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While we already allow ourselves to live more freely knowing that the pandemic is more or less controlled, we can still feel its effects. Even though this phenomenon hit us differently, it still made an impact on each and every one of us. While some lost their loved ones, were laid off, or had to say goodbye to their dreams, others might’ve been lucky to get out of it with less painful consequences. Having this in mind, Reddit user u/blancheneige37 asked others online “What did the pandemic ruin more than we realize?” The question that received more than 42k upvotes encouraged people to share their insights on what changed during the pandemic and hasn’t come back to its previous state.

Soon Reddit users started sharing what they’d noticed since the beginning of Covid-19, revealing how much our relationships with one another have changed and how kids and youth were robbed of getting an opportunity to socialize and now might struggle with their emotions and anxiety. Others also noticed that the way they see money has changed as now many things are much more expensive, and even having a takeout is considered a luxury. Not to mention the number of rising businesses that had to be closed due to the inability to adapt to this sudden change. What are some of the things that you have noticed to be different than before? Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments down below!

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#1

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) It ruined me on traffic, for one glorious year, as an "essential worker" I had the roads almost entirely to myself, it was beautiful.

lettherebeme , be-nn-y Report

#2

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) Leaving the house.

Goes to Subway - I can make a better sandwhich at home.
Goes to a nail salon - I can paint my nails better than this lady.
Goes to a hair salon - I’ve been cutting my hair solo for 2 years now, I’m a pro.
Goes to work - I can do all of this more efficiently at home.
Goes to Applebees - I can provide myself with mediocre service at home.
Goes to Walmart - I can order all of this online.

Why did I leave the house again…?

EmmyTheSweet , claudia gabriela marques vieira Report

#4

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) The belief that Americans are able to come together in a crisis and be willing to make sacrifices for the greater good.

We’ll never trust each other again.

treenation , Sheila Sund Report

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Yeah, okay.
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I honestly blame the leadership at the time. Trump divided people by going against science, forcing states to one-up each other in return for federal aid ("be nice to me", remember that quote?), refused to consider national policies so states were on their own, the last goes on and on. Trump was never, ever a leader. He was a dictator-by-election wannabe who thought driving attention to himself by any means possible meant he was "popular".

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#5

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) The health system is wrecked. Way too many nurses got burnt out and left the profession.

randomredditor0042 , Iguanageek Report

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Kookamunga
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They lost a bunch of nurses who wouldn't vaccinate as well - shameful. Buh-bye, morons!

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#6

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) I feel like everyone is more bitter now. Like we all saw through the sham of society. Time feels different now. Things just feel off compared to pre 2020

destroyed233 , USDA NRCS Montana Report

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oboe lover (he/they <3)
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

isn't that good though? the curtain fell, it doesn't make me happy, but now progess can start?

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#7

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) Worker/employee relationships. A lot of people woke up to how s****y a deal we have it in the united states. Wealthiest country in the world. No guarantied sick leave, no paternal/maternal leave. We gave big business bailouts AND they still raised prices and fired workers.

IllustriousFailure , Gary J. Wood Report

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Js
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Can't agree more. Left my job recently for reasons along these lines.

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#8

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) The cost of living is pretty f****d

ANiceDent , Brendan Riley Report

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#9

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) Family relations. Vaxxed vs antivax, mask vs no mask, covid deniers vs lockdown advocates... Fractured a lot of my family and many others.

Grim_Rebel , Helena Lopes Report

#10

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) "essential" versus "non essential" employees, better known as those who HAD to show up physically in person, and those allowed to stay home. Biggest division in the workplace. Mentally it will never be the same in the workplace.

MobWife_88 , mARK Report

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Frankthetank
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

March 2020, I learned that I was essential. I did not want to be essential. I quit my 22 yr. career December 2021. The pandemic changed ME.

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#11

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) Grocery Shopping at 2:00am was the best thing ever. Now I have to shop with the rest of you hooligans and it f*****g sucks.

Holinyx , Hannah Donovan Report

#12

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) My perception on money. I worked so hard to pay off debt, save up for a new house, get promotions. Now with the rise of housing costs and inflation I feel like money is literally such a made-up thing and I have no control over anything even with all the right decisions.

KindredSpirit24 , Keith Cooper Report

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oboe lover (he/they <3)
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

money is a made up thing that you have no control of (unless you are a huge company CEO or smth) :/

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#13

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) As a teacher, I can say that it’s definitely affected kids in a way people don’t realize. Kids who had their first year of school (or even second) during the pandemic act quite different than kids who had a normal introduction to school. Many of them seem to have fewer social skills and higher anxiety than kids from previous years.

llamaddramaa , carolinespromiseblog Report

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James016
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My son started primary school the September before the pandemic hit. Then it was home schooling but being so young there was no live lessons. He is in year 3 now (7-8 years old). I’m not sure how it affected him as he has speech and language issues from being autistic, but he and his classmates seemed to roll with it. However when school reopened, he was very happy to see his friends.

