It's weird how much things can change in just a few short years. Covid-19 has been a strange and stressful time for all of us. Looking back, I barely even remember what life was like before the pandemic. Variant after variant kept appearing, and it always seemed like the virus was one step ahead of us all. There's still so much we don’t understand about the virus and its implications, and it makes me wonder—will life ever be the same, post Covid-19?
Adapting to Covid was strange at first. I was only in G6, so I had no idea what was going on or what was going to happen. The entirety of middle school went by very fast because a lot of it was going in and out of online school and barely seeing my friends or classmates. I had never been through anything like this before, and it was a super surreal experience. Lockdown was boring and unusual, and I had to stop doing the things I usually did. Going out while wearing masks didn’t feel right, but I ended up getting used to it and eventually found it weird to not wear one.
During this time, social media was thriving. Apps like TikTok went global, and still are incredibly popular. Because of the sudden lockdowns, the world had to find ways to stay connected in a disconnected world. People were trying to find any source of entertainment, and the number of people using social media rose rapidly. There was an increase in the average time U.S. users spent on social media in 2020 - 65 minutes daily, compared to 54 minutes and 56 minutes the years before. The amount of time spent on social networking is expected to remain stable in the upcoming years (Statista).
This was happening partly because people needed to cure their boredom, but also because the pandemic was causing a lot of stress.
Dealing with big changes happening so suddenly took its toll on the mental health of many, and people were getting lonely because of all the restrictions and staying home constantly. In 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, there was a 1000% increase in emergency calls compared to the year before (Washington Post). It was hard to escape the mental impacts of the pandemic, so it was really important to encourage a culture of compassion.
I don’t believe the world will ever be the same as it was before. Hygiene will be prioritised a lot more than it was before the pandemic, and no doubt, there will still be people walking around with masks, face shields, social distancing, etc. Despite this, as we step into the post-Covid-19 future, we need to work to find a good balance between what was working before and what we need to do to succeed in the future.
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