Since the beginning of the Pandemic, I have witnessed my ‘sleepy crescent’ become a bit closer. There are about 8 of us neighbours that all speak and share things with each other. We offer to do groceries for one of the older ones, we share gardening advice, and gently used kids toys, we exchange holiday gifts and new baby presents. When there have been emergency vehicles on the street, we all come out to see who it is and what help we can lend. I cannot say this is the norm for all communities though. I have witnessed an influx of people pulling away from in-person life and choosing the virtual world as a preference. I agree with the author of this article, self-servitude does not build communities. I strongly feel there is a need for in-person community bonding to counter the isolation felt from the Pandemic, especially for the growing number of elderly people in our communities. 

 Article: Levy, A. (2020, May 20). Coronavirus: How crisis helps us connect with strangers. World Economic Forum.

Andy Levy writes with compassion and from his observations and current research about what he witnessed and felt about life and community during the Pandemic. The article starts with a medical fact about the coronavirus. It then explores the mountainous ways life, relationships, and society have had to adapt because of Covid-19.

I like the question posed to the reader, how are people dealing with these lifestyle changes? The article pulls together why humans behave the way they do; from a psychologist's perspective. We are social beings, and lockdowns and social distancing have created stretches of loneliness, depression, and isolation for many. The article highlights the importance of modern technology during this upheaval allowing people to stay connected, which studies suggest is paramount as humans require emotional and social connections to thrive. The majority of society (followed public safety measures) and found comfort in that we were not alone in this crisis. This led to a sense of togetherness and common ground with people we know and those we don't ( strangers), and we adjusted how we conduct our lives.

 Andy Levy, in this article, does not write about a loss of community. But perhaps a shared shift towards our united and global need for social justice, mindfulness, and collective accountability in the world we share. 

Has the Pandemic created a new blueprint for how we live, play, work and connect in communities moving forward? I believe Andy Levy's article encourages the reader to ponder (hope) that it has.

 Ahh! the good old days, when your basement had wood paneling and it stayed that way until the renovation boom started. When I was younger, we were considered poor, but we had a richness in family and community. Most days kids played on the streets for hours on end and it seemed like the norm. Today, if you found a handful of kids playing on the street you might be tempted to call your local newspaper or post it on Facebook out of shock. 

The funny thing is in recent memory some have called the police to shut down kids playing sports on their own streets! Now that’s what they call being neighborly eh? If there were a study on neighbor relationships in poor or lower income neighborhoods vs wealthier ones, I would expect to see a stark difference because I believe there is a simplicity about not having all that the world has to offer and being more open to others. Now just for fun, (we don't need to do this) let’s see a show of hands to see who (in our class) would really like to be asynchronous or synchronous if extenuating circumstances were not an issue. 

Additionally, Covid added another layer to independence, let's be honest.  The pandemic will go down in history as one of the major influences that ushered in new technologies to pacify healthy relationships in the 21st century. It has made people rethink the importance of family or each other as well as forced us to look at some grave consequences of being in the presence of others, far more or less often.

 Covid 19 forced us to rethink our mindsets surrounding our communities, families, and individuals in whole new ways, for example, with zoom meetings, learning in schools, and online shopping. Yes, the collective "we" on a whole are dusting ourselves off from this incongruent dissonant reality, but not without some harmful lessons that will be realized for years to come. 

 In closing, technology has steered the way we communicate, however, Covid tipped its hat to this progression as well. I also believe there are other forces at play here but that is for another course and another time. 

Back in the day, when I was young, I used to run around in the neighborhood alleys with bunch of friends. It was definitely beautiful and warm.

But if you ask me to live as we did back then—leave my keys next door, people come into my house at any time, share the bathroom, and borrow things—well, I'd say I can't imagine that now.

Like the last sentence in this article, yes, everyone needs a good neighbor.

However, in this era, the concept of neighbor is changing, and the way of interacting with neighbors has changed for a long time.

The author expresses that the community is dying. In addition, the author suggests that factors.

