What the Pandemic has done to us…..
We are all aware of the impact the pandemic has done to us. There have been some positives though. Many of us have enjoyed the flexible working opportunities and the chance to spend more time with families rather than commuting several hours a day. There is no longer a need to travel for a meeting as it can be done online.
Did the negatives outweigh the positives? Possibly, especially if you were in an abusive relationship and had no escape. We will never really know the full impact of children not being able to go to school or the lack of socialisation of children born during the pandemic.
On a personal level, what I am noticing is lack of engagement in many spheres of my life. I belong to Toastmasters International, a public speaking and leadership development global organisation. We have clubs in almost every city across the world. My own local club is certainly suffering from lack of engagement and our membership is in decline. Prior to the pandemic we were a vibrant club with a strong, healthy active membership. During the pandemic we held all our meetings online and this gave us the opportunity to still meet up and also attend other meetings, not only in our own country but across the world. A never before opportunity which many members took advantage of.
Despite these benefits, we noticed a significant drop in numbers. When asked, members cited lack of attendance as ‘being Zoomed out’ surely a phrase for the new dictionaries if it isn’t already in there. They had too many online meetings at work and didn’t want a social side of their life to be on Zoom.
I completely understood their frustrations and overuse of Zoom or other online meeting service, what I didn’t understand was that our club was a meeting of minds, a fun event and a social group coming together. Why would you want to miss that? Or was it simply that many of our members had just become embroiled in their own little world and stepping out of it was simply a step too far.
Our club has now decided to try and embrace all aspects of the lockdown by holding hybrid meetings. We meet face to face in our usual meeting room with the addition of cameras and members being able to attend online, via Zoom. Perfect, you might say, I bet that’s bringing your members flooding back. If only that were true. Nope, they are not flooding back. The die-hards are attending the face to face meetings and a few people are attending online, but certainly not in the numbers we previously had.
This lack of engagement baffles me. Is this what the pandemic has done to them? Is mixing with other people in a closed environment making people afraid of being contaminated by the virus?
I’ve noticed it too when it comes to travel and socialising. As I have family who don’t live in the UK, my only way of seeing some of my grandchildren is by getting on a plane for a couple of hours and visiting them. Many of my friends are horrified that I would consider going on public transport to the airport, mix with others in an airport and sit on a plane with unknowns. Throughout lockdown, I did this journey many times, taking the necessary precautions, of course. I also endured the many stints of the required 14-day isolation at the end of my journey and paid for whatever tests I needed. Everything was worth it and I would do it over again.
It’s a similar situation with visiting the theatre. Now that the theatres have opened up and the actors are desperate to continue their craft, we need to support them. Not according to some of my friends who are still terrified of stepping outside of their front door and wouldn’t dream of going to the theatre and sitting amongst strangers.
I had COVID right at the start of the pandemic and have since had 3 vaccinations so feel well protected. Where required or requested, I wear a mask and socially distance myself. I do appreciate that many people are not only protecting themselves but also vulnerable loved ones, hence the need to withdraw from society.
My concern is that this is going to become the norm and people will find it easier to stay at home and not engage with the outside world. It really doesn’t bear thinking about. I for one, am not going to follow this trend and whilst taking the necessary precautions, I will be going out and about. Please think about your own actions and the impact it is having.
NOTE: If you are a member of Riverside Communicators Toastmaster Club, UK, please come back to the club and swell our numbers yet again.
References:
