BY MARYAM FEROZ
Coronavirus has become a hot topic during these days. The question that arises is that where will we stand in the next six months, a year or ten years from now? I lie awake at night wondering what the future holds for us.
Since the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent war on terror, the outbreak of the novel coronavirus is the second most consequential development of the 21st century.
So, what is meant by adaptation? “Adaptation is the physical or behavioral characteristic of an organism that helps another organism to survive better in the surrounding environment.” Humans have the biological plasticity or an ability to adapt biologically and physically to our environment. So in this pandemic, what people have adapted to is self-isolation and lockdown.
The world has easily been shifted to being digitalized on all platforms, like all the educational institutions have been shifted to digital learning and innovative methods which are likely to redefine traditional pedagogic methods.
Same with the brands who are playing within the sphere of online consumption, apart from e-commerce, these include the fields of distance learning, gaming, live streaming, virtual entertainment, and telemedicine.
Even the criminals have adapted to this life including some drug dealers who are now trading online. Crimes such as house break-ins and vehicle thefts have fallen significantly but burglary of unattended business premises and online scams may rise in coming weeks and months and more cybercrimes and scams may arise in upcoming days.
In China, DAN numbers showed that the daily active users (DAU) count of video apps has been increased by 42% while time spent on OTT platforms spiked by 20%. Also, people have been forced to be creative and somehow, they are finding ways of doing what they love.
Eventually, the novel coronavirus pandemic will end but when and with what cost? The longing to go back to the old life will witness some setbacks as one of the lifestyle changes adapted to flatten the covid-19 curve will stay forever. So, the question arises that what will be the new normal as the world will never be the same again. I think most of the things will be more digitalized and virtual.
Germany’s health minister Jens Spahn told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Monday that the country was considering how to implement a gradual recovery from the pandemic. “We are thinking about step by step, that is important … going back to a new normal”, Spahn said.
For example, according to Bill Gates, Microsoft had already switched to virtual shareholder meetings way before the outbreak of the pandemic. He doubts that as many other companies will adapt to this approach, they would want to go back to the traditional meetings.
In the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis, we may also see the development of an international pandemic response team, and stronger governmental guidelines that include more stringent healthcare systems in order to protect the community. It is also possible to see a shift in geopolitics and a potential rise in nationalism.
Also, inequality could keep increasing, more work could get remote permanently, businesses might not hire as many people as they had before the pandemic, which could lead to a universal basic income. Movie theaters would significantly decline and virtual entertainment would take their place, all of which could lead to new dimensions of life.
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