Pablo Luna
There are a lot of uncertainties when it comes to the Covid-19 virus, but one thing is for sure: We need to live with it among us for some time to come. Even if a vaccine is developed, it will take a long time before it is rolled out to the masses. According to Dennis Bonnen, precautions should continue for a while.
Which means that we’ll have to adapt to many new realities. Some of which will likely stay with us after the disease has been eradicated. Though life will look a lot better than it currently does, some things may be irreversibly altered. And that may even be a good thing.
In this article, I will go over several things that may stay with us for the next few years to come.
1 – More reliance on technology
We are quite lucky that the virus hit us at a time when technology had advanced quite a bit. As a result, it didn’t affect the economy as much as it could have.
Many people were able to work remotely so business activities could continue. And distance learning was available so kids didn’t miss out on their education while needing to stay at home.
Just a decade ago this would not have been as possible, or at least not as effective as now.
When the virus is gone, we will likely still see many workers doing it remotely and online education may prove to be the norm for many more people.
2 – More mindful shopping
Mindless and impulsive shopping will always be with us, but hopefully, it is not as widespread as it once was. Many people feeling the economic pinch as they are working less or laid off completely are likely regretting some of their purchases that they wouldn’t have made now.
This means that purchases will require more thought than before and may become a habit for many people. This is how things were for a long time. Some people may not remember layaways that stores offered so you could pay a little at a time until you could take the product home only after the last payment. We may see a rise in this practice again as people are less likely to put it on a credit card.
3 – Less travel
Business travel is almost unheard of right now and many meetings are happening virtually. Once the pandemic has passed, many businesses will be reluctant to spend the money to send their workers on the road to save money. If it works now then it can work in the future.
As far as traveling for pleasure, that is likely to be slowed down as well. People are finding that it can be just as relaxing to do staycations closer to home instead of spending a lot of time and money going long distances. Once the pandemic is over this trend will likely continue for a while. Especially since people will be spending less money overall.
