Post-Covid Social Status: Unclear

How will Coronavirus and lockdown affect our post-crisis social interactions ?

Blaise Pascal famously stated that “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” So what happens when two-thirds of the world are kept in their apartment for weeks/months?

Internet gives us some answers: People socialise on Zoom and HouseParty, have Tinder or Bumble virtual dates, spend more time watching porn and playing video games. Working at home has become the new norm for many, disrupting work routines as employees spend hours in Zoom (them again) meetings every week, work less during peak hours and more during lunch or late at night.

But the real question is how will quarantine affect people’s social interactions once the crisis is over? Hard question to answer. Here are some thoughts on how Coronavirus and lockdown could affect our post-crisis social interactions.

Community makes a come-back

The Black Death had opposite effects on communities. Initially, “it tore societies to their very core”. Indeed, the high mortality and contagion of the plague led to chaos: parents abandoned their children and friends their friends, doctors refused to heal the contaminated and priests declined to…