Does any else worry that the post pandemic world will be one devoid of real life social interactions?

[Philosopher]

After all this is finished, I do often worry we will end up in a world where a far higher proportion of activities continue to be done online from the home and real world social interactions will become increasingly rare. As a result our mental lives will be poorer. Does anyone else have these concerns?

For example socialising will continue to be done through video calls rather than by visiting others, 'office' workers will continue to work from home and rarely meet their co workers, people will exercise through online videos instead of gym classes, etc. 

I think to some extent this was already happening before the pandemic, for example in the UK you frequently heard of pubs and restaurants closing, with a lot the blame being attributed to young people preferring online activities such streaming movies or using social media. It does appear the pandemic has considerably accelerated this process though as it has essentially made real world social interactions risky.

 

[Haydn]

I`d, not now pay 4.50 for a pint. (Or more)  The youngsters are smarter. My girls have being doing it long before all this. Different world.

[Emilie Jolie]

Here @Philosopher, a cute little video to cheer you up  about how the world could look like post-pandemic. The message is a bit simplistic but it's lovely all the same.

 

Edited July 11, 2020 by a LoveShack.org Moderator
Linked to original video

[Ellener]

That's lovely @Emilie Jolie

 

[Philosopher]

2 hours ago, Emilie Jolie said:

Here @Philosopher, a cute little video to cheer you up  about how the world could look like post-pandemic. The message is a bit simplistic but it's lovely all the same.

Very uplifting. Lets hope the future after all this is more like in this video than what I wrote earlier. 

Edited July 11, 2020 by a LoveShack.org Moderator
Removed quoted video

[Ellener]

Like with @Haydn my son already lived much online before the pandemic, I don't think the younger generations were as delusional about the shiny happy people world before as my generation tried to be!

For all my many real-life colleagues, friends and activities, whenever I've had problems it's always been a handful of good people who pulled me through, who loved and encouraged me. That's actually easier online in many ways, I know I'm not overwhelming or driving away good people by being too intense. They can choose when and whether to respond. 

I've had some very intimate loving conversations this past few months over the 'phone and online and in letters.

What I miss about real life- a hug. Sex. Holding hands, kisses. Meeting new potential partners. Alcohol- drinking alone is deadly. The delusion that life isn't as precarious as it always is and was...!

 

 

 

 

[Emilie Jolie]

11 minutes ago, Philosopher said:

Very uplifting. Lets hope the future after all this is more like in this video than what I wrote earlier. 

This video has singlehandedly been keeping me going for weeks in these crazy, uncertain times - the magical power of poetry...

 It's good to hold on to hope amid the chaos. 

 

[Woggle]

I am really worried about where things are headed. When this first started I thought it would be over fairly quickly but more and more this is seeming like the new normal and I don't like it.

[basil67]

I've got a 21yo who very much missed seeing her friends on a regular basis.   While I'm an introvert and have been content without a lot of contact, she's been really feeling the physical separation. 

[chillii]

Yeah l do worry about all that too, it'd be such a shame . Life , the world , people , have already lost enough with internet and social effg media and all the bs of these days but now this corona stuff.

My states been hit with a second wave , we all thought we were done , but now suddenly a city of 6million is locked down again, thankfully l'm 3 hours away from that so we're all praying it doesn't escape and get back up to us here too. But the whole state is still on high alert again now , and business that have just reopened are closed again. feel really bad for them so many just won't be able to survive another round,Governments , economy , peoples spirit, frame of mind , airlines travel all if it. lt's all hitting harder this time reserves were already rock bottom but were exited and beginning to bounce back, but now's it's here we go again .

lt'll be enough this time to change so much , and people will be edgy , maybe for years . So much might not bounce back this time and even more things will move online but stay there now as the change is already made prematurely . It all makes you realize especially with the illumination strategy that unless this thing just fizzles out , or there's a vac , how will normal again be doable when the tiniest spike can just take off again.

What our future is in all this is a bit of a worry for sure .

 

 

Edited July 12, 2020 by chillii

[dangerous]

I agree with the OP's first summary. I do think since internet/ technology much of the world has moved across to online and this has been an unstoppable force. BUT now since Covid and the general fear of future pandemics even more so.

HOWEVER, there is a sizable portion of the population who value real-world interaction. This isn't just a generation thing, we are human beings, its in our DNA to be and do, not just watch!

There were and still are many of us who seek out real meeting. I'm mainly talking about social interaction, but it also applies in business: while phone, email and video are time-effective tools, for important transactions many still prefer to meet face to face, where you can get a "feel" for the deal and the person you are dealing with.

I also think that there will be individuals and even professional services that will start up and thrive, offering personal services. 

Also, regardless of the Covid cause of this one, we go through recessions and cycles always, and this will be the same, in that existing procedures and organisations (eg. shops, restaurants) will stop/ fail but in a while there will be a new crop replacing them. 

(I remind you of the 2008 worldwide banking crash, many said, never again will we allow such borrowing... well here we are...again!)

