COVID-19 and the New Normal

Who could have thought the new realities were possible a few months ago? The way we started the New Year which also began a new decade is such a hopeful one to find ourselves where we are today.

World Powers have been cornered, scholars’ efforts have been futile and the death toll increases every day. As if all these were not enough, the world economy is also diving into a disaster! Just like in horror movies, this time is indeed a trying one for the whole world.

Yet, humanity has refused to give up. The world is trying to cope while finding a solution to the pandemic that is currently ravaging the world. Human life has been affected socially, economically, psychologically, and mentally. Meanwhile, people are, at the same time looking for alternatives to make up for their wants. In terms of;

Social Interaction

Social interaction is the first to take a hit as the main harbinger of the spread of the novel Corona Virus. People were no longer allowed to attend night clubs, have a few bottles with friends at the bar, throw parties, and so on. Even religious centers were eventually closed off to implement social distancing rule which was found to be the only means through which the spread could be curtailed. Schools, businesses, and organizations were not left out either.

But in all of this, it is amazing that people are learning to adapt to the new normal. Party freaks have learned a new way to stay connected with their crowd. Zoom is now the bride of the moment with everyone accepting it with open arms. Parties have been organized on Zoom and such parties end up being full of fun. Not to mention the business meetings which were the sole purpose for which the App was accepted in the first instance.

Learning must continue too. That is why so many webinars paid and free, are being organized on Zoom as well as other learning platforms like Google Classroom. This is probably something that could never have happened pre-covid19 but right now, these difficult realities have shifted people’s focus away from the limitations of not going out daily.

Also, there has been a substantial increase in the number of people who signed up for Twitter in the past few months. I’m not surprised though; Twitter is indisputably the headquarters of trending news on the social media space. With Twitter, every news published by a newspaper is stale already. Naturally, people would want something that will give them a distraction from a certain difficulty even if that distraction will only last for a while. That is why there is an influx of new sign-ups on the only app that does savages well in the social media space.

• TikTok: “Distance dance”, “Say so”, “Blinding lights” Savage”, “Attention”, “Bop dance”, “Don’t rush” to mention but a few are challenges that have been going on in TikTok during this period of social distancing. To tell you the fact, those challenges have held the internet in a trance-like manner. Full of fun, creative and allows people to forget their current problems. TikTok is one of the means of escape that has indulged people away from boredom and the disaster it could cause.

• Physical Interaction: at places where there isn’t total lockdown, people who go out are conscious of their safety. Of course, no one wants to die. Thus, it is no longer hard to adapt to not taking handshakes when they meet old friends. In cases like these, parties involved would just make fun of the situation.

• Also, cleanliness is now a means of survival. With the constant hand washing and other preventive recommendations of all the organizations at the Frontline of the battle like NCDC and WHO, people have seen keeping clean hands and wearing gloves determines the possibility of their survival. It was a different case when NGOs and concerned governmental organizations campaigned for constant hand washing before this time.

Funerals are being done under the strict rules of social distancing whereby only a few people attend and will still maintain social distance.

• Suddenly, the world has come to realize that human relationships can survive without having to make physical contact, though it may take some getting used to. These days, something as insignificant as our way of greeting has been deeply affected by the Virus; No more handshakes to seal friendship and deals. Yet, we are doing fine.

• Businesses have also tried to adapt to the new changes. For instance, people no longer patronize restaurants as often as before. Thus, some restaurants have taken or upon themselves to provide home delivery as one of the major means of offering their service during this pandemic. This is the new normal. An internet transaction where minimal or no contact is required at all is now the best alternative.

The new normal has changed the world as we know it. People are now using hug gloves (nylon-like overall) to hug each other. No more merriment in the room on Friday nights, yet we do continue to adapt to the new changes and utilize the opportunities provided by the presence of COVID 19.

It will be hard to say if the world will go back to what it used to be with the rise of new cases almost every day. However, whether the world goes back to what we used to know as normal or not. Humanity will survive this period.