Just a thought…

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Though the pandemic is ready to celebrate its first birthday in a couple of months, it is still the topic of conversation. Life turned topsy-turvy since its arrival. The virus,  its spread, prevention and recovery analysis, social distancing, the side effects of too much digital time, mental health, immunity boosters, lock down blues, unlock phase have all dominated discussions across the globe.

A question popped up recently during one such talk we were having at home.

Thanks to the giant strides in technological progress and the global link, everything or everyone today can be virtually connected to.  Online business, work from home, virtual classrooms, zoom meetings are all trending today. Though not in physical form, things are happening across the digital platforms sans the actual joy of meeting and bonding. Life is moving on, slowly limping back on track.

Coming back to the question, what if the pandemic was born earlier, in the pre digital era, say in the 1970’s or 80’s? How would people cope with work and school? What about buying their groceries and milk? And the numerous other things which we today do online with ease.

How would man have dealt with such a situation back then?

What are your thoughts on this?  Do share!!

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66 thoughts on “Just a thought…”

      2. Hmm….that my daughter says even now. “They should have just scrapped this year for all”. But today definitely not as easy, as it impacts so many people… students, teachers, and all the others linked directly or indirectly with the education system.

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      3. True..but, I somehow feel that kids have learnt relatively more practical things staying at home for a year.
        Also, we have had many epidemic breakouts in the past and have come out of it successfully too.

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  3. It would be like zombie apocalypse without technology !!!!
    But what I feel is human beings would have survived as they were not slave of technology and comfort at those times !!!! The things they were really good at was “Adaptability”

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    1. Hmm…adaptability seems to be the key. Yes, they would have survived. I am just mulling on the mental issues that would arise going through this pandemic then. Not that such issues are any less today. Thanks Vani for sharing your thoughts.

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    1. I agree. Man has an inherent resilient spirit in him. He would have bounced back. But sans the conveniences that technology presents today, I guess he would have to rough it out by standing in long queues to get his groceries and other things.

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  6. There happened a pandemic in 1918 which was considered as most horrible till corona but people survived too. We are so adaptive species that we would been find alternates to secure lives in lack technologies too.

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    1. I am happy to see the belief people show on man’s adaptability. Yes, I read about the spanish flu too. Back then there was not much movement of people. So curtailing its spread was also easier. Yes, I am sure he would have devised ingenious ideas and ways to combat the virus. Thanks Prashantt for sharing your inputs.

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  10. So many thoughts around this R. One example; When small pox peaked, many succumbed. Isolation was a norm too. But general hygiene and awareness of people back then was so different. The simple regular habits of washing legs and hands regularly etc, the kind of food consumed everything contributes in the fight I feel. Our grandmother’s knowledge was totally different and remarkable, and I feel she is laughing at us (our family) from up above, amused by the way we are dealing with this. ☺️donno why but I feel so
    Nothing was overhyped back then. A simple life. They accepted the situation and faced it strongly.
    The plus points of technology is amazing now, awareness is spread fast but unnecessary information confuses people too.

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    1. Valid points HS. My mom used to tell that when ever one of them was sick, her grandmother would collect some herbs from their garden, make a concoction to drink, and voila they would be fine.They hardly went to a doctor. People are now going back to their roots in terms of ways of cooking, habits and eating local.
      Seriously, with all this progress, we should have been better off, but we are going back to following old methods. Isn’t it ironical?

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  11. Good thought.. Point to ponder Radhika.. if pandemic would have arrived before our digital age, we would have been strong enough and much more cautious in dealing with this crisis for sure.. As back in history, when Spanish flu hit the world, human race faced greater difficulties undoubtedly, but survived then also anyhow.. Now, don’t ask me how.. Can’t even imagine..!! 😉😁😁😜🤭🙈🤔🤔

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    1. Yes, with limited and occasional travel, the spread would have been more restrictive i guess. Its only that being confined to homes, exhausting playing all games, reading etc how they kill time after the initial few months? With no phones and letters to keep tab on the family outside, it would have been quite a challenging situation to be in.

