We are living in strange times, and that is an understatement if ever there were one. For years now we have witnessed the exponential growth of online shopping. Just look at the price of Amazon stock if you don’t believe me. The malls and retail stores are dying. Why go shopping when you can simply push a few buttons, and voila, what you want is on its way?
Now with the pandemic upon us, everything else is quickly going online. Rather than going to our workplace, millions of us are now working from our homes. We zoom, we conference call, and we stay home—no commuting, no lunches out.
We no longer go to the movies, but rather watch Netflix, which provides more content than we have time to consume. The Netflix stock isn’t doing badly either.
And now our kids are staying home to learn. As if the time they spend on video games were not enough, they are now watching their computer screens 24/7.
Families have so much togetherness that the sale of alcohol and prozac are skyrocketing.
There are certainly a few positive results from all this “homing.” Traffic jams are a thing of the past. We are using much less fossil fuel, and I can feel the Earth cooling as I write this column. Most families will no longer need two cars because we are going nowhere. There will be fewer accidents and less air pollution.
But like all the other primates, we are social creatures. How long will we be able to tolerate this confinement before we go crazy? We may not need each other to pick the ticks off us like our furry friends do, but we do need an occasional hug. And if we are to continue as a species, we are going to need some togetherness—of this I am sure. Remember—it takes two to tango. In other words, if we stay locked up in our homes, there will be no “cuchi, cuchi,” no “hanky panky.” I trust you get the drift of what I am saying.
So if I have this right, the Earth could well become a cleaner healthier planet, but unfortunately, there will be no future generations to enjoy it.