[dangerous]

17 hours ago, Emilie Jolie said:

Here @Philosopher, a cute little video to cheer you up  about how the world could look like post-pandemic. The message is a bit simplistic but it's lovely all the same.

 

AMAZING video... LOVE it!  

[Philosopher]

On 7/12/2020 at 1:37 PM, dangerous said:

I agree with the OP's first summary. I do think since internet/ technology much of the world has moved across to online and this has been an unstoppable force. BUT now since Covid and the general fear of future pandemics even more so.

HOWEVER, there is a sizable portion of the population who value real-world interaction. This isn't just a generation thing, we are human beings, its in our DNA to be and do, not just watch!

There were and still are many of us who seek out real meeting. I'm mainly talking about social interaction, but it also applies in business: while phone, email and video are time-effective tools, for important transactions many still prefer to meet face to face, where you can get a "feel" for the deal and the person you are dealing with.

Also, regardless of the Covid cause of this one, we go through recessions and cycles always, and this will be the same, in that existing procedures and organisations (eg. shops, restaurants) will stop/ fail but in a while there will be a new crop replacing them. 

(I remind you of the 2008 worldwide banking crash, many said, never again will we allow such borrowing... well here we are...again!)

I am one for real world interactions. For me online interaction never feels quite right, there is always something missing and it often ends feeling more of a chore than a pleasure. Most importantly it does not really satisfy the need for companionship. Online interaction is only really good if it an adjunct instead of replacement to real world interactions I find.

I suppose how much it will change social interactions will depend on whether people still consider the benefits of real world interactions to be worth the potential costs. However given how many will now associate meeting up in person with catching diseases I can see quite a few people being put of it. Then again I might be wrong.

 

 

[dangerous]

Undoubtedly, many will be cautious/ put off. Similarly there are those many who embrace new tech/ virtual interaction.

But there will always be a proportion of those of us (whether or not we use the technology to supplement) who value real world interaction/ companionship and we will continue to make it happen.

ps. I'm off out now to meet a neighbour for a walk and a coffee at a cafe

[CaliforniaGirl]

Not really. I think it's doing the opposite. At this point even many introverts are clawing to get out.

[JustGettingBy]

As much as things like work from home and online shopping will pick up, socializing is something that will become face-to-face again.

[QuietRiot]

On 7/11/2020 at 2:04 PM, Philosopher said:

After all this is finished, I do often worry we will end up in a world where a far higher proportion of activities continue to be done online from the home and real world social interactions will become increasingly rare. As a result our mental lives will be poorer. Does anyone else have these concerns?

For example socialising will continue to be done through video calls rather than by visiting others, 'office' workers will continue to work from home and rarely meet their co workers, people will exercise through online videos instead of gym classes, etc. 

I think to some extent this was already happening before the pandemic, for example in the UK you frequently heard of pubs and restaurants closing, with a lot the blame being attributed to young people preferring online activities such streaming movies or using social media. It does appear the pandemic has considerably accelerated this process though as it has essentially made real world social interactions risky.

 

What's interesting, in just about a year ago and before that. I was quite a social butter fly. Then...I got burnt out on it and stopped pretty much going anywhere...then...the pandemic happened and...well, it really hasn't gotten me itchy too much.

I was attending Meetup events (not sure if you all heard of that site), but it has gotten saturated with people that come and go like the wind at these events, never sticking around after one event or consistent NO-Shows. It got old and it was hard to get to know people if they never stuck around.

I'm surprised people are still attempting to have restaurant gatherings here in Central FLorida amidst the pandemic.

[QuietRiot]

On 7/15/2020 at 2:21 PM, Philosopher said:

I am one for real world interactions. For me online interaction never feels quite right, there is always something missing and it often ends feeling more of a chore than a pleasure. Most importantly it does not really satisfy the need for companionship. Online interaction is only really good if it an adjunct instead of replacement to real world interactions I find.

I suppose how much it will change social interactions will depend on whether people still consider the benefits of real world interactions to be worth the potential costs. However given how many will now associate meeting up in person with catching diseases I can see quite a few people being put of it. Then again I might be wrong.

 

 

 

Right, and I had to severe ties with friends that would never be able to get back to me via text or email or whatever. It seems we're oversaturated with social media and multitude of ways to communicate where your message gets lost in the mix and you never hear back from the person. It's like your a fart in the wind to them. I remember sending Facebook messages for them to be "seen" but never read.

Or, I'd get a response months later saying, "OH, I"m JUST NOW seeing this...sorry, hope you didnt' think I was ignoring you! LOL"

[Philosopher]

1 hour ago, QuietRiot said:

What's interesting, in just about a year ago and before that. I was quite a social butter fly. Then...I got burnt out on it and stopped pretty much going anywhere...then...the pandemic happened and...well, it really hasn't gotten me itchy too much.

