‘WHAT THE WORLD THINKS’ SERIES
A list of predictions for life after Coronavirus (Part 5)
How will we be living our lives after coronavirus is over? Here’s a collection of thoughts from people around the UK…
Taken from the podcast ‘What The World Thinks’ by Samantha Hornsby. But for those that don’t like listening, here are the most interesting predictions for you to read.
CHOOSING CALM OVER THE COMMUTE: “I’ve definitely started to appreciate just the general outdoors more and I normally have quite a long commute to get to work, which takes just about around an hour. Now I don’t have to travel, I’ve been using the hour in the morning to go for a walk before work, just to kind of clear my head and make sure I’m as motivated as I can be. And I think that is something I’d like to continue doing after this is all over. I think, you know, I’d be happy to get up half an hour earlier in the morning and go for a walk, because I’ve noticed such a difference in my motivation and my general well-being from doing that. I think there’s quite a few people that would adopt the same mentality as me.”
MORE LOVE IN THE WORLD: “I think we’re all going to be working a bit slower and a bit more caring. And I think there’s gonna be a bit more love in the world. And I think if we can all do more positive things in this world… thinking about we’ve learned how to walk, how to work better with our families and how we can all live together. I think this is where the world is going to go. We have to care for everybody. We have to care for our planet.”
A DIFFERENT ATTITUDE TO DEATH: “I lost my mum to cancer in 2018. Ironically, she was a cancer researcher and she was taken away at a very young age. It turned my world upside down and in that respect I think I’ve been quite well prepared for coronavirus — I’ve seen death and I spent hours and days talking to my mum about it in her dying days. But it’s still scary. Coronavirus makes you live for the moment to be more spontaneous, so I think life has become more focussed on making a difference to the people around you. Thinking about how you can help others. But I’m hoping that we’re going to bounce back with a new perspective on helping one another to get. Altruism and positivity.”
THE EXAMINATION SYSTEM IN SCHOOLS: “It’s really going to shift in the way that we perceive education, especially the academic measurement of success within education. How do you then solicit for the idea of how academic grades are going to be measured? So what that brings into context is the fact that who predicts these grades as teachers. Who then becomes the most negatively affected in this? Statistically most young people from minority backgrounds — especially black kids — are predicted lower grades, often because of a lot of unconscious biases, a lot of stereotypes and narratives which are often one dimensional. How do we create a society that thrives based upon a holistic child, not just the child who has higher academic achievement? I believe coming out of Covid-19, what it will bring about is questions around how we fix value to citizens based upon academic achievements solely because now they don’t have to do exams. How do you know who’s the top kid? Who’s the bright kid?”
THE EDUCATION SYSTEM: “I think education does really need to evolve. And I think this has definitely been a catalyst for us to do so. Digital platforms are now not just becoming trendy and useful, they’re becoming necessary. And I think schools, especially secondary schools, are wising up to that now. It may well be that we’re going to be remote learning for the forseeable future and as a result, we’re going to have to think quite hard about our practise.”
REDEFINING MALE AND FEMALE EXPECTATIONS: “This moment, challenging as it is, should jolt us into changing the idea of what is a feminine agenda and what is a masculine role. It’s clear that in a crisis, the rules do not apply. Which for many ask the question why were these rules put in place in the first place? I hope after this, men can communicate more easily. You don’t have to take on your problems alone, but we can be alone together. That the role of carer is shared, just as the role of provider is. And the idea of provider isn’t just fiscal, but physical — to be present.”
Enjoyed that? Want to read more predictions, or other articles from the ‘What The World Thinks’ article series? Well, here’s some more on Medium for you…
Want to hear the audio of people giving their predictions? You can find the predictions on episode 5 of What The World Thinks, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Simplecast (for desktop listening).
Thank you to those who shared their thoughts (in order of appearance):
Jessica Pardoe, PR & Digital Media Executive at The Source PR (jessicapardoe.com)
Mark Timmins, Director at Scottish Borders Chamber of Commerce (instagram.com/mark.timmins)
Felix Atkin, Global Vice President of Spoon Guru (spoon.guru)
Kay Rufai, Founder at S.M.I.L.E-ing Boys Project (universoulartist.com)
Ed Swift, Teacher, Head of Department & Primary School Governor (reeds.surrey.sch.uk)
Jason Allen Scott, Founder of Click To Funnel (clicktofunnel.com / apodcastcompany.com)
