I had a very busy day for someone who had barely left home.
First, I received a group text that had been going on since last week. There are dozens of messages from friends every day, including the latest news about coronavirus, and pictures of the kitchen filled with supplies that could perhaps last for a year. There are also FaceTime calls from family and friends that could not be ignored. Like me, they are also forced to stay indoors and trying to stay away from loneliness and boredom.
Just last Saturday, while doing my grocery, I checked messaged some friends through Facebook messenger and Twitter direct messages. On Instagram, I traded home cooking recipes and joined the support group with my neighbors using WhatsApp. I even put on virtual reality headsets and spent hours playing mobile legends. I also shopped online looking for the best rigid sander I can use for my next DIY project.
This could be the new normal.
I thought the strict quarantine mandate and social distancing would make me go craze. But I was totally wrong. It, in fact, made me feel more connected. My inbox is full of invitations for digital events-scaling art classes, Book Clubs, jam sessions, and conferences. Foreign and industry experts share the latest info concerning the virus on social media. They are organizing various approaches to help striving people and small companies. A lot has been going on online and it is getting busier every day.
There’s absolutely no use trying to sugarcoat the coronavirus, that has, by now, devastated many folks around the globe, and could get a lot uglier in the weeks forward. We will see even more lives lost, companies shut down and communities tossed in economic difficulty. No one is reasoning that what exactly is forthcoming would be entertaining, simple or anything normal for a long time.
Nevertheless, should there be a silver coating with this turmoil, it could be that this virus is driving us to make use of the online world as it was generally intended to be employed – to get in touch with each other, talk about facts and sources, and even think of collective strategies to emergency issues. It is the strong, humane kind of digital society we generally observe only in TV commercials.
But this could be the new normal. Who knows until when will this last. We only hope for the best and make use of the resources that we have on hand. No use sulking over lost jobs but embrace the new norm of living to find alternative ways to earn and live.