Technology has been rapidly advancing over the past 20-plus years, which has in and of itself played a role in changing how we do things. The folks who work in the tech industry like to call this “disruption.” Careers are made by people who look at how we have been doing things for a hundred years and figure out how to use technology to turn that on its head.
Now, in a post-coronavirus world, we’re changing the ways we do things even more–this time by necessity. Whether it’s the constant use of antibacterial spray, hand sanitizer or social distancing you can’t deny the impact this change has had on our society. Some changes may be permanent, while others–we hope, at least–short-term. In any scenario of massive change, some are good and some give us pause.
Let’s take a look at a few of these changes:
We Appreciate Our Hair Stylists More
Maybe you’re one of the lucky ones who had found a good hairstylist (or barber) and knew what you had. For the rest of us, two months of bad hair taught us a valuable lesson. What was that lesson? The people who do your hair have a major impact on your life. Don’t forget that it was worse for some: Imagine really needing a haircut and being about to visit the salon right when they shut down! Add two months to that and it’s not a pleasant thought. Not to mention all of the people in the world who color their hair. Let’s take a moment to offer sympathy to all of those who bought cheap box color and managed to earn themselves a pricey fix from their hair stylist once the salon reopened.
We Shop Online Now
Maybe you were a diehard Amazon Prime shopper before the coronavirus. No matter who you are, you probably order even more stuff online than ever before. Burritos? Check. Curbside service is much more convenient if you can pull up a website (or app) to place your order in advance. The other option seems to be pulling up into the parking lot and making a phone order–which is fine if you know the menu. Think of all the things you used to prefer to buy in a store–everything from comfortable shoes for men to swimsuits and regular suits. You’ve probably purchased it all online during the period of isolation.
We Read More Ebooks
Speaking of shopping online: Ebooks may have been popular before the coronavirus, but for the first few months of shelter-in-place, the use of devices for reading books and magazines skyrocketed. It will be interesting to see if this stays on trend. Public libraries, closed for traditional book lending, streamlined the process to apply for a library card online and funneled their websites into focusing on ebook loans. Amazon shoppers found that books ordered through Prime–which typically promises two-day-shipping–waited for more than a week for physical books to arrive. It became easier just to buy the Ebook.
We Wash Our Hands
Unless you worked in a job where frequent handwashing was required, there’s a good chance you didn’t think too much about washing your hands much. Now–hopefully–you think about it far more frequently, especially after you touch your face or go out into public. If you want to read more information, try the Center for Disease Control’s dedicated page on the subject.
We Keep a Little Distance
While we missed hanging out with our friends and relatives during the days of Google Hangout happy hours and Zoom yoga classes, as a culture we still tend to shy away from large social gatherings right now. If a friend calls and says, “Let’s get a bunch of people together this Saturday night” your reaction might be to consider how this could potentially spread a fatal illness. This is a change that might be better for the short-term, but one that most of us probably hope will remain there.