end of the year.

But there are problems with the assumption that technology offers a suitable alternative.

Since the pandemic hit the answer to so many problems caused by the necessary measures put in place to stop the spread of coronavirus has been go digital.

Can’t go out? Shop online. Can’t go to work? Work from home digitally.

Apart from the fact that anyone who is using it regularly is sick to the back teeth of zoom, teams and staring at a series of two-dimensional head and shoulders like some reality version of celebrity squares.

Zoom quizzes were good during the summer for those of us able to access them with friends and family but after July 15 no-one really wanted to go back there.

Unless you are a cyber geek living in a dark basement, technology is no substitute for real life interaction with people we want to be with.

It is fine for being in touch with family on the other side of the world, in fact it is fantastic for that for those who are able to.

Which leads us to the other, more practical problem.

It may come as news to some people but not everybody has access to the technology that allows us to zoom, or facetime, skype or whatever the latest silicon valley invention is.

In Glasgow, and many other parts of the country a large number of people are what is termed digitally exclusive.

How do have a digital Christmas with an octogenarian who has never had a smart phone, laptop or tablet and has had no need for one.

How does the family who can’t afford the cost of the technology or the broadband bill “get their digital Christmas ready”?

It will leave sections of our society who are excluded already even more isolated.

A couple of years ago The Glasgow Times ran a campaign to prevent jobcentres in the city from closing.

One of the drivers for closure was the push by government to have online benefit applications and digital social security system.

One of the problems with that was so many people in the city didn’t have a) access to the type of digital equipment needed, you can’t fill out a complicated and lengthy DWP form on a phone, and B) many didn’t have the skills needed to use it.

Switching it on and off is fine. It’s everything in between that is not as easy as some would have you believe.

So, while, like Nicola Sturgeon said, Jason Leitch was trying to be “frank” with people.

And she, rightly, doesn’t want to give people false assurances, there has to be a serious recognition that if levels of the virus still demand restrictions technology is not the answer for everyone.

Christmas is a lonely time for too many people already. This year there is the potential for many more to be in that situation.

No one in their right mind would advocate a free for all, pretending the virus takes Christmas off.

But also, it has to be remembered that while for Covid, Christmas may be just another day, it is not for many people.

The potential harm that greater isolation can do, especially for those living alone, no matter what age, has to be recognised.

I’m sure it is.

But let’s not pretend that the answer for everyone lies in digital technology.

At the end of Nicola Sturgeon’s latest lunchtime briefing the First Minister asked people to think of others.

At the end of a long speech about restrictions and new strategies and complicated matters of testing and compensation for business the words may have been lost to many but they are worth repeating.

She said: “Now more than ever, we do, all of us, need to look out for each other. So let’s all of us try to do that.

“Be kind when people around you are feeling a bit down or feeling just completely scunnered. We all have days like that.

“And we know that some people, because of their particular circumstances, will be finding it much harder than others. So offer help, if you can, to people in need. Sometimes even just a smile or a kind word helps.

“Show empathy, solidarity and love for each other. We need those values now more than we have ever done before.”

I believe she means it and I believe most people would find it difficult to disagree.

To me it means not thinking everyone can respond to the challenges of this pandemic the same as others.

Everyone is affected by the pandemic but in a variety of ways be it directly though suffering it, or in increased anxiety,

For others the pain or the worry is financial now or in the future.

Some have more resilience than others. Some are able to adapt and their circumstances make it less difficult than it is for someone else.

Like she says: “Let’s help each other through it as best we can.”