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

[Philosopher]

7 hours ago, SincereOnlineGuy said:

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.

Can I ask why you think it makes no sense to worry the pandemic will result in less real world interactions, particularly as you seem to be arguing the the pandemic will result in those genes that favour sociability being less likely to be passed on?

[pepperbird]

here, people can go out and socialize, but our economy is in the toilet so no one has any money to spend. 

Something I've noticed re: covid19 is that there is the "public" view and what's going on in  the background.  Here, people are happy the virus seems to be gone, and they cite measures like the close border and staying indoors/avoiding groups etc. as being the reaosn it's over.

The thing is, that's not what really happened. People were still socializing, they just did it where they wouldn't be seen. The border is still open if you're flying.

[Ruby Slippers]

I think when the disease has died down, people will go back to pretty much however they were before. I'm hoping office workers will get attached to the many benefits of not being stuck with a stressful commute and the bulk of their day in an office and will advocate for more flexibility around working from home at least some of the time. I hope so many people will do this we'll see a sea change in the way office life happens. I think more companies will offer this flexibility as a perk, and hence attract the best workers.

[elaine567]

There is a real worry in central London that the office workers will not come back in the same numbers and that office blocks will be empty and the price of commercial property will fall. Those that serviced the office workers, cafes, sandwich shops, restaurants and bars are worried.
Some architects I have heard are already working on converting commercial office space into residential flats.

[schlumpy]

1 hour ago, elaine567 said:

There is a real worry in central London that the office workers will not come back in the same numbers and that office blocks will be empty and the price of commercial property will fall. Those that serviced the office workers, cafes, sandwich shops, restaurants and bars are worried.
Some architects I have heard are already working on converting commercial office space into residential flats.

Is that because this forced trial period of working at home has been a wonderful success?

I can understand the appeal. No riding the underground or fighting traffic into work.

The real test is long term. Will people be able to stay at their desks when all their toys are right at hand?

[Ruby Slippers]

15 hours ago, elaine567 said:

There is a real worry in central London that the office workers will not come back in the same numbers and that office blocks will be empty and the price of commercial property will fall. Those that serviced the office workers, cafes, sandwich shops, restaurants and bars are worried.
Some architects I have heard are already working on converting commercial office space into residential flats.

The only people invested in commercial real estate are very wealthy people/investors, often foreign with no interest in anything but their own gain, so I'm not worried about this. 

Let's repurpose all that defunct space to more humanitarian aims, like shelters and empowering programs for the homeless and downtrodden. 

Edited July 24, 2020 by Ruby Slippers

[Philosopher]

On 7/23/2020 at 11:02 AM, elaine567 said:

There is a real worry in central London that the office workers will not come back in the same numbers and that office blocks will be empty and the price of commercial property will fall. Those that serviced the office workers, cafes, sandwich shops, restaurants and bars are worried.
Some architects I have heard are already working on converting commercial office space into residential flats.

The possible large scale shift to working from home is something I see as particularly disruptive as it has the potential to tear the life out of cities. Converting offices to apartments while on paper makes sense, I can’t see it working that well. Offices generally have large floorplans so a lot of apartments in converted offices  will have poor natural light and in any case a large part of the attraction of living in city centres / downtowns is removed if people largely work from home.

Hopefully if working from home does become the norm, society will find another way that allow city centre / downtown areas to prosper. 

[QuietRiot]

Just now, Philosopher said:

The possible large scale shift to working from home is something I see as particularly disruptive as it has the potential to tear the life out of cities. Converting offices to apartments while on paper makes sense, I can’t see it working that well. Offices generally have large floorplans so a lot of apartments in converted offices  will have poor natural light and in any case a large part of the attraction of living in city centres / downtowns is removed if people largely work from home.

Hopefully if working from home does become the norm, society will find another way that allow city centre / downtown areas to prosper. 

I thought working from home has already become the norm, and had so for quite some time. Yes? I mean, yeah, there are offices you can work out. But working from home, I thought, has started probably around the mid-2000s when broad band was all over.

[Philosopher]

3 hours ago, QuietRiot said:

I thought working from home has already become the norm, and had so for quite some time. Yes? I mean, yeah, there are offices you can work out. But working from home, I thought, has started probably around the mid-2000s when broad band was all over.

In the three companies I have worked at, working at home prior to this was pretty unusual. You did get a few people who regularly worked from home for childcare purposes, however the vast majority of people came in every day and only worked from home for reasons such as if they were waiting for a delivery or had a cold. I my first job working from home had to be agreed with management, in my current job it is more flexible.

Obviously it may be different in other industries and / or countries. I get the impression working from home was already commonplace in the tech industry.

[QuietRiot]

20 hours ago, Philosopher said:

In the three companies I have worked at, working at home prior to this was pretty unusual. You did get a few people who regularly worked from home for childcare purposes, however the vast majority of people came in every day and only worked from home for reasons such as if they were waiting for a delivery or had a cold. I my first job working from home had to be agreed with management, in my current job it is more flexible.

Obviously it may be different in other industries and / or countries. I get the impression working from home was already commonplace in the tech industry.

Well, the typical work at home job back in the late 2000s was taking some kind of phone calls at home. Typically customer service/support type stuff or transcriptional. 

[MrPlop]

I was just thinking about this. I got laid off in March, I have maybe 1 close friend that I have seen ever since. I am spending a lot of time sitting at home on social media, and besides the 1 daily hour of gym (which I speak to none) and 2 hours of online school, (again, not really interacting) that's about it. Gone out to meet people maybe once in these past few months. I always considered myself an introvert but I'm really amazed at how much face to face interaction I'm craving. I guess humans are really sociable animals.

Edited August 17, 2020 by MrPlop