The Great Societal Disconnection: The True Impact of the 2020 Pandemic

Social media is a curse because you see all the things you missed. FOMO all the time. While traveling in Europe I noticed a good friend had just gotten married and was having a huge wedding party.  And the thing that got me was that I recognized many people there. People I considered friends and close former colleagues. 

Prior to 2020 I definitely would have been invited and been there. But I realize now with the pandemic lockdowns, the disruptions from the barbaric Russian invasion of Ukraine, the vicious Hamas 2023 attack and atrocities against Israeli civilians and the consequent trauma that hit most of us, isolated us all and caused us to lose touch with each other. And these are, I stress, previously close friends and colleagues over the last few decades. The lockdowns and shutdown disrupted so many of our lives but the real impact is really being felt many years later on. I would add, being an introvert and having a global and traveling lifestyle only accelerates this effect. 

How many of us ended up being divorced or separated from our spouses due to the unnatural amount of time stuck together during stressful times? How many of our kids were socially affected and traumatized from the lockdowns? How many of us feel completely disconnected from friends and family? 

It’s in 2024 when I write this and it’s only now 4 years later that I am slowly beginning to reconnect in person with people I used to see all the time. People I respect and consider good friends. 3 frigging years where we all have changed dramatically. 3 years of being traumatized by government fear mongering and disillusioned by their grift and incompetence. We are all different people now, for better or worse. 

No wonder everyone is feeling completely alone and disconnected. This is the true cost of the 2020 pandemic and I am not sure how long it will take to recover from this. Or if we ever will.  But one way or the other, these next few years will be years of reconnecting back with everyone. We can absolutely still heal if we make the effort. So here is me making the effort and starting to reach out to everyone again after working on myself.