Unleashing the Old Ways

In many posts, comments and articles we read about the "new way of doing things" we will be practicing after Covid 19 is under control. Sorry, I disagree...

We have been trained to consume. Plus, with the social media, we have a lot of people that need to show off their travels, purchases and expensive meals in order to gain recognition among their peers. Everyone having lived through the lockdown will think they need to make up for lost times.

The vengence shopping will take effect and people being kept away from shopping / experiences will be out in force. My prediction is that restaurants, airlines and hotels will be fully booked for some time as soon as we unleash people again.

Offices will be hip again. While many have hailed the idea of working from home, most of my friends and staff said they prefer to work in an office. And that makes total sense. People want a clear separation between office, home and fun places.

Skype / Zoom drinks are also fun, but trust me, everyone would want to go out again and drink in certain establishments. Some will say they miss the "background" (read: they wanna ogle). Others will miss the idea of being able to just raising a hand and Zappp! the next drink appears whithout a trip to the kitchen. While online chats now allow dozens of people, I still find them awkward. In a real meeting, some 10 people can sit at one table and 4 or 5 discussions form, dissolve, reform... While there are 10 people, some subgroups form. Try that in Zoom where it is hard enough to meet among 3.

Copying from a chat with a friend:

"I wrote my niece and told her we'd party like its 2021. She wrote back: Partying like it’s 2021 will be my new mantra.  Once there’s a vaccine, I want to do a reverse quarantine and not come home for months. I want to drink alcohol out of buckets in Thailand, and then pretend I’m classy by drinking pretentious French wine in Nice. That’s my plan."

While we now admire the clean rivers, dolphins in Venice and turtles hatching on beaches devoid of people, once we are back, pollution will be back and we will continue to destroy nature. After all, despite all the hardship, there are already 25 Million more people on the planet than on 1 January.
Will I exclude myself? Hopefully, but I am sure I too, want to fly again, drive half across the country just for a meal in one of our favorite restaurants and get new shoes.