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#14

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) This might just be local, but where I live, a S**T ton of businesses closed. I mean, half of them were closed. Not just because of the shutdown, they were closed permanantly.

XTVSteveYT , Matthew Paul Argall Report

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#15

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) Increased polarisation of people politically, socially, economically.

samw523 , Erik Maldre Report

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JoJoB
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'd agree with this, and I think it started with the mask/anti-mask, vax/anti-vax thing. It was just so heated. It is NOT a political party thing, regardless of what the media tells you. It's an a*****e thing.

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#16

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) I'm not sure if anyone else feels the same way but my perception of time hasn't really returned back to normal since then

Champaign__Supernova , pxhere. Report

#17

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) I honestly don't think the majority of Americans especially truly understand just how f****d the healthcare system is and is going to be.

Not just staff burnout, but we have nationwide backorders on some really key medications and even things like blood and albumin shortages.

There have been times that we've literally just not had the supplies available to give a blood transfusion and have had to resort to alternative treatments for things like seizures because we simply do not have the normal medications available.

We have major equipment shortages too, there were several months that we couldn't consistently get Foley catheter kits and we're having to Frankenstein things together. Currently the only a-line kits my facility has are the double port ones that we use for swanz. Bariatric beds? Good luck finding one!

Entire supply chains and productions lines have ground to a hault.

Add staff burnout, staffing shortages, increased patient loads, deceased equipment, and it's just a domino tower.

But most people?

Not a single f*****g clue.

TheBattyWitch , sergio santos Report

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kitten levels tokyo
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Being on the receiving end of a “Frankensteined” urinary catheter is my new worst nightmare.

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#18

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) Printed menus… call me snarky but scrolling through your phone at dinner, whether with family or on a date, is s****y

JayHaz10 , Kanesue Report

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the shrimp whisperer
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

THIS. EVERYTHING DOESNT HAVE TO BE F_CKING DIGITAL. I DONT WANT TO DEPEND ON THESE F_CKING THINGS. I USE EM A LOT. THEY'RE GOOD FOR FUN. BUT WHEN I GO TO SCHOOL I HAVE TO STARE AT A SCREEN ALL DAY. THEN I HAVE HOMEWORK, SO I DO THAT ALL EVENING. THEN I WATCH TV WITH MY FAMILY OVER DINNER AND IF I DONT, I'M VIEWED AS ALOOF. THEN BECAUSE I WAS TOO BUSY DOING SCHOOLWORK ALL DAY, I STAY UP ON MY PHONE DOING THINGS I WANTED TO DO. MY EYES HURT. I FEEL SICK. I'M DEPRESSED. I'M APATHETIC. I'M NEARLY ANHEDONIC. I CAN'T SLEEP. MY HEAD HURTS. I'M BRAINWASHED. I'VE HAD ENOUGH. i'll be back tomorrow y'all :D i'll be sure to read all your comments and like all your posts :D yup i'll be an active user for a very very very long time :DDD im really raging against the machine amirite? :D

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#19

**view on people, their hygiene, and their mental capacity.**

I started to notice that people cough and sneeze without using their hand/arm and just do it into the open, into a room or hallway full of people, directly at people, when they wear a mask they would remove the mask before sneezing or coughing into the open - all without any remorse or understanding why this would be bad or generally why it would be disgusting, no matter if it’s during a pandemic or not.

this still happens, daily I see someone doing it.

it’s mind blowing to me, absolutely mind blowing, considering what we all went through and why.

tobsn Report

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Jorie
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Absolutely! People are coming to work sick and don't seem to care about their co-workers. I'm just getting over my second severe upper respiratory infection in six months because people come to work and infect others. This year I missed Thanksgiving because of it.

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#20

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) the lockdowns happened during my last semester of university. I've never had an in person job, only work from home, which I realize is a blessing but also makes it feel like... idk like it's not real. I have no work friends, have never met my supervisor in person, I do all my work from my desk in my room. It feels like pretend.

EastWin3185 , Federalreserve Report

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#21

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) Everything just feels off, people are rude, no parties or overnight hangouts, most people nowadays keep themselves busy on their phones and tiktok. My mental health also took a hit. The time before 2020 feels like a colourful fantasy while the present one feels like a dystopian world

TuhatKaks , Nenad Stojkovic Report

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kitten levels tokyo
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Kind of agree. Pre 2020 felt like a dystopian world. The present feels like a less-fun dystopian world.

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#22

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) My waistline, and my mental well being. It's my own fault, but I was about six months sober and working out daily before covid. A few days later, half my department and my co-manager are laid off.

I'm suddenly working 14-hour days in extremely stressful conditions.

Walking my dog and working out took a back seat to a shot or two of Jack to calm my nerves and whatever comfort food I could get from grubhub.

Life is better now, but I haven't quite kicked all the bad habits I gained from those days.

