7 Words That Didn’t Exist Before the Pandemic

Image by Skitterphoto on Pexels

This year, the world has changed, and so has the way we look at it. The things we say reflect that change, and I think a handful of new phrases will continue to shape who we are and how we think and act long after the pandemic is over.

Here are seven phrases that didn’t exist before the pandemic:

• Social distancing: 2020 has been about keeping as much distance between us as possible, and we needed a new word to convey that need. It just so happens that word sounds like an oxymoron.
• Social distancing visit: Social…distancing…visit? How many opposites can we stuff into one phrase?
• Distance learning: Just like work, school has become something that’s commonly done from home. These days, so much of everything happens on a computer screen.
• Virtual learning: Sounds so futuristic, doesn’t it? Who knew the future would be shaped by billions of microbes we couldn’t even see?
• Zoom meeting: This year Skype dropped the ball, and Zoom zoomed in to snatch it up. Probably most people who attend professional meetings have the new app downloaded on their computers.
• Pre-pandemic: 2020 is a marker between a time before the pandemic and a time after the pandemic. Similar to 9/11, it signifies a moment in which everything changed for…