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Folks In This Online Group Predict That These 30 Things Won’t Go Back To Normal After The Pandemic
Over a year into the pandemic seemingly is giving more insight into what the post-pandemic world would potentially look like. So many things, including our daily social life and working habits, most likely have changed already and perhaps they will keep on evolving and never even go back to their previous forms. The all-knowing and all-opinion-sharing Reddit online group r/AskReddit was asked by its member u/sinosty, who dropped the surely thought-provoking question ‘What will never be the same again once the pandemic is over?’
It seems that that wearing bras might not make a comeback, as well as touching any surface and not thinking about washing your hands or grabbing your sanitizer immediately. It also could have ‘normalized’ some things that were less common, such as adults living with their parents or wearing face coverings in public. Below are the best examples of the predictions shared by people online.
More info: Reddit
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Let's wear masks in public whenever we might be feeling under the weather. I always thought that a very sensible and considerate gesture to make when I saw it being done in other parts of the world.
I really REALLY hope all this sets a new precedent in terms of public sanitation. The amount of places that are like 'look, we're doing full sanitation procedures to make sure you stay safe!' and it's like...you weren't before?! Grotty.
The weird pride surrounding dragging yourself to work when you're sick.
So now I can be weirdly proud of dragging myself downstairs to work while sick.
Sitting in a doctor's office waiting room when you're sick. I feel like lots of people will wear masks to hospitals and doctor's offices from now on.
I haven’t had so much as a head cold in 2020. Guessing the extra sanitization and general cleanliness has been helpful? I always washed my hands like normally but maybe extra focus is a good idea forever.
me too and it's been amazing! i'm pretty sure not sitting in open office full of coughing and sneezing people helped heaps
The blissful ignorance of sticking my fingers in a random bowling ball, then proceeding to eat food without a care in the world.
Our healthcare workforce. I'm afraid of a mass exodus of nurses in particular. This pandemic kicked everyone's a**, but none more so than healthcare workers.
Pay them freaking more! Hospitals and insurance charge ENORMOUS amounts that are not feasible and are absolutely ridiculous. I think you could figure out how to pay your healthcare staff better and give them better conditions. And for heaven's sake, cut the ridiculous work shifts to manageable times.
Many smaller businesses that are already heavily suffering will not able to recover even after the pandemic because it has become so normal for many to just use amazon... So please support your local businesses!
Many small business in my area are delivering now. I would rather order from them and pay $2 to have it delivered so they are supported.
I'm never wearing a bra again babyyyyyyyyy!
HAHAHAHAHAHA! I haven't worn anything more substantial than yoga pants in over a year. I only wear bra because I go hiking with my dog.
Not that I ever did it much previously, but I highly doubt I’ll ever eat at a buffet again.
Same. I didn't eat at them much before, but I don't think I could go back to a buffet or a cafeteria-style restaurant again. Too many people's hands touching the thing I am going to eat.
Hopefully pizza delivery. No contact pizza delivery is the best thing to come out of this.
No one will trust you if you have the common cold or a slight cough.
Yes, this. Even though I make sure I am wearing a mask sick and social distancing. When I am wearing a mask, I still cough into my elbow.
Adult kids living with their family. I think it'll be more widely accepted in the Western world.
Definitely. In my case, my mother moved in with me because she was having such difficulty in quarantine. I hate to admit this, but I really like having her around.
I think the plexiglass dividers at checkouts will stay around.
You’re going to see a lot of businesses go fully remote permanently, so a lot of people are going to be moving out of cities into the suburbs so they are going to start booming and turning into small cities.
Two of our largest offices have given up part of their office space because workers are doing so well at home. They aren't going to make them come back and work in the office full time.
My mental health.
The health of people who had permanent organ damage due to COVID.
The long-term health effects of covid-19 infection can appear even in those who had few to no obvious symptoms, so the long-term drag on heatlhcare systems (nationalized or privatized) will be ENORMOUS.
Trust in governments.
It wasn't good to begin with, but now it is virtually non-existent.
They turned one of the biggest tragedies of this century into a power grab; most govenments, all around the world. As far as I'm concerned, there is no forgiveness for them.
I wonder if this will cause a boom in the entertainment industry and Restaurants. As much as I like eating, and watching movies at home. Sometimes there is nothing like getting out of the house and being able to enjoy a good movie or a meal out.
Though I do hope this causes movie prices to go down. $20 for a movie, and even BEFORE the Pandemic hit, most movies weren't even worth that money.