I was attending Meetup events (not sure if you all heard of that site), but it has gotten saturated with people that come and go like the wind at these events, never sticking around after one event or consistent NO-Shows. It got old and it was hard to get to know people if they never stuck around.

I'm surprised people are still attempting to have restaurant gatherings here in Central FLorida amidst the pandemic.

I think Meetup is one the few good things from the internet that has helped people interact, though I agree about the issue with no shows.

I am going on a hiking meetup tomorrow, which should be quite a safe as it is entirely outdoor and quite well suited to social distancing. This will be the first meetup I have been on since February. It will be interesting to see how different, if at all it is from previously. One thing I have noticed which is probably a good thing is that due to restricted size of the meetup groups, the organisers are getting quite strict on no shows, such as saying they will be barred from future meetups. 

Perhaps after all this is that flaky behavior in general, which I think has become an increasing problem over the past few years will become more socially unacceptable.

[QuietRiot]

14 minutes ago, Philosopher said:

I think Meetup is one the few good things from the internet that has helped people interact, though I agree about the issue with no shows.

I am going on a hiking meetup tomorrow, which should be quite a safe as it is entirely outdoor and quite well suited to social distancing. This will be the first meetup I have been on since February. It will be interesting to see how different, if at all it is from previously. One thing I have noticed which is probably a good thing is that due to restricted size of the meetup groups, the organisers are getting quite strict on no shows, such as saying they will be barred from future meetups. 

Perhaps after all this is that flaky behavior in general, which I think has become an increasing problem over the past few years will become more socially unacceptable.

Yeah,  I am noticing...now....that hte Meetups that are starting back up are the outdoor ones.

There's this restaurant meetup that is starting something, suprised they get a good amount of RSVP.s

There was this Orthodontist that commented that he'll have to opt out of the Meetup, said he cannot be doing that in his profession.

[mrs rubble]

We're back to normal here in New Zealand, I've already celebrated a couple of birthdays with friends, been on a packed plane to the South Island, celebrated a 50th wedding anniversary....and more planned in the future. Many of my friends are still working from home as their employers have found lots of benefits of people working from home.

[Philosopher]

On 7/17/2020 at 2:15 PM, QuietRiot said:

Yeah,  I am noticing...now....that hte Meetups that are starting back up are the outdoor ones.

There's this restaurant meetup that is starting something, suprised they get a good amount of RSVP.s

There was this Orthodontist that commented that he'll have to opt out of the Meetup, said he cannot be doing that in his profession.

So I went on the meet-up. In general the meet-up was not too different from normal. The only real difference was that there was no pub drink at the end. In the UK, groups that consist of three or more households are only allowed in pubs if they sit outside. The pub at the end of the walk had no outdoor seating, effectively ruling this out

People on the meet-up felt as approachable as normal, perhaps even more so than normal. A couple of the people on the meet-up did have interesting views regarding the pandemic.

[dangerous]

16 hours ago, Philosopher said:

So I went on the meet-up. In general the meet-up was not too different from normal. The only real difference was that there was no pub drink at the end. In the UK, groups that consist of three or more households are only allowed in pubs if they sit outside. The pub at the end of the walk had no outdoor seating, effectively ruling this out

People on the meet-up felt as approachable as normal, perhaps even more so than normal. A couple of the people on the meet-up did have interesting views regarding the pandemic.

Yes I like Meet-up, and will go on some events next month I hope. 

Being nosey, what were the interesting views on the Pandemic that you came across? 

[Philosopher]

1 hour ago, dangerous said:

Yes I like Meet-up, and will go on some events next month I hope. 

Being nosey, what were the interesting views on the Pandemic that you came across? 

One of them said it was all a hoax and no one was actually dying from it,  another person said it was being used as an opportunity by governments to plant tracking microchips in everyone through the use of a vaccine 🤭.

[SincereOnlineGuy]

On 7/11/2020 at 11:04 AM, Philosopher said:

After all this is finished, I do often worry we will end up in a world where a far higher proportion of activities continue to be done online from the home and real world social interactions will become increasingly rare. As a result our mental lives will be poorer. Does anyone else have these concerns?

For example socialising will continue to be done through video calls rather than by visiting others, 'office' workers will continue to work from home and rarely meet their co workers, people will exercise through online videos instead of gym classes, etc. 

I think to some extent this was already happening before the pandemic, for example in the UK you frequently heard of pubs and restaurants closing, with a lot the blame being attributed to young people preferring online activities such streaming movies or using social media. It does appear the pandemic has considerably accelerated this process though as it has essentially made real world social interactions risky.

 

While it makes no sense to worry about that, it is rather noteworthy that the disease will have more of a field day with the socialites  than it does with the nerds  who already stay home and do everything online.

 

So maybe if there are genetic factors  which are central to those traits, then there will be a telling void in the gene pool when viewed in hindsight from the distance of a couple of hundred years.   By then, even the lack of females in one generation of Chinese will have likely been snowed-over by time.

 

At this point, just hope that in 200 years those on earth somehow know  that Covid-19 is actually finished.