Conversely, the factors that have contributed to the decline of these communities are also things that have made our lives faster, more efficient, and more convenient in a way.

Personally, I think the development of social media is probably the biggest factor.

Whatever it is, there is always a price to be paid for the development and progress of mankind. The concept of neighbor has changed. The community is in decline. For one thing, we need to consider the vulnerable and the elderly in this time of change.

In the following article, Levy writes about how the coronavirus impacted society and our sense of community. Levy (2020, para 1) writes “COVID-19 has severely disrupted every aspect of society. It has altered how we work, play, learn, exercise, shop, worship, and socialize.” Not to mention, the negative impacts on individuals' well-being due to the government's mandated restrictions. The article concludes that the loss of face-to-face contact increased the likelihood of illnesses such as heart disease, depression, and high blood pressure. However, Levy wrote that when a community is faced with a common enemy, people tend to look past their differences and come together (Levy, 2020). This was shown when people from around the world developed creative ways to stay connected with one another, an of this includes online social events, virtual classes, and online support groups. In closing, the coronavirus might have physically divided society but, in some ways, it brought the community together. 

Levy, A. (2020, May 20). Coronavirus: How crisis helps us connect with strangers. World Economic Forum. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/coronavirus-emotional-connection-strangers-psychologist-covid19/ 

The neighbour's children are not communicating; even though they see each other occasionally, they don't talk to everybody, which shouldn't be. Everyone is always on their phone. Technology is taking the community away from the people. People don't value each other because technology takes most of our time with friends. No more valuable discussion everyone is checking social media on their phone. Many people their jobs have taken most of the time, some work 2 to 3 jobs. So they hardly find time to interact with or even know their neighbour.

In my neighbourhood, it isn't easy to knock on somebody's door. Once the neighbour does not recognize the person when they peep from the door, nobody will open they may think that the person is a telemarketer who wants to discuss the product.

This article defines how the global pandemic affected the communities and how we had to adapt to the challenges and barriers on reconnecting or even staying connecting to the people around us let alone around the world. It also discussed about the acceptance of,“ unprecedented behavioural restrictions for the good of society”. (Levy, 2020, par 2) Lets even dive into the fact the government created a “Cognitive Dissonance” by the lockdown measures, resulted in isolation and loneliness. What a way to define a “Mental Discomfort” within your own home. (Levy, 2020, par 7)

 

It went on to say about the mental conflict it had on many people. The increase of depression, high blood pressure, isolation sense of loneliness and death from heart disease. (Levy, 2020, par 6) 

 

However, what I wanted to really to bring to your attention, that the article highlighted was the cohesiveness and togetherness it created in the virtual world; by allowing virtual classes or forums to be made like, Breastfeeding support groups, exercise workouts, dance classes and even other support groups that helped others stay connected and aided throughout their life experiences. (Levy, 2020, par 10)

 

My only concern is that the virtual world was truly only accessible for some generations. Seniors had a hard time staying connected for the those in the long-term facility for example due the restrictions of visitors and even residences within the same space weren’t allowed to go to each other’s room. Everyone was simply isolated. So when the reader posed a question, How are people dealing with these lifestyle changes? The article did a great job highlighting and depicting the new resources, services that was created through technology to keep the communities connected and somewhat decreasing the sense of loneliness but also created a future avenue of choice after the pandemic for people to choose whether or not if they wanted to continue to socialize virtually or in person or maybe even both.

 

My thoughts, I see the positive and negative aspects of this avenue. People in general always want a sense of choice of options for their empowerment; but in the back end do we really understand the true depth of a “Rabbit Hole” it may bring us down to. Just a thought. 

 

Levy, A. (2020, May 20).  Coronavirus: how crisis helps us connect with strangers. World Economic Forum.