I'm afraid prices won't go down. I did miss going to the movies or out to dinner. But it's not as if we're going to go to restaurants every day now to make up for all lost diners. So I think if prices change at all, they are more likely to go up to make up for lost income at the cinemas/restaurants
I have a slightly different take on some of this stuff—like handshakes, hugging, and casual physical contact.
I think we’re gonna go back to doing these things just as soon as we feel it’s safe. (I know some parts of the country people already are, for better or worse...) But it’s so important for human interaction. I just think we’re going to actually appreciate how important these things are.
Just being close to someone and looking them in the eye after shaking their hand or patting them on the back is critical to making a personal connection. Yeah I know masks don’t cover your eyes but not being able to see half of someone’s face is terrible when it comes to basic human interaction.
I'm a very touchy person, so I live for hugs and holding hands and stuff. My friend saw me when I was turning in work at my school and he came up to me and gave me a big hug and it was so nice I started crying in front of everybody there. The joy of hugging someone for the first time in a year is amazing, but I hope I will never have to go a year without a hug again... (I'm going on 3 months right now :( )
I'm one of those people who don't touch others easily (a Guy who was Raised that way) but receiving hugs or touches? Sends me over the moon.
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Staying at home has been a blessing for me. I hate everyone, hate being touched, hate small talk, have a hard time making eye contact, so yeah. I'm totally fine with where are are now.
I think a lot of people realized that a very small amount of interaction is enough; one true friend and one lover is all I need.
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F*CK THAT. I am SO happy to not have random strangers thinking it's OK to touch me. Unless we are CLOSE friends or family, DO NOT TOUCH ME EVER. I would be ecstatic if no one in public ever got within 6 feet of me again. I must have some strong Finnish ancestry somewhere in there lol
agree 100%. we've already seen the developmental issues masks have had on very young children who use things like facial expression and mouth movements to develop speech and social behavior etc.
Meh. I don’t care any more or less really. I hate that shaking hands is coming back though. It’s gross.
I've never been much of a huger or fan of physical contact, but I have to admit, even I miss it. I haven't touched another human being since January 2020, and only accidental contact I've had since then was with the casheers, when they handed me the change, just a slight brush of fingers. And I could really, really use a hug right now. I think I would start bawling my eyes off.
An internet hug from a stranger isn't going to cut it, sorry :-( giphy-hug-...714f13.gif 
It's headline news here that hugs are back on the menu from Monday (edited because my phone autocorrected "hugs" to "hits" 🤨😲)
I'm glad that many of those meaningless contact gestures have been kicked into touch and I for one will not revert to them when the Governments decide that Covd-19 cases and deaths have fallen to an accetable level. Apart for those how job it is to do so and thus have my consent, Doctors, Nurses, Dentists, Opticans, Hairdressers etc I do NOT like being touched nor to touch other people and I certainly don't go in for this elbow bumping habit that is now replacing handshakes etc. I will contnue to wear a mask on public transport, crowded places etc, and use Hand Gell when available. A friendly Hello, Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening, is sufficient for me sometimes with a nod to the person, a wave ,or the Star Trek Live Long and Prosper Handsign. My Latin Motto Could be "Noli me tangere".
Even I miss this, and I'm a big introvert. I haven't seen most of my friends for a while because all of this, now I crave to see them smile and hug them.
I have not stopped hugeing my friends. I have not been sick or my friends.
No, thanks. Maybe with people I know, but, I still refuse to fistbump even the people I know in personal and business life. I'm good with no colds or flu (I'm fully vaccinated against COVID)
Yes... it's hard for me as I am quite friendly AND often funny / sarcastic and when you can't see my full expressions... sometimes you get sideways looks! LOL
not having to shake hands or hug people has been a dream come true for this introvert! everyone needs to stay home and/or 6 ft. apart from me? Hell Yes!
I feel so bad for extroverted people. Isolation hasn't been that tough for me but I understand the feeling of missing someone and wanting physical connection. I'm good with just my husband but a lot of people need more than that and it makes me sad to think how they feel.
This one seems weird because I hug and shake hands exactly the same amount as I did before the pandemic. I hug and handshake those closest to me because I know and trust that they are not sick. I tend not to hug or shake hands with the cashier at the grocery store or the greeter at Wal-Mart.
I hate any human touch. My mom and husband is basically the only persons who can touch and hug me. This pandemic gave me a good reason to avoid any kissing and hugging.
I feel like I connect about the same with people when wearing masks. We can still make eye contact and have meaningful connection.
Snow days are dead, school will just be online
I think in cases of severe weather with power outages, it will still be a snow day. The plus side is that if it's a remote day, you don't have to make it up in the summer.
