My name is Amar. I am a writer and comedian based in India. Also, I have a lot of time to write right now because most of my work- comedy shows, workshops, book events, public meet-ups happen in person and everything is shut because of the corona virus. Hence, I am going to write a lot!
I have been thinking about the impact the Corona virus is having on the world.
It has already rendered a massive blow on the life of the world. Your life. My life. There is so much that has changed. The world is learning to live differently and is getting weirder and if I may, scarier, by the day.
There are so many things that we have just been used to as a society that we would not be able to do anymore, by the time the dust settles.
1. Sneezing proudly and not caring about it
I used to enjoy my once in a while reflex sneeze.
The pressure would build up in my nasal cavities, and I would compress my eyes and bingo, the moment of truth would happen-the actual sneeze and my head would be lighter.
In case of sneezing at a public place, I would look around and judge the world for not wishing me ‘bless you, man.’
In the post corona world, nobody is saying bless you to anyone. In fact, a week back or so, I happened to sneeze in the market and one guy moved away as if I am an untouchable.
Shame on him. Actually, he was just trying to save his sorry ass, but still, he left me unblessed and that’s a shame.
2. We learnt a new term-social distancing
Now, India is a 1.3 billion people country. There is no way we have learnt anything about distance all our lives. We just regularly end up touching people and touched in the metro, in the markets and in regular public spaces.
Now, we are being told to socially distance each other. This has led to a lot of people developing all of allergies in the bodies because they haven’t been touched by strangers in a long while, ever since Corona wreaked havoc.
If it continues like this for a long time, a lot of people will die of their only source of touching in their lives-public touching.
3. China is the world’s virus factory
China is not only the world’s manufacturing hub, but also the world’s virus factory. All the viruses originate in China. The world is dealing with Corona virus and the Chinese are not happy for being called the parent country.
They are busy innovating. Hanta virus has been discovered and currently in production.
Being scared of China will be the new normal in the post Corona world.
4. You can’t just cough in the air
No, you should cough inside your elbow. ELBOW!
The elbow never had so much importance before. All our lives we were taught to palm our hands and cough inside but now we can’t cough inside the palm. The elbow has to be bothered. It’s a bloody act to cough these days and henceforth.
I mean, the elbow is far, no?
5. Stay home?!
The entire human society has been structured around people meeting and congregating.
Schools, colleges, entertainment, work life, everything is a function of people gathering together.
People don’t gather? Nothing happens, and that’s exactly what’s happening.
I mean we are not even used to spending so much time with our families, and now that everyone is home, we are being forced to ask, ‘who are you? My husband? Okay….since when?’
6. Masks everywhere
Nobody knows what kind of mask is right. There is all sort of information flowing from everywhere and people don’t know which mask to wear, and why.
My neighbor made a mask of his underwear and wore. He wasn’t getting any masks from anywhere. He said he would rather die of his own smell, than from some strange virus from China.
Makes sense though, although I won’t do that.
7. Netflix, Prime and die
Popular streaming platforms like Amazon Prime and Netflix have seen in usage upsurge. They will do well for a long while, till we get rid of the virus.
The shares of these companies will surge, while a lot of people around the world struggle to figure what to do with their idle times inside their homes.
Netflix and die.
8. Fear
Fear will become the new normal. Even after the Corona virus is gone, which seems like a distant possibility right now. People will be scared of meeting and mating with new people.
Dating apps like Tinder will suffer. People will wonder where all people they might be planning to touch have already been. Oh, no in the way you think already. You dirty mind.
Yeah, well. These are the few ways in which the society is going to permanently change.
If you think of more cultural impacts, please mention in the comment section and if you liked the piece, kindly clap and share around with your friends.
There won’t be a normal anymore. There will be a NEW normal.
Stay safe, healthy, and home.
