Talk about economic whiplash. Life was going so well before the global pandemic for many people. The economy was strong, unemployment rate was low at 5.2%. Low for Canadian standards. Restaurants were bustling, there was always a line up to get lunch from the local restaurants and parking lots were full. The cheap lots were at max capacity before 9am and expensive lots full by 10am. To get a table at a restaurant you’d either have to show up early or show up late. I miss the din of a busy restaurant. The connection you make with the person you are with, the waitstaff and even with those around you whether you knew them or not. When will we be able to do that again.
I drove to work on the rare occasion and took transit most of the time. The transit system was busy, it was not uncommon to have to wait for the next bus or subway car because there were just too many people on board. This was pre-pandemic and then the music stopped. It really was like playing musical chairs. We were running around too busy living and in the last few days before the city shutdown, there was that extreme anticipation that you may or may not have a chair to sit on. The days leading up to knowing whether we will be sent home, either to work from home or get furloughed or laid-off were anxious and long, paired with the realization that things will no longer be the same.
Miraculously my workplace was able to transition most of the employees to work from home. This would have been difficult if not impossible if this pandemic happened when internet was not as common. Connection speeds have increased so much if you were able to upgrade your access. You need a good connection if you and your partner and kids are on the internet daily.
Internet is becoming a great connector in every single aspect of our lives. We are working from home, doing banking and depositing cheques from the comfort of home. All my accounting is done online and signed with an e-signature. I do my exercises by following gym classes on YouTube, my kids do online lessons through Google Classroom and stay connected with their friends with FaceTime. There are online video games and movies. There are even massive concerts you can attend. My son attended a Travis Scott concert with 12 million other people during this pandemic through Fortnite. Imagine monetizing that and advertising to such a huge demographic.
We will adapt and the world might become unrecognizable when we are done. This pandemic accelerated the adoption of the internet like no other catalyst. Even politicians are having meetings online.
No one can predict what comes next but I know that the economy can swing from one extreme to another. We are in the middle of the depths of a shock we’ve never seen. I’m hoping that the other side could be such a contrast to this despair like a boom in the economy that also only happens once every one hundred years. In the meantime, we wait and survive and innovate and hope for a better future.