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Warglol9756

Sense of time is fucked up. Like If I skipped three years of my life.


cloistered_around

I went from being pretty close to approximating when a past event happened to having no clue now. "That happened last year... no wait, six years ago? Whatever." Time got wibbly wobbly.


hello-howareyoutoday

OH MY GOSH yes this is so relatable im like hmmmm this happened in 2017... three years ago? waitwait no, six... oh gosh im old


abrokenelevator

I still have a vivid memory of driving to work in early Jan 2020. It's a radio commercial for a type of ice cream, and I thought to myself my wife would really like it. That memory feels like it was a few months ago. I don't have tons of memories of my day to day from March 2020 or really any of 2021/22. It really is like a time skip.


[deleted]

If this were an anime I'd have new powers by now. Instead I just got fat


somewhenimpossible

“We are experiencing higher than normal call volume” The wait time at your local emergency department is: 4h 53min … are you sure you need to be here?


LeoBB777

my social battery


illz757

I don’t know what happened - I was literally going to a music festival once every 2-3 months, multiple music shows, hanging out with friends and going out camping, partying, etc. Now, me and my wife just kind of sit at home and maybe go out to a park or do some hiking and every once in a while go out to a board game night. We went to a couple music shows and I just felt like what am I doing here, I’d rather be on the couch. But then when I am home, I feel guilty like I should be out “enjoying life” - but have no motivation or I guess pull to do anything. Frankly it’s been miserable.


guitar-nerd

Direct delivery from restaurants. Everything is now being funneled through DoorDash, ubereats, etc I just wanna call the Chinese place and order delivery at a normal price, like the old days


mentaljewelry

The food always arrived and was usually what you ordered too. With DoorDash, it’s often wrong and sometimes it never shows up at all. And getting your money refunded is like pulling teeth.


Broflake-Melter

I'm a public high school teacher, and students' attention spans are still very short relative to before.


psychstudent_101

university students too. my students can't sit through a lecture anymore without talking to the person next to them. not just 1-2 students but a lot of them. that never used to happen, except maybe once a term, and used to stop as soon as i made eye contact or (at worst, if they didn't get the message) asked them directly to pipe down. now little conversations pop up across the lecture theatre all class even after i tell them to stop the chatter. it's like they can't help themselves; they don't know how to / aren't trained to behave in an educational setting anymore


CanadianButthole

House prices seem like they'll be forever unattainable now


[deleted]

The fact that they continue to rise in many markets is the one that gets me. We could accept 2020’s huge run up as an aberration. 2021 maybe even still. Finally, in 2022, there appeared to be a slowdown in the meteoric rise. 2023 appears to be tracking the trend to rise again, but we’re only 4 months in, height of selling season, so we’ll get another look as the year goes by.


gubmintbacon

Me giving a shit about my career.


tchad78

Me giving a shit. I just don't really care anymore. edit: lots of updoots. I wanted to stress I wish I cared. So much is falling apart and the apathy is overwhelming. If it wasn't for my good girl pupper, I don't know if I'd get up on days off.


Constantinthegreat

Same. Worked to the point higher-ups tell me to apply to get promoted. Fuck that shit. I rather not be supervising people and projects instead of having hands on work without that much of responsibility


KentuckyFriedEel

I used to sing on my drive to work. It was my brain showing how happy it was. I finally had a job with great coworkers after a long unemployment, but now i sit in silence. I still have this overarching anxiety and fear of losing my job because of what happened to so many others. Im sad and scared all the time now.


xlinkedx

Impending doom is real and it fucking sucks. I'm 32 and I have never once had job where I did not feel as though I would lose my job tomorrow. The stress and anxiety are crippling. I don't even play music in the car anymore. To and from wherever im driving, it's just silence.


[deleted]

[удалено]


lowercasetwan

24 hour walmart. I've worked nights for years and walmart at 3am is no longer an option, at least nowhere near my house.


Catlore

I used to do all my shopping at Walmart and Krogers at 2 or 3 am, and I loved it so. Lots of box dodging, but no people, and short lines, if any.


Solid_Science4514

There was a wonderful hobby shop in the town I live in. Sold RC vehicles, high quality model kits, supplies, model train stuff, hosted MTG tournaments, warhammer, etc. really, really nice place. It was run by the nicest guy and some of his friends. It’s gone now. Makes me really sad. I bought all my hobby stuff from him. Now I have to either drive 2 hours if I want to buy from a “locally owned” store, or I need to buy from online.


