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What will a post COVID-19 world look like?

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What will a post COVID-19 world look like?

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I've lost track a little bit of how long this pandemic has been ongoing, especially due to the month or so now that we've all been quarantining. This way of life is beginning to feel almost ordinary and I feel less and less compelled to watch or read news about the COVID-19 situation.

Most of my thoughts regarding the coronavirus recently have actually been about the viruses impact on our future as a society and a world community rather than the present. I wonder how our lifestyles and culture will be shaped by this rather sudden and dramatic change in recent events.

How might forms/method of communication change? How might educational institutions change? How might the public's relationship with the government change? How might interpersonal relationships change? How might dating, online and in person change? How might simple things like shopping change?

I think these sorts of things are bound to be impacted by the coronavirus even if only temporarily. I'm most ly curious how a generation of children who experience this will begin to conceptualize interpersonal communication and the concept of physical communities. Technology has played a big role in communication and information recently and I wonder to what degree the ways we are living now will become normalized.

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Distrust & ambiguity in light of COVID-19

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Distrust & ambiguity in light of COVID-19

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I've noticed lately that many of the adults in my life are becoming progressively angry about the way the coronavirus situation is being handled by the media, medical institutions and by our government. Online a lot anti-establishment conspiracy theories have also been sprouting. These theories range from China, America or Bill Gates starting the pandemic to 5G radiation poisoning being the real reason for the symptoms we're suddenly experiencing on a global scale. All of the theories I've heard ultimately relate to the hypothetical threat that the government is trying to ease us into a sense of fear and a lack of freedom.

Having very mild emotional reactions to these theories in comparison to the people I've seen online who are rather invested in them has me wondering why such a strong divide exists between COVID-19 conspiracy theorists and non-theorists.

Most people that I know in my age demographic are seemingly unbothered by the potential of these theories being even remotely true. I wonder if this has to do with the fact that many adults are settled in their lives and careers and have, maybe for the first time, had their sense of stability and security challenged.

I know that for a lot of young people that are still in school or figuring out their life, uncertainty and instability is just a fact of life. Maybe that's why I've found most people in my age group to be much more calm about the situation's ambiguity. I'd love to ask more people what they think about this before I jump to any conclusions though.

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Encounters with customers during COVID-19

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Encounters with customers during COVID-19

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At Shoppers we have began setting limits on purchases of specific items. For instance, toilet paper, disinfectants and cleaning products as well as food essentials such as milk, eggs and bread are all limited. One of those limitations is also set on our jugs of water of two per person.

One man who came in, probably in his 50s or 60s, was hoping to buy three jugs of water. When I informed him about our limit on water, he tried to argue with me that the he couldn't take any less than three. He told me his mother was sick and was on some sort of life-support machine that required a gallon of water per day. "How am I supposed to quarantine if I'm coming out everyday to look for water?" he asked. "I've been to like three other stores already."

We've had many customers try to trick and/or lie to us to get special treatment but considering the severity of his claim, I called over a supervisor who after being worn down by him finally allowed him three jugs of water.

As she walked away, not hiding her annoyance, he told her we should be more considerate of people like him. "It's hard to find water and people like you make it more difficult."

My supervisor responded, "If people weren't buying three jugs each, they wouldn't be hard to find."

I think my manager had a point, but assuming the man was being honest, I feel for him too. There seems to be a contradiction in our public rhetoric right now that demands we quarantine, but also that we don't buy a lot of food and supplies. Speaking with that man, despite his impoliteness, suggests that for many people, circumstances can't allow for both.

As a side note, the customer waiting in line behind him rolled his eyes as the man left with is water and berated his hoarding (despite his own attempt to purchase three packs of toilet paper). When I brought up the supposed reasoning, regarding the first man's sick mother, the new customer responded dismissively.

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Reddit thread: What has the COVID-19 virus made you realize?

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Reddit thread: What has the COVID-19 virus made you realize?

