Next cultural shift?

[imwjl]

On being out there, our ski club summer only membership shows change as I expected when early on in pandemic my neighborhood parks became full of people. Lots of sporting goods are in short supply. Our ski and bike participation was also up before all this but this summer mountain biking has exploded.

My former business partner now in the region's largest title firm says high quality locations in and outside the city are still selling fast but no one's showing a sign of abandoning the city. It's still where the jobs are.

I predict our next cultural shift will come from the young people who are old enough to remember the last recession and the pandemic both along with feeling pain from both. Working with a lot of them I see their sum-total of frustration, disappointment and disgust with decisions and ways from older generations. It's only natural that they by sheer numbers and the most well off will determine what's next.

[buddyhu]

There are short term trends that are fear driven, and/or are the initial responses to the unforeseen upheavals. At some point, some the fear will modulate or recede even if the threats to health persist. And, if something happens that reduces the threats to health (such as an effective vaccine), it will be interesting to see what happens.

We can look to Europe to get some sense of what might happen as the threats to health are reduced. But I think it is hard to predict whether the pent up demand for social contact will lead to a rather dramatic reversal of the short term trends (including a return to an urban-centric life for those who are now abandoning the urban centers), or whether the experiences during the most acute phases of the pandemic will create a certain momentum that continues to shape our culture’s direction for the intermediate and long term future.

I hear a lot of people talking about a longing to return to pre-pandemic comforts : travel, concerts, sporting events, holidays with family and friends, dining out.

I personally think that “hard sell” advertising might become less prevalent, because people might feel weary of anything that creates a sense of pressure or urgency. So that might mean more pastoral backdrops, in ads, along with avuncular figures like Euell Gibbons. We might also see a renaissance of quirky “light” commercials; remember the “Teaberry shuffle”? Or “Calgon, take me away”?

[Teleplucker]

This discussion is interesting but it is primarily about the effects of Covid 19 on our society. The AGF has decided that this topic is off limits. This thread is closed.