More than a million people around the world are affected by the novel coronavirus, and it’s over 3 months now since we witnessed the pandemic outbreak. Many governments have implemented a complete lockdown to prevent spreading the coronavirus but it isn’t working as planned. There are numerous cases of how people aren’t staying at home. In Asian countries, especially India, it’s even worse. The residents aren’t following orders and carelessly roaming the streets.
These rebels may not affect the growth directly, but they are going to act as a catalyst in the coming weeks. This simple detail isn’t interpreted well, and no wonder why a lot of campaigns on showing gratitude could make any difference. So, why isn’t everyone able to follow self-isolation and social distancing?
Why aren’t we Following Self-isolation?
We’ve been so used to doing our everyday activities that it takes time to break out of it. Adapting to these changes is not going to happen overnight, and the people who couldn’t handle it are mostly the ones roaming around irresponsibly. To keep people inside their houses, a lot of firms are advertising ways to cope with self-isolation.
Baby boomers and Gen-X can easily cope with such situations, but the millennials and Gen-Z aren’t used to it. They don’t prioritize their mental health over other things. A lot of binge-watching, gaming, and reading aren’t satisfying them. I believe even free access to Pornhub Premium isn’t going to help them to stay sane. A lot of them have realized that their homes are luxury prisons. They are already struggling with loneliness, depression, anxiety, and boredom. The reasons are varied but they’re not able to cope with it. So, what can they do to cope with self-isolation?
How Millennials & Gen-Z Should Cope with Self-Isolation?
Communication is the key to everything, and that’s where millennials & Gen-Z fails.
In recent statistics, it’s found that Gen-Z accounts for over 32% of the total population in the world while the Millennials are 31.4%. So, more than 60% of the population is trying to cope with self-isolation.
It’s a known fact that the majority of them have smartphones connected to the internet, and use several streaming platforms to consume content. Besides, they are quite active on social and invests time in sharing/creating content. With social anxieties and boredom, these two generations mostly wear digital masks and go on a rampage on social media & internet forums. Being quite active on the internet, Gen-Z and Millennials are very much into casual dating too, and they have at least one of the online dating apps installed on their devices. They are continuing to do their digital tasks amidst the lockdown, but what has changed is communication.
Things aren’t quite the same as they used to be. Due to the lockdown, more people are online now. It can be working from home, browsing social media apps, or consuming content on streaming platforms, the growth in usage is very high. This growth will be insignificant in the future but during the lockdown, it’s impacting the typical social lives of Millennials & Gen-Z. People are getting bored easily and finding ways to cope with self-isolation. Either way, it’s all about finding ways to communicate with friends or family members. No wonder why there’s a surge in Zoom, Skype, Instagram Live, and Houseparty app usage. Zoom & Houseparty apps are under scrutiny because of their policies and breaches, but that hasn’t affected their growth. People are enjoying talking to their friends on Skype or Zoom, and going live on Instagram with a friend, or playing games with a few friends on Houseparty. All these are temporary ways to cope with anxiety and boredom. Sooner or later they get bored with it. So, what is that they need now? LOVE.
Love in the Time of Corona
Majorly, Gen-Z & Millennials use online dating to cope with loneliness. Likewise, they have built a coping mechanism for each of the problems but the sudden increase in online users is causing great difficulty. They are so used to long-distance relationships where they find solitude and use it for their emotional needs which are again affected by the newly-turned online users. It reminds me of a scene in the Fight Club movie.
Imagine that ‘The Narrator’ is the Gen-Z or Millennial and ‘Marla’ as the new online users and watch the below scene.
It’s tough to deal with these new online users as they try to invade everything and exploits it until they get bored of it. So, besides dealing with self-isolation and the mental risks associated with it, they also need to deal with the new online users. So, how can they find love, and communicate their emotions?
Finding Love in the Time of Corona
Love is not only about physical needs but also about emotional needs. Love can be between friends or lovers, and in this context, it’s both. Being a millennial or Gen-Z, you’d have already built a social circle where you are quite comfortable talking to a few people. It’s even better if you are in a relationship already as the whole thing is based on how you communicate. Now, it’s all about how you make others understand what you’re going through, and how important it is that you needed them. If they’re on the same line, pick up a few of the tasks which both of you can do.
- At any cost, avoid the house party app as it’s already filled with askholes. Try talking to them on WhatsApp or a voice call and discuss how your day is going.
- A listening ear is what makes a relationship stronger and after all, true love is more about giving than receiving. So, the conversation should also be reciprocated. Listen to what the other person has to say, and what they are going through
- Just think of some fun activity that you both can do or with a group of people with whom you both are comfortable.
- Read each other poems and songs or some short stories
- Browse less, and talk more. Your social media timelines are filled with media that are mostly fake news and a lot of them can impact you negatively. Put filters, mute the words, and continue your conversations
- Explore new hobbies, ask for recommendations, watch movies together, and more.
There are several others that you can do that could help cope with self-isolation but the most important thing is to not feel down.
Remember that nothing is in your control, and when you try to take it, you control nothing.
