The New Normal
It’s not often an issue becomes so universal that it threatens our normal way of life. With people staying at home during the lockdown aimed at stopping the spread of the Coronavirus all of us are having to learn to adapt. But how are people being affected across the UK?
Through my own personal network, I asked people to contribute to a crowd sourced collection of images collected in a ‘zine’ to get a feel for how being isolated or kept indoors during the Covid19 lockdown period has affected people. Some will have found the extra time beneficial to be able to finally complete that home project they have been meaning to do for months. Others I imagine will find the isolation and potential loneliness a problem and negative effect.
I asked people for a photograph and short description about how lockdown has affected them. All images were taken during the month of May, and the vast majority shot on camera phones. Being my personal network (professional and personal) Cornwall is featured heavily, but contributions range as far as China.
“Personally, the lockdown for
me has been a positive thing. I have seen so much more wildlife than ever before. The flora and fauna has been in abundance, the birds singing, it’s almost as if a reset button has been pushed. Also, on a family level, I’ve been able to ride bicycles on empty roads without fear of immense traffic or crowds, the beaches have been empty, no litter etc, but I do live in a seasonal area so it is to be
”
expected.
T. Tasker, St Merryn, Cornwall
Routine, structure, time-management: all good for human effectiveness and efficiency. But not so easy to maintain during lockdown. Most of us aren’t working, some of us are living on top of each other in one household, all of us are in survival mode. This is surely as unprecedented as the virus itself. Socially, we usually have a mixture of immediate family, extended family, friends, work colleagues and acquaintances; and daily people-contact out in our communities. This is the normal melting pot of human interaction in which we do very well, Positive psychology points out that belonging in groups, our tribal instinct, is what makes humans happy, thrive and flourish. So what happens when this network of societal organisation is pulled out from under us like a tablecloth being ripped out from beneath a full dinner service? Cracked plated ensue‌
Yes, we have virtual contact, in the form of regular family quizzes via apps like Zoom, but content and happy lives thrive on balance and we’re now totally out of whack. Life has become a hall of distorted mirrors which makes it difficult to find our fulcrum to ensure equilibrium. We have globally lost our bearings. How to cope though? By embracing, not resisting this ‘new-normal’ for the time being. We have no choice if we wish to survive this pandemic. v
The life of almost every person across the country has been turned upside down by Covid-19. People are getting creative and learning how to cope with new challenges. The young person who took this says she’s been ‘trying new activities at home’ like ‘photography’. She’s ‘missing friends and family’ but going on lots of walks and making sure she looks after her well-being.
“We would joke about not having
school but now we are here, it’s not as good”.
“Improved my cooking skills.” Shannon, St Eval, Cornwall
“As I am currently living in China, we experienced
lockdown at an earlier stage than all of my friends back in the UK. I often saw my best friends hanging out together, relaxing and having a good time through various social media channels. This made me severely miss home & seeing my friends.� TJ, China
What can we take away from this experience? Firstly, Contrary to my initial expectation, for the most part, people seem to have made the best of it and had a positive lockdown experience. People have taken the opportunity to get creative, complete long put-off jobs and projects, and improved family and personal networks. I thought people would detest the isolation, but I was clearly mistaken.
Going forward, when Covid19 is but a distant memory, I feel like we should take advantage of what we have learned collectively during lockdown. Yes, we need to check on and take more care of the vulnerable, but also, we should make more quality time for ourselves. Take on that vanity project. Start learning that instrument. The sky is the limit.