Stress affects me differently, and I'm a lot more sensitive to it than I used to be.

lnvalidSportsOpinion , Jeremy Eades Report

#23

When you combine social media with a global pandemic it forced all of us to realize people don't suffer equally. In the age before social media, we could rely on tradition or culture to justify sacrificing to come together. Nowadays we must be guarded to not be exploited.

holdendc Report

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Graham Berry
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, a lot of the Ritch showed that they could go on a 2 year long vacation with little issue where everyone else was forced to live Day to day in a very real fear of homelessness and death.

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#24

Faith in humanity.

sp5_ Report

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RafCo (he/him)
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nah, i have available faith in humanity. Faith that we will happily kill our neighbors to avoid a little inconvenience. I'm writing this in bed with insomnia at 3AM, just after my dog farted, so my mood isn't at it's best.

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#25

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) Feels like it’s a more ‘to each their own’ sense of living. People don’t appear to be as connected as before the pandemic.

xensiz , Garry Knight Report

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Headless Roach
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think the pandemic just expedites what was happening already before in this aspect

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#26

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) People's driving is so out of wack, my only concern is to make it home in 1 piece.

pallaime , jencu Report

#28

Niche retail

There was this cool place that sold vintage chanel, hermes, 70's pieces

They needed the exploratory foot traffic to survive. Covid killed em

itemluminouswadison Report

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Wood Carver
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My local outdoorsy everyday carry knife pen and gadget store went for the same reason, it was impulse buy central but nothing you needed. I miss it

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#29

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) I’m in my 40’s, but the pandemic really cut the list of friends I socialized with in half. We got out of the habit of seeing one another, and now that things are back to “normal”, we just made a habit out of not having dinner dates and stuff like that. When I realized this was happening, it made me look back and realize that I was the one who used to plan things and reach out. I made the conscious decision to stop being the one who always reached out, called and texted and I now see that I’m only in touch with half the people that I used to be.

EDIT: I am not talking about socially awkward, depressed, introverted people. If anything, I’m the introvert, and I still always made a point to reach out. I’m referring to people who still go out, celebrate holidays and birthdays and socialize. Just not with me anymore apparently. There are only so many times I can try and make plans with people who don’t do the same with me. I cannot be the one putting 100% into a friendship.

Barnitch , Kindel Media Report

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kitten levels tokyo
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some might say you may not be an introvert if you were always “the one to plan things and reach out.” 😀

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Bethany Heller
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not true. I'm an introvert, I love being alone, but there is also a sense that I fail as a person if I don't socialize or make friends. This means I have to put conscious effort into planning things, especially since the people worth hanging out with, the ones who don't drain me horrendously, tend to to forget or can't plan well

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Toby
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I made the same decision when I realised I was always the initiator. Quite amazing (and slightly depressing) how much it simplified my social life. I didn't realise how many of my 'friends' were actually just people I apparently browbeat into seeing me.

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Just Another Girl
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As an introvert my life didn’t really change during the pandemic except that I was allowed to not be around people. No fake enjoying social gatherings, people in the grocery store had to stay a respectful distance from my personal space, very limited people-ing in general. That part was great for my mental health;I got to be my true self for the first time. It’s hard that people now expect the fake version where I have to be outside my comfort zone all the time to make them happy.

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Demongrrrrl
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I used to meet for coffee once a week before COVID. I organized "virtual coffee" during lockdown. The nice thing about that was friends who had moved away could join us. We have gone back to in-person gathering but still do our Zoom meetings once a month. It's been great to reconnect with friends I haven't seen in over 20 years.

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Chich
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A wake up call is stop being the one to always call or reach out to people for a month and see how many check in on you.

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highwaycrossingfrog
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Personally I am on the other side. My whole family are terrible at keeping in touch with people. I have a few good friends, and they are the people who put an effort into starting in touch. Iris not because I don't want to see them, more that I never learned to be a person who initiates contact. Both my parents are exactly the same and also have very few friends. I'm an introvert, and as a child/teen I had a complex that no-one actually wanted to hang out with me (I was so shy I barely said anything), so I tend to assume that people don't want to hear from me unless they make an active effort. It's almost certainly not that your friends don't want to spend time with you, more that they are used to you being the initiator, and when you stopped, they probably thought you didn't want to spend time with them. It's good to remember that people's actions in most cases are much more about them than they are about you

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#30

“What Did The Pandemic Ruin More Than We Realize?” (30 Answers) People seem so much shi**ier in large group public situations now. I don't know what it is, but etiquette in places like a movie theater use to be standard, but every experience I've had lately has been horrible. People talking, sitting there on their phones, and other just generally bad things.

I've heard the same about concerts, but haven't been to as many myself. I've heard from others where people used to be polite (help each other up in pits and stuff and so on), they now just don't give a f**k.

It's like people are just more rude now for some reason. I'm really interested to know if this is happening everywhere or if I just live in a s****y rude a*s place.

goblinking_157 , llee_wu Report

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Debbie
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not experiencing that at all. I went to a postponed concert last night, and everyone was in a good mood and friendly and chatty, as we've all been waiting for this for 3 years. Then again, metal concerts are usually friendly :)

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