Reflecting on COVID Five Years Later

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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. We have 10 minutes left in the show today. On Monday, we're going to do a big segment on the five-year anniversary of COVID and all the changes that have come. We're right at that point. Like five years ago, today, was the last day of school in New York City and a lot of places before it shut down. We're right at that five-year anniversary, the Friday into the Monday, so we're going to do a big segment on Monday, but just to almost preview it as a prelude, just in our 10 minutes that remain today. What do you think? I'm asking for your observations now. What do you think is the biggest ongoing change to society that COVID has wrought? 212-433-WNYC. What do you think is the biggest ongoing change to society that COVID has wrought? Obviously, there are many changes to our personal lives. Many of us lost people during COVID, and that grief has certainly changed our lives. The no longer presence of those people have certainly changed people's lives, but so much else has changed. What do you think is the biggest change to society that's still with us five years later? 212-433-9692, call or text.

Another way to get to it is, what do you think has changed for the better? It's okay if you think some things have changed for the better, and what do you think has changed for the worse? 212-433-WNYC. What has changed most in society if you look back five years and a week from today that you think is good or that you think is bad, or that's just the biggest, no matter what you think of it. 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692, call or text, as kind of a prelude to our larger five years on conversation that we'll have on Monday, and we'll take your calls right after this.

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Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Okay. What do you think of the biggest things that have changed in society since the beginning of COVID really five years ago, like this week for most people and that are still with us for better or for worse? Aiden in the Bronx here on WNYC. Hi, Aiden.

Aiden: Hello, sir. Yes, I don't think it's a unique opinion. I think there's been a big degradation in trust in medical information and institutions at large, but definitely medical kind of institutions and expertise. I say that as a currently training surgical resident in the Bronx, and it's just something you learn to deal with every day, trust in vaccines and all wider information.

Brian Lehrer: Yes, that's about where I would start, too, is trust in institutions. Do you see it yet? You're a resident at this point, surgical resident. Do you see it in your practice, or is it something you more observe outside?

Aiden: In the patients I work with, in my family, and most of anybody interact with my friends as well, who are also young men, just people citing Dr. Google more than the textbooks.

Brian Lehrer: Aidan, thank you very much. Appreciate you starting us off. Here's a text message, "Better. More family time, bonding, et cetera. More babies born. Worse social skills, depression. Kids learning less. Lisa in Manhattan, you're on WNYC. Hi, Lisa.

Lisa: Hello. I'd like to say that the worst thing is the children during COVID missed out on a lot of education. They are less educated, and now we are seeing a lot of less educated adults, which is really frightening as an adult, seeing less educated adults come into our lives.

Brian Lehrer: Lisa, thank you very much. Related, I think, text message. "What has changed? Young people seem awkward in speaking with people and looking them in the eye. People too attached to social media to dictate how to live their lives, but it's that young people seem awkward in speaking with people and looking them in the eye that I think is the heart of that observation." If some of their formative years were in lockdown, whether that really is widespread or not, I don't know, but that's what that listener is keying on. Robin in Sayreville, you're on WNYC. Hi, Robin.

Robin: Hi, Brian. I'd like to say that a positive thing that came out of COVID is that for women, grown women in social settings, men are not likely to touch you, grab you, croak you, or even kiss you without permission. That used to happen a lot in social settings before COVID.

Brian Lehrer: That's better, right?

Robin: It's better, yes. Well, maybe just for women, it's better.

Brian Lehrer: Yes. Somebody wrote, and I wonder if you think this is related in regard to a more benign kind of touching in the first place. Somebody wrote a text that says, "People are more reluctant to shake hands than they were before. See that?

Robin: Yes. That is true, but that would be more like in a business setting. I'm talking about a social setting where men, if they felt like coming up and kissing you, they would just do it.

Brian Lehrer: Robin, thank you. Margo in Manhattan, you're on WNYC. Hi, Margo, you're on the air.

Margo: Yes. Circles, I know.

Brian Lehrer: Margo, two conversations.

Margo: Oh, hi. Sorry.

Brian Lehrer: Hi. Yes, it's okay.

Margo: Hi. Sorry about that.

Brian Lehrer: Hi. You're on.

Margo: Yes. The thing that I've noticed is this inherent thoughtlessness and selfishness that has been revealed to the world about Americans—from not wanting to mask up, to the conspiracy theories, and attacking people who do take the safety of others seriously, like masking up, and mocking people for masking up in their cars. There's been just a general decline, I think, in civility as well.

Maybe it was because so many people spent so much time on social media. People are short. They're rude. There's a lack of kindness and empathy, I think, that came out of this, probably a lot to do with the split in ideology, from the conspiracy to nobody ever said that science was perfect and medicine was perfect. It's an evolving process.

Brian Lehrer: The selfishness that went with that backlash. Margo, I have to leave it there because the show's about to end. Thank you. One more text message. Listener writes, "Husband is an undergrad professor. There are so many more students who are asking for cognitive accommodations, needing more time to complete work, yet more distracted by cell phones and unable to participate in class."

It's just a little sampling of you. We're going to do a bigger segment on what has changed in five years on Monday's show. Coming up right after the news, Alison is going to have a conversation with the Manhattan Borough Historian about stories of essential workers during the early days of the COVID pandemic. Stick around for that, and have a great weekend. Brian Lehrer on WNYC.

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