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While skimming through a popular subreddit thread, I came across a forum asking "What has the COVID-19 virus made you realize?" Many respondents described feeling unwanted or disrespected by their place of employment, many others expressing a lack of fulfillment outside of their work life, but one that stuck with me the most, is the response shared above.

In summary, this user, u/mygrossassthrowaway, mentioned how little they had considered the availability of everything in their country until things were no longer as readily available. To quote them, "That an average joe like me can, in the dead of winter, reliably expect to see oranges in the produce aisle" is a blessing he had never realized he had.

Reading this has greatly reduced the stress I feel when trying to buy food and finding that certain things I'm looking for are sold out. I've had to give up on my very specific diet over the course of the last few weeks as grocery shopping for my restrictions has become too difficult for me to maintain. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, this post has allowed me to view our shortages in Canada as a sort of empathy exercise.

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Contrary to many people who have expressed boredom during quarantining, I've found myself more busy than usual. In a lot of ways, I'm mildly excited for the future in terms of my hobbies and pass times.

Going to a commuters' university in a busy downtown area, I've found myself getting used to all the time I spend travelling and to and from school. Now with Zoom classes being the main mode of teaching in my courses, I have been sleeping more, going for walks, playing video games, dedicating more time to my art and drawing commissions and I've also found time to re-immerse myself in a cross-stitching project I had been working on. Not to mention that work has provided me, somewhat, with a sense of routine in my week and final essays and assignments have also occupied my time.

I don't feel bored, but I do feel much more prone to procrastination. Something a classmate mentioned in a Zoom meeting the other day was that having the entire day to start working on an assignment has made it difficult to motivate herself to work. This has been the hardest aspect of quarantining for me.

Based on people I've spoken to about their mental health surrounding quarantining and the coronavirus, I've found that I'm not the only one who feels more mentally sound than I normally do. Still, I wonder if my age demographic is a little less concerned stressed about this situation due to the fact that many of us have parents to support us through the difficult times of not having a reliable income. Many of my mom and also many of dad's friends are feeling less secure and more worried about the future.

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons & escapism

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons & escapism

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On March 20th, 2020, a long awaited Nintendo video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons was finally released. After a couple of weeks of uncertainty and panic surrounding the COVID-19 situation, the game has been receiving a lot of praise online and is selling out in stores.

The game is a life simulator in which, as the game's protagonist, you arrive on a deserted island, make the island your own by building/decorating and then invite friendly animal characters and other players online, to come and visit you. In a sense, it's the perfect method of escapism from the issues faced in real life today.

While the game had always been highly anticipated throughout its development, I think the timeliness of the game has a lot to do with why it blew up the way it did. Fans of previous titles in the Animal Crossing series even went so far as to make organize a sort of call to action, asking Nintendo to release the game a few days early due to the pandemic. While this didn't happen, it's obvious that many people were desperate to escape into a world that feels much safer and much more productive than real life can feel right now.

One of the many customers at Shoppers who purchase the game from our electronic department seemed relieved that we had a copy. When I told her, a lady in her 30s or 40s to enjoy the game, she said, "Oh, it's not for me. It's for the four rabid kids at home who have nothing to do." This lead me to realize that another issue this game has solved, for some families, is the inability to keep their children busy while in quarantine.

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Rising social stigma surrounding sickness

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Rising social stigma surrounding sickness

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Yesterday I had a tingle in my throat.

While I didn't feel scared of it potentially being anything, I was afraid of what a common cold might mean for my job at Shoppers Drug Mart.

Lucky for me, Shoppers is one of the few businesses that is remaining open, despite the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic reaching a state of emergency in Ontario. Unluckily, I'm still on probation. Because I'm a cashier, having a cough could make our patrons uncomfortable.

I was also afraid it would be enough to get me fired. My classmate informed me that it's been determined that no one can be penalized for not working.  Besides, my cold symptoms are gone before they really started since I've been taking immune system boosters.