 

Our social nature makes us yearn to live in a neighborhood, and we love being part of a community, but the way we live has changed in recent decades. As a result of the pandemic, we have changed in a lot of ways, and social media has enabled us to connect with people all over the world at the same time. It's like it's kind of changing the pattern of social communication for me, but I miss the childhood friendships I had when we had classmates at school and neighbors in our neighborhood and we enjoyed every moment together.

In the article titled Coronavirus: how crisis helps us connect with strangers, Levy shares that “COVID-19 has severely disrupted every aspect of society. It has altered how we work, play, learn, exercise, shop, worship, and socialize” (Levy, 2020). This hit close to home for me. During COVID I gave birth to my first child. It was wonderful until my baby girl turned seven months and I wanted to socialize. However, due to COVID and being afraid to get out I over isolated myself. I waited until she turned nine months and pushed myself to get out and go for walks. I then thought this is not so bad I should head over to the Early Years Ontario Centre or book a Mommy and baby swim class. I walked over to the closest Early Years Ontario Centre to see the sign that said closed until further notice. There I might several moms with babys and strollers who had come for the same reason. I asked them if they’d like to meet up here once a week and walk together. We were all thrilled with the idea and instantly became friends. As Levy, says “history tells us that society can be socially cohesive in times of crisis” (Levy, 2020). This was an awesome experience. Prior to COVID I don’t think I would’ve asked this of strangers. I completely agree with Levy. COVID has definitely altered the way of life for all. It brought us together in new ways. Together we stand, united we fall!. 
 

Reference,

 

Levy, A. (2020, May 20). Coronavirus: How crisis helps us connect with strangers. World Economic Forum. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/coronavirus-emotional-connection-strangers-psychologist-covid19/


Cheyenne McDonald

Within my personal life I felt the social bonds of my network were conflicted, as mentioned by Levy. (Levy, 2020) Some of my peer within my inner circle were following through and adhering to the new protocols and others were forwarding rhetoric of propaganda, which generated a loss in my personal community. I felt a division with my beliefs and impacts of this unfamiliar virus. In respects to Levy, my cognitive dissonance was at an all time high, especially when it came to the social bonds with the anti-vax and vaccinated. At the beginning of the pandemic, it was very difficult to make decisions to have social connections without being judged. Each person I interacted with had different viewpoints and values that were at times contradictory, based on their actions when in came to their personal limitation with social connections due to COVID. This response was one the driving forces for me to deep dive into understanding my mental conflict and reduce my cognitive dissonance to maintain my mental well being, as Levy stated. (Levy,2020) In reflection to Levy article, regardless of the various viewpoints that my inner circle had, currently I have been able to find a balance using different platforms and unique ways to build a strong togetherness within my personal life, socially and emotionally. (Levy. 2020)

Reference

Levy, A. (2020). Coronavirus: How crisis helps us connect with strangers. World Economic Forum. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/coronavirus-emotional-connection-strangers-psychologist-covid19/

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

Noella Kalambayi
 

Reference:

 

Levy, A. (2020, May 20). Coronavirus: How crisis helps us connect with strangers. World Economic Forum. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/coronavirus-emotional-connection-strangers-psychologist-covid19/

I think it exists in micro pockets, as in 2 or 3 neighbours whose connections extends to speaking when their paths cross so, I could argue, that these are of value. Some parents have children in the same school so they do assign a set of values to these parent-to-parent relationships. Even at Sheridan College I find that I am part of a new student community, and in the student community I have a budding ASL and Aboriginal community so perhaps I need to evaluate my own values once again.   

After a two minute re-evaluation I think I need to change my idea of community.  Perhaps I need to address or consider redefining my idea of community. I think it may be like shopping so if I am loyal to a certain brand then I travel TO that brand and take myself to that community.  Thus, if community has been lost then let me redefine my community as something that I must “go to” nurture once I find them. 

When I read the part about how losing our social connections might make us feel lonely, I finally felt like yes, so it's not just me thinking this. At times during Covid, I had to face my thoughts. Thoughts of fear, worry, and whether I would ever attend a party again with friends. I loved how that was one of the things Levy wrote about, the "mental discomfort." Levy also noted that this loss of social connection could even increase the risk of depression, high blood pressure, and heart disease death.

