The Coronavirus - This is a Paradigm Shift

I remember on 9/11, when I was driving home early from work terrified about what was happening, I said out loud to my now husband, “ Our world has just changed forever.”

And it had changed. Permanently.

I also realized today, on day XX of the now pandemic Coronavirus, that the world has changed again. Permanently. The impact of the Coronavirus is unprecedented in our modern world and it is changing how we function. How we live. How we work. How we shop. How we socialize. How we learn.

Permanently. It’s a paradigm shift.

We will now treat communicable diseases differently, every time one comes around. We will clean our world against germs differently and more universally thoroughly than ever before. We will think about viruses and germs differently now, as a collective culture.

Now fearing the entry of retail stores and restaurants, we will permanently change the way we shop, cook, and eat (socially) forever. As if that wasn’t already starting. Travel … we’re thinking about that differently too.

Working remotely will now be a permanent fixture. WFH won’t be an out of office notice, but a regular way of life. Every time there’s a reason to do so.

Sporting events, concerts, crowded bars … dating … will never be the same.

I teach at NYU and we’ve now gone remote for the moment … schools and universities are embracing the concept of the non-physical class. Teachers and students and parents are changing how they think and behave, permanently.

Socially - we will greet each other differently. We’ll think twice about a kiss, a hug, and a handshake. I’m a hugger and I haven’t hugged anyone in weeks. Not in the US anyway. I miss it!

This is a paradigm shift. We won’t operate the same way ever again.

And forget about the economic impact of all of this…well that’s a paradigm shift as well because not only will we be dealing with it for years to come but it will affect how we look at the impact of global health on the economy forever. And how we save and how we spend our money. At least our forever until there’s another paradigm shift.

So while we focus heavily on the spread of the Coronavirus, we should also note how it has permanently changed our way of life forever. And also note that technology and innovation - in healthcare, communications, and interactivity - will save us!

You may differ in opinion, which is awesome. But this is how I feel, and many others too.

But I have to ask…what’s your experience? JIM