Is this a pause? | CoroNEW-NORMAL
After laughter, good posture is the best medicine.
Many people refer to this period we are going through as a pause — a standstill to their work routines and their extravagant night outs on the weekend. No more physical meetings or social recreation. But is this really a pause? A pause would imply that we would restart right from where we left off — just like when you pause Schitt’s Creek as Alexis makes a disgusted face — she says “Ew, David” when you come back with your snacks and press play. Continuing from where she left off. However long you pause for, no new developments take place. No 2,923,191 confirmed cases, 203,308 unfortunate deaths or a pandemic disease reported in 210 countries. So I repeat — this is not a pause.
If anything, it’s more like your show has ended, and a new one has begun.
This new show you are watching is one you cannot predict at all. These are chaotic yet fruitful times. Families are being kept apart by no travel policies, yet initiatives and ideas are blossoming. Musicians are putting up balcony concerts for their neighbours and police officers are turning into street performers. And although we are all restricted to our houses, this spring of creativity invites us to feel less like confined individuals and more like connected communities.
Our vocabulary is flourishing too — new acronyms such as COVID-19, WFH, PPE, are now becoming common household terms — and more recently; the label of the new normal. 2020 has thrown a disproportionate number tragedies our way (and it’s only April) — be it the Australian bushfires, Indonesian floods, Puerto Rican earthquake, or the untimely death of basketball icon Kobe Bryant (and his prodigy daughter Gianna). The latest event in this calamity chronology is this global pandemic that has turned countless lives upside down, just by the shake of a hand or an unintentional pat on the back.
So, what is this term — the new normal? In hindsight, what is the old normal? Is this new normal here to stay, or just a contingency plan to fill in the void we are currently living in? This pandemic has provided us with the unique opportunity of re-defining this new normal, and finding an entrepreneurial market amidst the chaos.
We know the workweek is very stressful, but what happens when everything shuts down? What happens when, all of a sudden, you have no work and a lot of work both at the same time? Apart from the very obvious impact on movements and interactions, what is the one thing that this new environment has taken a toll on? In my opinion, it is our mental health. That part of our health that no one talks about. The key ingredient of human capital.
This is a Google Trend Analysis that depicts the number of searches done for the two words, “panic” and “bored” over the last 12 months, worldwide. Panic hits its peak from March 15–21 of this year, right around the time that countries announced major restrictive policies due to the spread of COVID -19 (India announced a lockdown on 24th March). This may be due to two major reasons — panic buying and panic attacks — both equally harmful on a macro and micro scale respectively.
We see that boredom then ensues, reaching its maximum limit from March 29 — April 4 of 2020, when people have become comfortable in their homes, have done their spring cleaning and have stocked up on everything they can afford. Now they have 24 hours in their 24-hour day to spend with their family/housemates trying to be productive. It has become clear fairly quickly that people are trying to find ways on how not to be bored.
Relative to them, people living alone in lockdown have it worse off. Humans are social creatures, and even just the comfort of having another being around can work wonders on an individual’s emotional and psychological state. The burden of all household work is on them alone. All of their interactions now happen via a screen, and it’s very likely that a lot of their recreation takes place the same way too — be it streaming content or playing video games.
My observations during this lockdown have helped me identify a market in which entrepreneurs and innovators can tap in and harness an opportunity. Mental health. The most neglected area of health. Let me explain.
Existing on our bed, our sofa, our dining chair, a different sofa and finally back in our bed is all we seem to be doing these days. Looks like it is a part of the new normal. We lie in awkward positions for hours on end staring at a gadget or a book. We might even get in some work done, but not in an optimal way. We do minimal exercise and eat unhealthy amounts because, oh well, we never get bored of snacking, it seems.
This leads to improper posture — straining of the neck and spine, to begin with. It continues to influence our body’s regular arrangement, causing minor soreness, agony and respiratory problems. The mind and body are often linked, and poor posture can endanger psychological health as well. This feeling of tiredness gives people the impression that they are unwell.
Soreness and shortness of breath are also symptoms of the coronavirus engulfing the planet at the moment — so you can see how that can be misleading. Paranoia can set in, with over-exposure to news about the pandemic crisis.
