“Stay home. Save Lives.” is the
phrase advertised in Canada and the world today. Covid-19 has the leaders and
the rest watching carefully as to how the things unfold. It is being considered
that COVID-19 will have powerful effects on interpersonal dynamics because of
its low diagnosis rate, and unfound medical treatment. In congruence, I think
to manage this period we have to keep life, society, and economy, active and
sustained. In this paper I will discuss the reasons, along with the subsequent
outcomes of this change in interpersonal dialogue.
Foremost, the pandemic has had a
direct effect on how an individual relates with the self. There is increased
isolation due to obligatory separation, thus lesser chances of interaction with
others. Studies conducted by associations find relationship between loneliness
and covid-19, and further discuss about risk factors (Association of Directors
of Public Health [ADPH], 2020). The ones most vulnerable are found to be young,
on low incomes, or with mental health conditions. This further has a domino
effect on economic standings and public health overall. Thus, bringing forth unforeseen
changes to populace’s attitudes and beliefs, both of which “function quite
independently of each other” as discussed by Beebe et al (2011, p.34). The
breakdown of centuries long concepts has made people change their inclinations to
respond to others. Also, changed, is our understanding of reality, as we see ourselves
distancing from others in multiple spaces of day-to-day life.
Inadvertently, our
self-concept has changed, where some find it easier coping with the announced
temporary laws, while many others have noted difficulty. For example, many
people found themselves jobless and in an economic crunch when the lockdown
phases first started, which made it difficult for the caretakers like parents,
and the youth to make ends meet. These sudden community changes brought about
emotional responses of all sorts (Beebe et al, 2011, p.42) and a sense of
helplessness propagated among people. On the other hand, there were youth and
even business owners rebelling against lockdowns for their sense of freedom,
albeit on the risk of others, waving the most basic of interpersonal
relationships concept of importance of being other oriented (Beebe et al, 2011,
p.2).
Consequently, we
saw a shift in mentality of the society itself. People found that it was
getting harder to manage their lives as they were asked to leave their houses
for essential services only (Lawrynuik, 2020), which exasperated the problem. Thus,
the way people shop, attend school, get to work, and socialize has anything but
took an un-anticipated turn. Technology has come to the helm as a positive
aspect in these times. It is like society had been preparing all these decades
for the likes of COVID to happen, as our information technology prowess saved
us from complete social blackout. For instance, online services like Facebook, YouTube
and Instagram kept the superficial flow of information between people.
Meetings, classes, and work took to online tools such as Zoom and MS Teams,
which allowed numbers of people to be able to come together. Also, even the
governments were pushed for virtual sessions (Bissett, 2021).
Several social
infrastructures, and their strengths and loopholes came to the forefront. The
health system worked well, as they battled the high infection numbers with the
available space in the hospitals and clinics. But most of it has been managed
well till now. Meredith MacLeod for CTV News counts that just a selection of
illnesses and deaths of the earlier projected worst-case scenarios shows the
success of pandemic response and preventative measures by the government (MacLeod,
2020). Subsequently, the Canadian government's relief program was initiated
that helped many people out of the cash crunch (Alini, 2020). The system worked
well because of earlier digitization of the taxation and social benefits system
that allowed easy and quick help imbursement to Canadian people.
Meanwhile, the focus
on the severely affected areas were those of regions of First Nations, and other
minority essential workers in the country. This brought into limelight the inadequate
understanding of the cultural differences, and the lack of communication and
preparation therein. Statistics in the outer world, specifically England show
that Black, Asian, and minority ethnic groups (BAME) are the most affected, as
shown in a video by Public Health England (BBC, 2020), where the former could
range from twice to 15-50% more likely, than a British Caucasian, to be vulnerable
to the virus. People in essential work such as social work and transport are
more at risk than others to contract coronavirus. The analysis shows how the
ethnocentrism, or the involvement with the culture of self could hinder help to
so many places that need it.
On the contrary,
the economic stimulus packages were seen to be distributed in an incorrect
manner, it was said that it was a bailout for lobbyists as the powerful used
their influence, to get benefits out of taxpayers’ money (Sirota and Rock,
2020). The stimulus packages were not limited to that, the corporations were
further given various other liability shields. Further, affects were seen in
the relationships with other nations in the aspect of globalization. Lessening
of right-ward inclination in case of general politics was seen in the US, as
Biden won the US presidential elections in 2020, ousting Donald J. Trump. A
sense of poise on everyone's face was at workplaces and homes, as one of the
strongest nation’s “flamboyant” leader, as described by Putin, was ousted
(Reuters, 2016).
In the end, the
year-end of 2019 till the present has been a roller coaster of sorts when it
comes to the interaction dynamics in the world. The change seen in the way that
people relate to each other and especially, with themselves has brought greater
uncertainty, which seems to have become the norm. The difference is clear as
day that the changes are here to stay, as people work and study from home. But,
if this greater control over how we meet gives some hard found freedom, we should
keep in our minds that humans, as a species. We are social in nature, and that
too much of isolation, may seem as being spiritual at first, but also could
give birth to egoism.
References
Beebe,
S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal
communication: relating to others. Seventh edition. Boston: Pearson
Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) UK (2020). Loneliness, social isolation, and COVID-19. https://www.local.gov.uk/loneliness-social-isolation-and-covid-19
Lawrynuik,
S. (2020). Lockdown Loneliness. Toronto Star. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/11/13/lockdown-loneliness.html
Bissett,
K. (2021). Opposition politicians push N.B. government for virtual legislature
sessions. CTV News. Retrieved from
https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/opposition-politicians-push-n-b-government-for-virtual-legislature-sessions-1.5307045
MacLeod,
M. (2020). Canada's pandemic lockdown worked, says infectious disease doctor. CTV
News. Retrieved from https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/canada-s-pandemic-lockdown-worked-says-infectious-disease-doctor-1.4991365
Alini,
E. (2020). Canadians who ran out of EI (Employment Insurance) eligible for
Canada Recovery Benefit, government confirms. Global News. Retrieved
from https://globalnews.ca/news/7399040/canada-recovery-benefit-exhausted-ei-eligibility/
Public
Health England (2020). BAME coronavirus deaths: What's the risk for ethnic
minorities? BBC News. Retrieved from
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/explainers-52969054
Sirota, D. & Rock, J. (2020) Tucked
into the Covid-19 stimulus package? Protection for corporations. The
Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/dec/05/tucked-into-the-covid-19-stimulus-package-protection-for-corporations
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