The bright side of the pandemic

[flar]

We're bombarded with negative news, what are some of the positives about being stuck at home?

For me:
-spending more time with family
-finally motivated to exercise (doing daily cardio to strengthen lungs and heart)
-eating healthier home-cooked meals
-producing less garbage
-spending less money
-doing things around the house I've been putting off

[2009]

This is the year to get those home and yard improvement projects done. Plenty of time to work on them being stuck at home every weekend and thankfully hardware stores remain open

Also, driving and commuting less is a benefit

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by 2009

This is the year to get those home and yard improvement projects done. Plenty of time to work on them being stuck at home every weekend and thankfully hardware stores remain open

Also, driving and commuting less is a benefit

And for those of us who still have to commute by car, it's now a breeze.

[hipster duck]

Personally

- I get to spend more time with my wife and baby. It's like a second paternity leave, but one I'm getting paid for
- Being able to read more, go for more runs and try out new pasttimes
- Being able to explore different parts of my city during my social distancing walks. We get out of the house once a day by driving through empty streets to a new neighbourhood and walking around for an hour, and I've found some real hidden gems that even I didn't know about before.

Societally

- Faith in science restored after a long, steady decline in the general public
- More of a sense of unity in a public that was becoming more polarized
- Drastic lowering of GHG emissions, especially since there are practically no more flights
- Less consumption of junk
- Growing public awareness of initiatives like Universal Basic Incomes
- The realization among more people working from home that a lot of white collar work is, frankly, bullshit that doesn't serve any purpose or create much value. Hopefully this creates a movement to define our identities around things other than our jobs. The last time this happened was when "Office Space" came out in the late 90s, but that was kind of cut short by 9/11. There was growing interest in this again in the past few years, but I think this period of self-isolation when people work maybe 1/3 as hard as they do in the office and still get the same amount done, will really let this idea sink in to a lot of people.

[ssiguy]

Cheaper gas and not using as much of it.
Get to watch more of the Simpsons.
A lot less traffic on the roads.
Fewer GHG emissions.
My one-time strata fee assessment of $900 has been cancelled.

Long term:
People will become far more focused about where their food comes from.
A general shift away from as much meat/poultry/fish in our diets as people increasingly realize that there are real health risks to eating animal flesh and no, I am not a vegetarian.
The world starts to finally be far more critical of China and thus it's political and economic impact will begin to fade as China quickly becomes an international pariah and the world's de-facto 4 letter word.

[Andy6]

It’s been a great bonding exercise at work.
It’s actually nice to be at home — it’s different spending all of every day here rather than just weekends.
I’ve started ordering food in sometimes and have tried some different dishes and restaurants.
Have talked to friends that I don’t often hear from.

[kwoldtimer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrdEMERq8MA

[once]

Spending the time with family is great. Number 1 by far.

Also reconsidering what is really important in life. A lot of time for reflection these days.

Also had the effect of reconnecting with friends I haven't talked to in ages. The "pandemic check in" is a thing, and it's led to some great conversations.

[WarrenC12]

We will come out of this leaner and more efficient. Over consumption, materialism, and unsustainable behaviour (environmentally), will all be seen in a negative light.

There's a sense that we are "all in this together" with respect to physical distancing. As we begin to see this work out, I think a sense of community will grow. No doubt we will get back into regional disputes, but maybe to a lesser degree.

People are reconnecting with their families, and we will treasure reconnecting with our friends when that time comes.

Support for public healthcare, and the importance of a strong, well funded and prepared public service might get more attention.

Speaking as somebody who believes in a free market and capitalism, we will look back at Trump and others who thought we should sacrifice old people for a few points on the Dow Jones, and shake our heads.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Speaking as somebody who believes in a free market and capitalism, we will look back at Trump and others who thought we should sacrifice old people for a few points on the Dow Jones, and shake our heads.

This is more of a prediction but I hope the pandemic will give us appetite for risk and trying new things at the national or social level.

When's the last time Canada built a $1B piece of civic infrastructure that was truly innovative and risky? Or when we implemented a government reform on the level of universal health care? A few months ago national pharmacare looked like a somewhat possible but extremely ambitious goal.

It's felt for a while to me like I'm living in a 1980's society on autopilot. Some things that stand out to me:

- Cities work a lot better when not choked with traffic (see what's happening right now). How many of those trips truly mattered and improved people's lives?
- The stock market and shareholder value are just a small part of our economy.
- Our computing and communications technology give us an incredible ability to coordinate that we're not using to its full potential.
- Technical and scientific expertise in our elected officials and bureaucracy matters far more than appearance and entertainment value.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by someone123

This is more of a prediction but I hope the pandemic will give us appetite for risk and trying new things at the national or social level.

When's the last time Canada built a $1B piece of civic infrastructure that was truly innovative and risky? Or when we really implemented reforms of the type that were fairly common after WWII?

It's felt for a while to me like I'm living in a 1980's society on autopilot. Some things that stand out to me:

- Cities work a lot better when not choked with traffic (see what's happening right now). How many of those trips truly mattered and improved people's lives?
- The stock market and shareholder value are just a small part of our economy.
- Our computing and communications technology gives us an incredible ability to coordinate that we're not using to its full potential.
- Technical and scientific expertise in our elected officials and bureaucracy matters far more than appearance and entertainment value.

Yes these are all good points. We'll definitely be re-examining a lot of assumptions. Things will get a mental "reset". Hopefully we'll see more critical thinking and respect of science. This virus doesn't care what you think.

[someone123]

I've spoken with a lot of people about their jobs during the pandemic and it's been interesting to hear about the new work arrangements that have happened. A few weeks ago, employers were incredibly inflexible (even though supposedly the economy was great). But now you see people who are going in to the office 1 or 2 days a week and then doing other work from home, etc.

My job can easily be done from home but most of my employers have argued that there is value in face-to-face contact. I agree it's worth something but is it worth the cost of renting a space and commuting 1-2 hours per day? Particularly if you compare it to an alternative of spending 2 days a week in an office and putting the meetings on those days.

Another thing that's become clear is that our labour laws need to be updated. Everybody should have paid sick leave.

I think we might also re-evaluate the way we deal with the flu and common colds, and the implied concept that we should all just work through it and get sick every year. I doubt it's a net win for society or even employers. Could we eradicate influenza in Canada with lots of screening and better practices, things we might need anyway to prevent future pandemics? It's an interesting question.

[WarrenC12]

There was an early study out of Hong Kong showing that seasonal influenza was almost down to zero after measures taken to prevent COVID19 spread. I'm not suggesting we all wear masks now, but basic hand washing and sanitizing procedures will certainly stick with us.

I hope this is the nail in the coffin for idiotic antivax/collodial silver/essential oil quackery.

[niwell]

On a personal level I'm enjoying going on daily walks and seeing things I've never noticed in my area, including a pretty thorough exploration of laneways (much better for social distancing walks!). Despite not being able to see most of my friends I also feel like we are having significantly more video chats over beers, which is nice.

Other posters have talked about some of the potential societal benefits which I agree with. Personally I think my office will be working from home a lot more in the future and only meeting in person occasionally.

At a larger level I think this provides for a big rethink of the role of government in society, the need for strong institutions and the nature in which the economy functions. Government may be willing to take on projects we haven't for some time. I don't think this is the death knell for capitalism or anything, but it may be a catalyst for moving away from the particularly toxic form of neoliberalism we've been experiencing.

[rousseau]

My wife and I have been working in our home offices for twenty years now, so nothing has changed save for not being able to stave off cabin fever by going out to a restaurant.

I suspect that things will go back to the way they were. If the ten years of the Depression didn't fundamentally alter very much about our capitalist society, save perhaps for the first calls for socialized medicine and other ideas for public welfare from the political left, I'm not sure a few months of a pandemic will.

[niwell]

Originally Posted by rousseau

I suspect that things will go back to the way they were. If the ten years of the Depression didn't fundamentally alter very much about our capitalist society, save perhaps for the first calls for socialized medicine and other ideas for public welfare from the political left, I'm not sure a few months of a pandemic will.

I'd say the shift towards Keynesian Economics during the latter part of the Depression was pretty massive

[mcminsen]

If we had to go through a pandemic I'm glad it's happening in the spring. Could you imagine if this happened in November with months of gloom and doom ahead? Of course, that may still happen if we have a second wave of infections in the fall but for now I'm grateful for some nicer weather.

Also, it's interesting to watch Mother Nature react to the suddenly quieter places, like downtown. I'm sure I'm hearing more birds. Maybe we'll see more whales and orcas in Vancouver Harbour or birds nesting where you wouldn't expect them to.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by niwell

I'd say the shift towards Keynesian Economics during the latter part of the Depression was pretty massive

True enough. I guess I was thinking more in terms of a major upheaval to the fundamental nature of societal interactions, economic and otherwise. In short: a turn toward Communism or something like it.

Perhaps if the Second World War hadn't erupted things might have been different? It certainly thwarted any widespread emergence of the sort of sentiments embodied in The Grapes of Wrath that might have provided more of a challenge to business as usual. Save for the incremental policies benefiting labour pushed for by the left, of course.

If the twentieth century is any example, it seems that you need powerful, captivating leaders to take advantage of chaos and unrest if you want to enact radical change, for good or ill. These are (in my view, thankfully) in short supply these days.

[LakeLocker]

I sure as hell don't feel bored.

The sad truth is regular life as much as I miss it was incredibly boring and fatalistic.

Thanks to the wonders of the information age, life is horribly predictable. There isn't many mysteries in our day to day, and the difference between knowing of a thing and doing a thing has become paper thin. I use to plan my life around exceeding the expectations created by wikipedia articles.

Now Wikipedia articles are still relevant but I feel like mundane things actually matter. Every trivial conservation I have with a family member, every time I look up at the sky etc.

I honestly haven't felt this sense of the unknown since I first went to Toronto.

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by mcminsen

If we had to go through a pandemic I'm glad it's happening in the spring. Could you imagine if this happened in November with months of gloom and doom ahead? Of course, that may still happen if we have a second wave of infections in the fall but for now I'm grateful for some nicer weather.

Also, it's interesting to watch Mother Nature react to the suddenly quieter places, like downtown. I'm sure I'm hearing more birds. Maybe we'll see more whales and orcas in Vancouver Harbour or birds nesting where you wouldn't expect them to.

I'm sure the marine life in the lower Salish Sea are over the moon that the whale watchers aren't chasing and harassing them all over hell's half acre.