Furthermore, this perception of sickness leads to anxiety and the feeling of being useless. It can spiral into a vicious circle before we can get a grip of what is happening. It can overwhelm you with false panic attacks and meaningless misery. It can suck the joy from life and sap your energy. When you’re in that black hole, it can seem as though there’s no way out.
We may set a routine, video call our loved ones or try to remain active. We can even try to fix our sleeping schedule, manage our media and information intake or control our screen time. But the intensity with which this period of inactivity has hit our posture, we need something equally drastic and effective to rectify it.
I believe, a posture corrector is what is needed in every household now. It is the one-stop swift solution to the problem that will plague us post-pandemic. Age is no longer a factor in who has incorrect posture. Teens may not be vulnerable to the virus, but they are surely more susceptible to slip into unnatural mental states due to postural factors like them lying down with their necks propped at 45°, with the subsequent lack of productivity.
Science backs the cognitive benefits of good posture, which is why you’ll want to be mindful of it every day, whether at work or at school — but most of all — when at home. There exist enough apps, videos and online instructors who can provide exercises and guided yoga to re-align one’s body. But, those are slower and long-term solutions to a problem that has submerged us in a very short duration.
Innovators need to build on the standard medical posture correcting devices using creativity and design thinking principles to bring this product into the mass market. It needs to be cheap, accessible and appealing to all ages. Empathy with the consumer is key. Designing detachable fairy wings or superhero capes on this product can ensure that children are not averse to wearing it. This can stimulate better blood flow and productivity.
With increased work from home and study from home, our sitting and lying down patterns can affect us in a way that we are not yet able to envision. From posture to mood to mental state and finally to behaviour.
Now, in the wake of COVID-19, mental health experts are warning us that the trauma caused by the lockdown, could be far higher than the physical health impacts of the virus itself. Employment loss and the anxiety associated with the pandemic is faced by many, with younger people particularly vulnerable.
With over 2.6 billion people around the world in some kind of lockdown, we are conducting arguably the largest psychological experiment ever. Taking action now can mitigate the toxic effects of COVID-19 lockdowns.
Why I emphasize on mental health in such great detail is because of the evidence coming from Italy — one of the worst affected countries in the world. People are restless, living through unstable and traumatising times. There have been over 11,000 casualties and 102,000 confirmed cases in a country whose population is just over 60 million. Many families are having to keep the body of their deceased relative at home for a day or two since funeral homes are overwhelmed. People, under extreme mental stress, are resorting to violence — refusing to pay for purchases and even looting essential medicines and goods.
Can a back straightener stop all this? Who knows. Can a product, carefully designed to please the masses, ensure more mental stability and peace within oneself and among individuals if used often? I believe so.
On a lighter note, another market who’s newfound potential can be re-harnessed is the games and entertainment industry. In today's time, we need games that are for more than 4 players. Easy to understand for a young child or an elderly member of the family. We need a puzzle set where the pieces don’t get easily misplaced. My grandmother needs a game to play on the iPad which is not solitaire!
In a diverse country like India, we could do with some board games or card games written in regional languages — Punjabi, Tamil, Bengali, etc. If a deck of cards came with a Hindi pamphlet on how to play a couple of basic variations, our domestic help could play with their family too. My family has mastered carrom in lockdown, and even come up with our own variations to increase the difficulty level. These easy to play games are what we all resort to for some sanity in these unique times.
Obviously the more high-end games like the Xbox or PS4 can always improve their technology and consoles — and I’m sure there will be a surge in the demand for that as well. This increase in family time in households has resulted in an increase in demand for interesting games to keep people occupied.
Is it only a matter of time before we cannot stand the sight of another scrabble tile?
But it is clear that this is our new normal.
This disease is zoonotic (contracted from another species) and novel (our species has no preexisting immunity), the pandemic will roam the world in search of human quarry until an effective vaccine is invented and mass-produced — or until so many people are infected that herd immunity is conferred.
We need to find a way to embrace this reality and make the most of our time. We cannot remain trapped in the mental coordinates of a world that does not even exist.
Stay safe! (and sit up straight, c’mon)