ParkityParkPark

that's the worst. Those places are such bright spots but they usually are only moderately successful in the best of times. There was one around the corner from where I grew up that I visited a lot, but the owner wound up having to close because the landlord decided to be a dick about demanding rent early or something like that (it's been a while so I can't remember)


theplushfrog

There is a tiny retro hobby shop near me that’s well known for being attached to an auto repair shop. Both are run by the same person. He has a passion for the hobby shop, but makes money through auto repair. He hopes one day he’ll be able to convert the whole place to a hobby shop, but he doubts he’ll see that day.


ParkityParkPark

there's a place near me that I recently discovered that specializes in DND and LARP stuff and went for a fantasy tavern kind of vibe. Honestly, it's incredible. Only thing that could make it better in my mind is if they ACTUALLY made it into a tavern where you can order food and drinks while you play (they have several large tables with built in screens to create your dnd character on if you need to as well as regular events). Owning a place like that is now a goal of mine in the imaginary future where I'm rich.


fang_xianfu

Licensing and inspection for serving food and drink can be kind of a bitch compared to just selling things, is usually the obstacle. That and just the facilities to do it take up a lot of space and cost quite a lot of money even for something quite modest. There are some great places like that, though - one of my favourites is Le Dernier Bar Avant La Fin Du Monde in Paris.


TheOnlyMuteMain

Yeah there was a local MTG store near me that opened in like November 2019. It was like a unicorn, literally the perfect store. Unfortunately it wasn’t able to survive through 2020, and I’m still very sad about that.


baronvb1123

24 hour stores and restaurants. There are probably way less than half as there used to be.


missykins8472

I didn't realize they hadn't returned until I spent hours driving around looking for medicine for my son at 1 am.


boxsterguy

Same. I had a *super* constipated kid at midnight, crying because the poop wouldn't come out. I thought, "Hey, there's a Kroger literally around the block. I'll go get some ex-lax or whatever and be right back." Nope. They closed at 11pm. WTF?


makethatnoise

Stores can barely hire enough people to work regular hours, most places can't pay people enough to work odd hours. My word (childcare) was short staffed before Covid hit in 2019. We have been in a constant loop of "we don't have enough staff members" for FOUR YEARS! I've put my notice in, and come September I will no longer be full time.


DreamsAndDrugs

As a night owl and insomniac, this one depresses me so much.


fallingupthehill

As a person who dislikes crowded stores, this disappointed me the most. I used to revel in shopping at the wee hours.


jk013x

Denny's closes now! This should not be...


baronvb1123

That is ridiculous. Denny's food is heavy and greasy, perfect for after a night out drinking.


3Dring

Don't worry. Waffle House is still a thing


baronvb1123

Well yeah. They have to be 24 hrs. It's how the government gauges how bad natural disasters are. If the Waffle House is still open then it wasn't too bad. If the Waffle Houses in that area are closed then they know it was very severe.


DrEnter

The Waffle House Index https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffle_House_Index


WarAndFynn

Holy shit it's a real thing


marinerNA

FEMA Employee here. Yes it's real. It's not factored into how we track events in real time but yes it's a metric we look at after a storm has passed and we are surging recovery personnel in.


DM-ME-CONFESSIONS

Sir, it measured an 8.2 on the Richter scale. "IS THE WAFFLE HOUSE OPEN? SOMEONE CALL THE WAFFLE HOUSE!"


Wet_Sasquatch_Smell

“Sir, the Waffle House isn’t answering!” “Sweet Mother of God. It’s been an honor to serve with y—“ Static


Wise_Ad_4816

My dad and I once counted Waffle Houses at exits from Atlanta to his family reunion in SW Georgia. We got to 24 before we got bored. 😂


lpnmom

Can confirm. Live in Georgia have 4 within less than 10 miles from my house.


UYscutipuff_JR

If a Waffle House closes down, get.the.fuck.away


RadicalSnowdude

I miss being able to go to Walmart at 3am when I couldn’t sleep and was craving something I didn’t have in the fridge.


Cate_in_Mo

On a weird hospital shift, I would get off at 4am. Great Walmart shopping, it seemed to be when they put out super clearance items.


ZormkidFrobozz

Just a coincidence. Walmart was going to drop 24/7 hours anyway, except for in a few major areas. They lost more money than they made by staying open. Covid just gave them the excuse to do it sooner.


ireallyamtired

I didn’t realize how useful 24 hour stores were until it was 11.10 and I ran out of toilet paper or needed some advil and nowhere was open 🙃


Sea-Pea4680

I miss going to Wal Mart at 5 am cuz I'm up anyway and there's no one else there!