It will no longer be weird to wear face coverings in public so celebrities will always wear them to not be recognised
Commuting. I’m sure I will work from home regularly. Traffic jams will not disappear, but will be less common.
Too many companies don't really trust the working from home thing. Give it a year, everyone will be 100% back in the office.
Can we keep drive-up doctor's visits? I get upper respiratory infections almost every winter and being able to sit in my car and have the doc come to me was 🌟magical🌟. (No big waiting room/little waiting room while miserable!)
The feeling of being in a rave, passing round water and sharing bodily fluids, being the thousandth person to use a porta-loo and singing with all your breath, will never be the same again
There is no way we can feel that free again without the pandemic thoughts creeping in
Carnival in Venice or Trinidad....I´ll have to think it over carefully....Trinidad probably the better option..think coconut-water and Punchion Rum,the last is not less than 75% proof,will act as a natural disinfectant
In the long term, once the pandemic is over I don’t think a whole lot is going to change, but I do see the loss of many small businesses being permanent.
There will be fewer people working in offices than before, but I don’t think permanent WFH is going to catch on as much as people predict. While some people love WFH, some people hate it, or they are unable to do it effectively, and I think over time there will be some recruitment and retention issues. Those who want to WFH will migrate to companies that are full WFH, while those who want to work in an office will migrate to those jobs.
Casinos. I thought they were skanky and dirty before covid (but still fun as hell). Now standing at a craps table shoulder to shoulder breathing 20 dudes air and sharing chips with dozens of people for hours sounds f****** gross.
I know a bunch of people who have gone to the casinos since they were allowed to reopen. My roommate and about 10 of her friends have a Vegas trip planned for next month.
Having to sneeze in public
Note: this post originally had 39 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
As an assan'sole worker who can't work from home and worked with customers all pandemic long I look forward to my snow days. May there be many.
Wow. Not a single person said they were going to take better care of their health? One of the major causes of death from covid is a prior condition - one of the most common being obesity - I was already pretty healthy, but the pandemic spurred my whole family to eat cleaner and exercise more. The best way to help the health professionals is to take care of yourself!
It's no guarantee and with different virusses, come different consequences. Also to achieve better health, you will need governments focusing on that. By subsidizing healthy options and taxing unhealthy stuff. And don't say that that's a socialist thing. It's a human thing. Individuals really can't make that choice well enough, as seen in the US to the extreme.
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indeed. i feel that i have lost many social skills from lack of practice haha
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I think there will be short-term changes, but keep in mind, the world dealt with a horrible, devastating pandemic 100 years ago, and it didn't take very long for things to return to where they were before. Ever hear of the Roaring 20s? Those people weren't holding back, despite many of them probably having known people who died from the pandemic.
Brett Connor, you seem like the type of person to refuse to wear a mask because it 'violates your rights'
The one thing I hope stays around after all is said and done and we are back to eating at restaurants again? Online menus, and online payments. Just scan a QR code when you get there to see a menu, and scan a QR code when you get your bill to pay for it. I freaking LOVE this.
My UK GP surgery has been using an online service called eConsult. You can log on, select why you are contacting them, and then go through check lists/questions about what is wrong with you. It acts as a first contact, they can use it to triage - if they think you need urgent care, they can advise you to seek it, otherwise they feed all the information they have gathered - you can even upload photos - to your surgery, who will arrange either a telephone or an in-person appointment. In practice, I've found it is far quicker than trying to make an appointment to go in and see a GP. Most times I've used it, I've been speaking to a GP at my local practice within 24 hours, and immediately prescribed medication. I hope they keep it on. While it won't suit everyone, those of us who use it will be making less calls or visits, so everyone will benefit.
Clothes. I think we'll all start to embrace a more casual look even in the workplace- after so much time not having to put on a suit
May I add: take it seriously when the authorities say is a pandemic.
Contactless payment everywhere in the UK. Even market stalls. I've used cash once in the last year.
Revelation Chapter 13 speaks of this one in the second half of the chapter. Also mentions selfies and video calls.
Load More Replies... Going to work sick is not about pride. It's about being short staffed, running out of sick days, not wanting to fall behind on your work, etc. And I'd love to have the option of working from home on occasion, but corporate decided the pandemic is over and we must return to the office. So much for that work/life balance!
Church attendance. It was already dwindling over the last 30 years, now it has taken a major hit form the fence sitters who sometimes went.