I know this all too well because during Covid, I think the fear for my children and their well-being got to me. Just like the article talked about new ways to cope, what became my coping mechanisms were online versus battles and online DJ parties. I worked all through Covid at Toronto Pearson Airport. So what was once a hectic immigration line turned into a ghost town?

Even today, when I go to work, I see many differences in families and how everyone is affected when they travel. I see the families without a care in the world desperate to get out of dodge and then the families covered from head to toe in hazmat suits. 

Covid allowed me to connect with strangers virtually during my course at Sheridan College. It also allowed me to help elderly customers at my local grocery who were too afraid to leave their cars. Levy wrote, "perhaps we are unknowingly changing the blueprint for how we live our lives in the future."Has COVID-19 Changed Our Sense of Connection With Others?

It has changed my view on life and what is important to me. It has allowed me to be more caring and compassionate to strangers and myself. Lastly, it has allowed me to slow down and make memories,

References

Has COVID-19 changed our sense of connection with others? (2020b, May 20). World Economic Forum. Retrieved October 2, 2022, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/coronavirus-emotional-connection-strangers-psychologist-covid19/

Sonia Deacon 

The article depicts the effects of the coronavirus has transformed our world and changed our lives. I never thought for a moment that Canada’s healthcare system could ever be as overwhelmed as it was during the pandemic and still is. In the article, Levey writes about “cognitive dissonance” resulting from social isolation.  Since the pandemic, many people have or are experiencing depression and heart disease. Yet, throughout the pandemic, we also saw solidarity at its finest. As we witnessed support for our front-line workers throughout the world, the pandemic caught people off guard and scared us too. Consequently, throughout the pandemic I often found myself asking if life will ever return to normal,  and if so, when?  As this article informs us that human beings are not generally well disposed to radical departures from their routines, I wonder what humans will look like in the future as society seems to be radically pushing us away from regular routines (Levy,2020).

 

Laura Vincent

The author of the titled article talks about how the spirit of community is dying. I do not think this is true. I believe that community spirit still exits in many parts of the world. Rather, what I believe is happening is that communities are metamorphosing. In our fast-paced, technology-driven modern society, it often seems that there is little time for socializing on a day-to-day basis. I think we often replace those in-person get togethers with texting through our phones and online social media apps to multitask our time. The issue, I believe, is that the quality of these online interactions is not as high as an in-person get together. Tied to this is the fact that communities are evolving. We now have communities that are virtual; especially so, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic when social distancing became necessary and virtual communication became many people’s lifeline to the outside world. 

In the article titled Coronavirus: how crisis helps us connect with strangers, Levy shares that “COVID-19 has severely disrupted every aspect of society. It has altered how we work, play, learn, exercise, shop, worship, and socialize” (Levy, 2020). This hit close to home for me. During COVID I gave birth to my first child. It was wonderful until my baby girl turned seven months and I wanted to socialize. However, due to COVID and being afraid to get out I over isolated myself. I waited until she turned nine months and pushed myself to get out and go for walks. I then thought this is not so bad I should head over to the Early Years Ontario Centre or book a Mommy and baby swim class. I walked over to the closest Early Years Ontario Centre to see the sign that said closed until further notice. There I might several moms with babys and strollers who had come for the same reason. I asked them if they’d like to meet up here once a week and walk together. We were all thrilled with the idea and instantly became friends. As Levy, says “history tells us that society can be socially cohesive in times of crisis” (Levy, 2020). This was an awesome experience. Prior to COVID I don’t think I would’ve asked this of strangers. I completely agree with Levy. COVID has definitely altered the way of life for all. It brought us together in new ways. Together we stand, united we fall!. 
 
 

Reference,

 

Levy, A. (2020, May 20). Coronavirus: How crisis helps us connect with strangers. World Economic Forum. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/coronavirus-emotional-connection-strangers-psychologist-covid19/