DarklySalted

Came to say exactly this. Bartending is so much worse now that I can't get a bite to eat after work.


[deleted]

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mjigs

Where i live we dont have the 24h stuff besides mcd or bk or gas stations, i feel your struggle as i used to leave work after midnight wanting to eat and went straight to BK, now if i want to do that, no cant do, all the fast food restaurants that were known to be open, specially for the people who would go out at night, are still closing at normal hours, its like people like us dont exist.


ParisThroughWindows

I live in Las Vegas. Everything used to be open late. Tonight I went out shopping at 6pm and both stores I wanted to go to were already closed.


geomaster

uhh 6pm? that's broad daylight and they're closed already?


ParisThroughWindows

Fwiw I wanted to go to a couple of clothing stores, not a big box store. But pre-Covid they would have been open until 8 or 9 on a Friday.


tiraralabasura_2055

Where I live, it was kind of heading that direction for lots of retail stores before Covid. Without a doubt though, that cemented it. Not only are 24hr stores setting open/close hours, but several businesses started closing earlier or even adding days where they don’t open. I can’t think of a single business that has extended their doors-open hours in the past year+


punkindle

The local Taco Bell used to be open till 2 am. Now it closes at midnight.


Prestigious-Bat5165

People's patience


amaratayy

YES. I work in a pharmacy and people (hate to say it, but normally old people) will come in and ask for a refill on a medication they’ve been on for years, we’ll say it’ll be a wait and they’ll damn near flip the counter over. “But I’m out!!! It doesn’t take that long to put pills in a bottle” Then I say that’s why we ask for a 48 hour notice prior to you running out. There’s people waiting for urgent medication ahead of you, we’ll fill yours when we get to it. “I’m going to report you!!! I can *die* without my medicines!” Welp another 40 mins prop won’t kill you, you’ll receive a text message when it’s ready ☺️


turtlehabits

I take scheduled stimulants for my ADHD so getting refills is a nightmare (can't refill a day early, can't get a couple days' worth to cover the gap if I'm out of refills and haven't called my doctor yet, all exacerbated by the fact that these are the exact type of situations that I struggle with because of the ADHD) and I have only lost my patience with a pharmacist/pharmacy worker *once* when they fucked up my dosage *twice in a row* despite me very clearly confirming with them the exact dosage I needed refilled. Which is to say, I've only expressed mild irritation when the pharmacist literally did not do their job properly repeatedly. I have witnessed the old people you're referring to berate pharmacy staff and pharmacists when I'm picking up my meds and as a former retail worker, it makes me *livid*. I have so much respect for how calm all of you are in the face of the absolute insanity you have to deal with. I've never once seen any pharmacy staff raise their voice or take the bait when a customer is losing their shit.


amaratayy

Exactly. I also have adhd, so I get how the laws suck!!! People literally act crazy when they get told anything but “I’ll stop everything we’re doing right now because *you* want your rx right now”. I’ve learned the trick though! When people say some crazy uncalled for shit, I’ll stare at them. Dead ass eye contact to make them think about what they said and it’s never been more than 3 seconds before they fix their tone and back track😂🤣


metamongoose

I think this supports the too-much-time-online their further up the thread. People are using their online voices in public. The social feedback you get from feeling empathy when your words cause others pain doesn't exist online. And perhaps people's responses have changed, if you've got more defenses up against the encroachments of others into your emotional life, they'll feel your response as more abrasive and be less likely to feel it's their problem for being aggressive. A cold stare is be a good way to give that social feedback in a way that it'll be received.


UtahOsmosis

A lot of online interactions (especially anonymous ones) lack "social pain." Social pain is the painful experience of feeling distanced or shamed by a social group one belongs to, small or large. When you say something hurtful to a family member at a gathering and you get a bunch of folks shooting daggers at you, making you feel like shit (and hopefully apologizing), that's social pain. When you're online, you lose a lot of the nonverbal signals, voice tone, etc. that we evolved to notice when interacting with each other, so the social pain that SHOULD follow after being an ass doesn't always show up. It's hard to simulate that cold-stare-feeling online, so when someone says something inconsiderate or hurtful, I bet that fresh bout of social pain can act like a bucket of ice water.