Handshaking as a greeting hopefully will be phased out, most folk are hygienic but it can still spread germs/disease...all hail the future of the Fist Bump👊
Working remotely? Companies don't trust employees to do this and would prefer to micro manage you, it'll end. Extra safety in offices and retail? Expensive, limits customers and companies ONLY care about the money - this will end. Raves and other indoor shoulder to shoulder gatherings, will restart with no concern either from organisers or attendees. They have 'tested' one with 5000 attendees in UK, they had no problem getting people to come and have no problem with the thought this will spread disease and likely cause excess deaths. Masks? As soon as this is no longer law you won't see another one again. When it was 'advisory' to wear a mask only 10% did, when it was law this went to 90%. The UK Government are actually going to ENCOURAGE people to go into work even where this is not necessary. They are prioritising transport ie commuting over health and environment. Governments don't care, employers don't care and people will only do the right thing is forced to do so..
But many companies have trusted employees to work remotely. It became the norm for office workers,.
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As an assan'sole worker who can't work from home and worked with customers all pandemic long I look forward to my snow days. May there be many.
Wow. Not a single person said they were going to take better care of their health? One of the major causes of death from covid is a prior condition - one of the most common being obesity - I was already pretty healthy, but the pandemic spurred my whole family to eat cleaner and exercise more. The best way to help the health professionals is to take care of yourself!
It's no guarantee and with different virusses, come different consequences. Also to achieve better health, you will need governments focusing on that. By subsidizing healthy options and taxing unhealthy stuff. And don't say that that's a socialist thing. It's a human thing. Individuals really can't make that choice well enough, as seen in the US to the extreme.
Load More Replies... indeed. i feel that i have lost many social skills from lack of practice haha
Load More Replies... I think there will be short-term changes, but keep in mind, the world dealt with a horrible, devastating pandemic 100 years ago, and it didn't take very long for things to return to where they were before. Ever hear of the Roaring 20s? Those people weren't holding back, despite many of them probably having known people who died from the pandemic.
Brett Connor, you seem like the type of person to refuse to wear a mask because it 'violates your rights'
The one thing I hope stays around after all is said and done and we are back to eating at restaurants again? Online menus, and online payments. Just scan a QR code when you get there to see a menu, and scan a QR code when you get your bill to pay for it. I freaking LOVE this.
My UK GP surgery has been using an online service called eConsult. You can log on, select why you are contacting them, and then go through check lists/questions about what is wrong with you. It acts as a first contact, they can use it to triage - if they think you need urgent care, they can advise you to seek it, otherwise they feed all the information they have gathered - you can even upload photos - to your surgery, who will arrange either a telephone or an in-person appointment. In practice, I've found it is far quicker than trying to make an appointment to go in and see a GP. Most times I've used it, I've been speaking to a GP at my local practice within 24 hours, and immediately prescribed medication. I hope they keep it on. While it won't suit everyone, those of us who use it will be making less calls or visits, so everyone will benefit.
Clothes. I think we'll all start to embrace a more casual look even in the workplace- after so much time not having to put on a suit
May I add: take it seriously when the authorities say is a pandemic.
Contactless payment everywhere in the UK. Even market stalls. I've used cash once in the last year.
Revelation Chapter 13 speaks of this one in the second half of the chapter. Also mentions selfies and video calls.
Load More Replies... Going to work sick is not about pride. It's about being short staffed, running out of sick days, not wanting to fall behind on your work, etc. And I'd love to have the option of working from home on occasion, but corporate decided the pandemic is over and we must return to the office. So much for that work/life balance!
Church attendance. It was already dwindling over the last 30 years, now it has taken a major hit form the fence sitters who sometimes went.
Handshaking as a greeting hopefully will be phased out, most folk are hygienic but it can still spread germs/disease...all hail the future of the Fist Bump👊
Working remotely? Companies don't trust employees to do this and would prefer to micro manage you, it'll end. Extra safety in offices and retail? Expensive, limits customers and companies ONLY care about the money - this will end. Raves and other indoor shoulder to shoulder gatherings, will restart with no concern either from organisers or attendees. They have 'tested' one with 5000 attendees in UK, they had no problem getting people to come and have no problem with the thought this will spread disease and likely cause excess deaths. Masks? As soon as this is no longer law you won't see another one again. When it was 'advisory' to wear a mask only 10% did, when it was law this went to 90%. The UK Government are actually going to ENCOURAGE people to go into work even where this is not necessary. They are prioritising transport ie commuting over health and environment. Governments don't care, employers don't care and people will only do the right thing is forced to do so..
But many companies have trusted employees to work remotely. It became the norm for office workers,.
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