Era Pre 24th March 2020
The morning alarm is buzzing and you are trying hard to pull yourself out of bed. Getting ready for work and booking an Uber simultaneously and finally after a hectic day at work letting your hair down at your favourite pub.
Does that seem to be a thing of the past?
Perhaps yes. The Novel Coronavirus or COVID-19 has changed the way humans lived as the world seems to have come to a standstill. A challenging period indeed. It is said to be the worst the mankind has seen in a century.
It is believed that this pandemic can change the way humans live, starting from the way they eat, learn, work, socialize and communicate.
Socialising presently is a thing of the past, as the only way to curb the virus is “Social Distancing”. All events, be it sports, conferences, conventions, religious events etc have all been cancelled. Bars, restaurants, movie theatres and other entertainment related things are shut .
India and many countries across the world are under a LOCKDOWN. Food supplies are scarce and economies are crashing , all one can do is follow the guidelines and hope for a better tomorrow.
Era Post 24th March 2020
Welcome to the world of COVID-19!
Is the way we live going to change forever or is it just a passing phase? Well if studies are to be believed then COVID-19 is here to stay and humans have to learn to live with it atleast for a while.
So here is a list of lifestyle changes that we think will become habits till COVID-19 is around and not eradicated completely:
1) Namaste will be the new Handshake
The whole world is adopting the Indian traditional way of greeting through ‘Namaste’. As per Wikipedia, Namaste is usually spoken with a slight bow and hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards, thumbs close to the chest.
Governments across the world are urging people to adopt ‘Namaste’ as a greeting gesture instead of handshakes, hugs or kisses as a part of social distancing measures.
Namaste is on the world stage!
2) Social distancing – The New Norm
Amidst the outbreak of COVID-19, social distancing has been recognized as a significant precautionary measure in avoiding the spread of the virus. Social distancing has proven to be one of the best measures in the current scenario till medicines and vaccines are not developed.
So till we get these vaccines which are atleast 12-18 months away, social distancing is the only preventive measure we can adopt as the new normal.
Humans being social animals, we sincerely hope that this restriction is not for long.
3) Face Masks & Sanitizers -The New MUST HAVES
Before Covid-19, there was a small percentage of people who were aware of the importance of keeping sanitizers handy.
But after this massive outbreak, people at large have understood how our hands become home to a million bacteria and viruses while we are in a public place. Hence keeping our hands clean is of utmost importance before the infected fingers reach the face.
Not only this, covering the vital sense organs such as the nose and mouth are very important so that we unknowingly do not carry the infection inside our body. Face Masks act as a layer of defence helping us to avoid touching our nose and mouth and also protecting us from others who might be carriers of any virus.
It’s not long before these masks become a part of our daily attire and we may even have some designer masks as a part of our wardrobes! WELL HOPE NOT
4. Online – The new Way of Life
People would prefer to stay indoors as far as possible. So online shopping is going to see a major boost. Be it essentials like groceries or non-essentials such as beauty products, all will be preferred to be bought online.
Taking a class online (virtual classroom) or consuming content for sheer entertainment, the world is going to be inside a digital nutshell. It is believed that more and more content with various themes will be produced in different platforms in order to provide a one click solution to any given problem.
#STAYHOME #SHOPSAFE
5. The Era of Contactless Payments
The preferred mode of payment will also be contactless.
Digital payments gained the spotlight a few years back, but with the virus around we all feel safer to pay through Google Pay and Paytm which are totally contactless.
Contactless Payments are here to stay!
6. Air Travel – Not the first choice
Air travel is the way this virus has spread its wings from China to the rest of the world.
Firstly it is going to take sometime for people to forget that this virus started spreading through air travel, hence people would avoid it unless unavoidable.
Secondly, an aircraft has very close seating thereby not adhereing to the norms of social distancing. Hence airlines will reduce the number of passengers giving way to over expensive tickets.
Finally airports are over crowded and hence people may find travelling via road in the private vehicles more comforting.
Safety will be preferred over time
7. International Borders- No More Seamless
Over the years specially in the last decade, we have seen people doing international travel like never before.
The international borders were becoming seamless as more and more Indians were going abroad for study, work and leisure travel. But the virus has brought everything especially international travel to a big standstill and unlike many other changes, this change for sure is here to stay for a while.
People for the time being are scared to send their children to foreign countries for studies or work. Maybe for the short term, we may see a huge reduction in leisure and work-related foreign travel.
We are going to miss those Insta posts of friends from beautiful foreign locations for sometime. Hope not for long !
8. Work From Home- The New Way to Work
During the lockdown period almost everyone has tasted the pleasure or should we say hardship of “WFH- Work From Home”
Meetings, presentations, discussions, strategies all is being done sitting at home through video conferencing. The laptop screens showing faces of our colleagues are the new board rooms and yes, we discuss everything with coffee mugs in our hands, just that everyone’s coffee tastes different .
In the near future to maintain social distancing, many would continue WFM.
WFM will be the new and acceptable way Indians work
9. Healthy Eating & Physical Fitness – A Necessity
We all are lovers of junk food, agreed! Once in a while is fine but eating out almost every day and not consuming healthy food weakens the immunity of the body which in turn fails to protect us from such deadly infectious diseases.
Healthy eating not only assures a rock-solid immune system but also makes the body fit enough to recover fast in case the body gets infected.
They say a healthy body is a result of what you eat and how much we exercise. After seeing how the world has collapsed due to non-healthy bodies, physical fitness will be given more attention. It does not necessarily mean hitting the gym, it can be playing some kind of a sport, getting into Yoga or simply going for a run. As far as the body is sweating it out to be ready for such unexpected situations.
#STAYFIT #EATHEALTHY
10. Perception of sanitation & healthcare workers
We may have seen them collecting garbage and disposing them off on a daily basis. We have also seen them sweeping the roads in the early hours and keeping our surroundings clean so that we can live peacefully without the fear of falling sick.
But what we have failed to do is respect them for their contribution to the society. Even during this pandemic, they are the brave hearted who are out every day without caring about the danger that may take their lives.
The perception of people towards sanitation workers, healthcare workers and people who have been doing their duty silently without showing the pain will completely change.
We are sure we will respect them more and be thankful for their services forever!
We truly hope that this Pandemic ends soon and we get back to what we have known as normal life, life before 24th March 2020 . We hope ,pray and believe that this shall pass and humans will defeat the virus soon.