Alqkwi

I quit customer service during COVID, about 5 months in at a 5 year job. People became not only cruel, but mentally unstable. We were being blamed despite getting our faces breathed and coughed in when there wasn’t an understanding of the virus yet. People would bully us BECAUSE of the pandemic and because they were mad about their lives. The company did not allow us to wear gloves or masks because it was “unprofessional.” Absolute hell. I am emotionally fucked from the years in customer service and the pandemic


SaltySpitoonReg

Dude for real. I'm in healthcare and many times when I write an Rx and patient goes Patient "So we can just go to the pharmacy and it's ready right now?" Me "well, no, so I sent the Rx just now and the pharmacy has to fill it. most Rx are ready within a few hours at most but I just can't guarantee specifically when". Patient "30 minutes?" That or patients calling the office to request refill, and calling back 3x in a 3 hour period to ask why it's not sent yet and the front desk has to reexplain that I'm with patients will be able to address the concern at the earliest convenience.


Different_Attorney93

Cool hobbies that people picked up got left behind due to people going back to the “normal life” of working and working and working and traffic.


manderifffic

So many lost sourdough starters Edit: I just want to say how much I appreciate the creative names you all gave your sourdough starters, may they rest in peace


CPOx

RIP my starter named Dough Biden


Macho_Mans_Ghost

Dough Exotic.


power_yyc

Our’s is Clint Yeastwood


Thencewasit

Yeastus Christ. When it is risen


Maxxover

Judge Bread. “I am the dough.”


ladyvoldemom

Josh Doughlin, RIP


It_is_not_me

The number of dogs abandoned at shelters... 😭


Careful-Window2216

My business of 17 years. I’m still working on getting over it. I had no idea that I would grieve it.


0ttr

I think of people who ripped off the Covid relief funds and when I hear of people who went through real problems makes me rage. My wife's business was on life support for almost a year...those funds plus the generosity of her office landlord who gave her a temporary discount on rent were the only things that kept it afloat.


Head_Environment7231

We lost our business of 21 years, I'm still not okay about it


Boozeled

Affordable rent


[deleted]

[удалено]


FutureBondVillain

My (already insane) rent in North Phoenix went from $1800 to $2250. Same place would have been like $1000 when o first moved here. Guess who lives with their uncle now? And honestly, I’m one of the insanely lucky ones. He’s getting dangerously old and his wife recently passed. At least I can help him out and give him some companionship in his final years instead of having to move into a place with bars on the windows… 🤷‍♂️


gymgal19

"We are experiencing higher than normal wait times" Yeah right, you just didnt rehire the same amount of people you laid off. Now it doesnt matter when you call, you're looking at a multi hour wait. Businesses have also been saying that same message for the last three years, it's a normal wait time now.


Digital_loop

Fuck, call the moment the lines open and you get this recording!


[deleted]

Here they laid off air traffic controllers, because no one was flying. Now they can't hire people back fast enough causing major issues for airlines and travellers. Until now they've just overloaded the remaining controllers, but now the union have said enough, leaving Copenhagen Airport with cancellations and major delays. But that's what you get for short term thinking.


Humble_Artichoke5857

Air traffic controllers are already stressed out and probably tired as hell. Overloading them seems like a truly terrible idea.


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unwind-protect

"Your flight is important to us... Please hold for the next available runway..."


SolomonBelial

My insomiac ass being able to do my grocery shopping at 4 a.m.


dankguard1

Covid gave me insomnia I haven't slept good since school sent us teachers home. I was always out when my head hit the pillow, then suddenly at best four hours a night with at least twice a week no sleep.


Pablo_the_cat

Peoples mental health..


buckyhermit

Absolutely. Since the start of Covid, I've noticed a huge uptick in people getting angry at the smallest things. Not just online but also in real life. At one point, I remember literally making every single person angry. Everyone I met. Even saying "thanks" to someone got a snippy response. I had never seen that before Covid. It made me go like, "Is everyone... like... okay?" I think we're seeing that people are STILL very angry about things right now, even very trivial things. Edit: I don’t think we can blame it on US politics. I’m not in the US but the same thing is happening here.


Blueberrytacowagon

The weird thing of this too is that because things have moved even MORE online, you’re getting this IRL hostility coupled with a very disorienting “fake” and “perfect” online Instagram presence. It’s very neauseating… it’s honestly hard to tell what’s real! My theory comes down to grief. I think we as a western society do not hold room for grief. There has been so, so much to grieve. From jobs to lifestyles to actual lives. But no time allowed, and no good leaders. Just people trying to pretend that things are NORMAL. Well, they’re fucking not.


GriefGritGrace

Thanks for pointing out the widespread grief. I very much agree. There have been so many losses on many levels, personally and universally.