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      2. Shayad…but I am happy through the various inputs I have had here, one thread runs common is man’s resilience and adaptability to come out of any situation. That is very reassuring. Thanks dear Punam for sharing your thoughts!!

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  13. I think there’d be more deaths to begin with and much less employment😭
    But people would have come to terms in the end, because firstly, there were fewer people for more resources.

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  14. A beautiful and profound read, Radhika but we humans can adapt to any situation and there must have come so many epidemics like this and I suppose we all have coped up or people who have to survive must have survived. That is our life in a nutshell. Everything is temporary nothing is real.

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      1. Yes Radhika how we deal with the situation counts. You know my daughter and her whole family got covid, I was very worried but what can you do nothing but pray to God that all becomes well with them and for 25 days they did not step out from their house. Even our little grandson who is barely 2 years came positive but dr. put my daughter at rest saying children do not have covid because they are vaccinated properly. This is life Radhika.

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      3. Yes Radhika they all recovered and thanks to our God who took care of them. Every other person we know has gone through covid. Thanks dear, take care and stay safe. Yes we were all scared for the little one but got good mews from his dr.🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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  17. A grim thought, communication and technology help to bridge many gaps today, and medical advances have been big too, but quite a bit offset by our carelessness, and ability to travel fast and globally, which helped to spread the virus so efficiently. In those days so many people would not be traveling, so maybe isolating the pandemic would have been slightly easier.
    Classes? Maybe common classes on radio and TV, and promotion without examination 🙂…

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    1. True Deb. Since travel wasn’t so easy, its spread probably wouldn’t have been on a global scale.
      Common lessons transmitted through radio and T.V was one of the things that we too came up with, when we had this conversation at home.

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  19. So I have had this long conversation about the same topic with some of my close ones — here are a lot of thoughts which came out during that.
    1) while on one hand we would have felt completely alone, stranded in islands of our own homes, on the other, lack of information may have prompted less spawning of islands (good or bad, who knows?)
    2) more deaths for people wouldn’t/couldn’t have stayed and functioned from home…maybe more/faster immunity i.e. herd immunity (not sure I completely buy into that concept but then again, one should be open to all point of views..right?!)

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    1. Pallavi, different people have varied perspectives. So yes, one should be open to all points of view. It would probably have both a flip side and a positive one.
      On the negatives:
      1. being isolated at home with no means of communication with family members in other cities would have caused a great deal of mental stress.
      2. I feel without the convenience of online shopping/ banking/medical consult, people would have to step out and stand in long queues for ration and other needs and probably would be exposed to greater risk.

      On the positive side
      1. Travel was not so easy and convenient. Hence its spread would be restricted.

      Not sure if the concept of herd immunity works in this situation.

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  20. It was actually fun to read the discussion above here. I am with the unanimous answer, even without the technology, there have been circumstances, and dangers, we have fought them with various means, and we would have done it this time too. But it cannot be denied that technology has made it far more easier for us. (with its disadvantages)

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    1. Yes Moushumi, everything comes with its bag of plus and minus. While technology has made life during the pandemic so much easier today, its spread has been global due to extensive travel and a huge population. Maybe back then, we would have to deal only with psychological issues that people would face, not that much about its spread.

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  22. I think it would have been more difficult if we did not have technology for ordering our groceries and other necessities online. That allows people to get what they need without having to physically be present.

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  23. Back then life was so different, and because of the differences people knew their neighbors and they planned ahead with gardens and canning, and planning ahead.
    I think communities would have figured things out on how to all pitch in and work as a group. So maybe during a quarantine, things would be done differently like bartering for goods with your neighbor (no contact of course). I feel like people would have worked together more because communication skills and human interaction skills were more developed.

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  24. We would not have known this life, so definitely no yearning for it. We are an adaptable and resilient species, so would have found ways to survive. Home schooling (both theoretical and practical) would be the way I guess. Most of us would have a well stocked library, so would have read more. Definitely would be more hands on.

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