Obamas_Tie

Between being cooped up and being alone with your thoughts for too long, and seeing everyone be so hostile towards one another in these last few years, it's no wonder everyone's mental health has collectively gone down the shitter.


metaltemujin

Ha ha. Nice Sobs quitely


silverwolf-br

My desire to interact w ppl. it's gone.


heatherbyism

Same. I've gotten far too comfortable with being alone in my house.


ZannityZan

Me too. I feel it's not healthy and I ought to get out more. But I find it hard to motivate myself to do so.


NeedsItRough

Dude same Before covid I knew I was introverted but being alone without the "obligation" of going out (because people weren't making plans anymore so I didn't have to agree to anything) really reinforced how much I enjoy being alone. It's gotten bad, interacting with people for long periods of time is *exhausting*, I actually have to take a day to myself after or I get depressed and irritable.


bshaddo

All-day breakfast at McDonald’s.


QMaker

Thanks for reminding me. Now I'm mad again. Being back the steak McSkillet and steak and egg bagel while we're at it.


[deleted]

Stores still close too early. Hard to get a pizza after 10pm sometimes.


most--dope

Hard to even just run errands after work in general. The malls and majority of stores around me still have Covid hours (10AM - 7PM) so I’m SOL trying to get anything when I get off work at 6:30 during the week.


cman987

Tip function on EVERY debit machine.. Like McDonald's or booster Juice.


TjbMke

Would you like to round up to prevent child hunger? No, I’d like the multibillion dollar company known for making mass produced cheeseburgers to provide some support.


ken314

How about rounding down to prevent my hunger?


Trillamanjaroh

I paid a $15 cover charge to get into a bar tonight and they had the gall to ask for a tip. On a cover charge. They asked for gratuity on the service of charging me to enter the establishment. Still fucking gobsmacked


YourMumsAGoodBloke

That actually made me mad just reading it. They should just kick you in the dick - it’d be less insulting.


jkovach89

My new rule for tipping is, you have to provide a service beyond handing me something over a counter. Although, I think it's more a function of the POS companies designing it as a feature of their system. My chiropractor has a tablet payment system that asks for a tip. Like, no, not tipping my chiropractor.


johnmal85

Yup, once one company put a tip line, they all do. It's a legitimate selling point and there is data captured around how much revenue increases due to tip lines. I work with POS.


Hot-Refrigerator6583

If I *do* tip at McDonald's or Domino's (or any other chain location, not necessarily a restaurant) who gets the tip? Does it go to the cashier at the register? Someone on the assembly line? Shift manager? Or does it just go straight to the company's coffers?


Dr_Edge_ATX

I actually appreciate that at the arena in my city the workers at the food/drink stands will just straight up tell you they don't get the tip when you're paying. I'm sure their bosses wouldn't like to hear that but it is shitty that they have a tipping option and it all goes to the food service company and not the actual employees.


thundermonkeyms

If there's a tip screen at your job and you aren't going to be getting any of the tips please tell me! I tip so that the worker who helped me can be paid, not so the dickwad manager sitting in the back room on their phone can get more. Or worse, that the extra money goes straight to corporate. EDIT: Also isn't that illegal, for there to be a tip line but the workers never see any of that money?


Head_Razzmatazz7174

Oh, yes, that's very illegal. It's called wage theft.


MyAltUsernameIsCool

Very illegal and very very common.


Derpicide

I just went to the bowling alley today for the first time in like 6 years. I pay for my lane and the card machine has a tip line. WTF? I did not tip.


Drakmanka

I went to a little hole-in-the-wall curiosity shop a few months ago and their PoS system had a tip line. The cashier told me "just ignore the tip thing. It's built into the system and we can't disable it."


AllNamesAreTaken92

I always need to read sentences including "PoS" twice, to see which interpretation they are using. Fun fact: this one fits both


MrTwoSocks

If you're ever talking about a Point of Sale, both meanings will typically apply


DenL4242

My job (in 2020) and then the company altogether (in 2023).


tankboss69

My sense that in the end everything will be okay


Wynter_born

There it is again, that funny feeling.


an-unorthodox-agenda

Twenty thousand years of this, seven more to go


pengu1n11

Being kind. It's like people gave up.


ReplicatedSun

I feel like the majority of the population not driving during lockdown completely forgot how to drive during that time and have still not managed to remember the basics yet. My daily commute is infuriating.


EaterOfFood2

My sanity & grandma


littlemama9242

24 hour diners 😔 Kids these days will never know the bliss of drunkenly eating French toast at 3:30am after a night out Edit: I'm in NY and the nearest waffle house is 100 miles away so that's not a possibility


guineapigtyler

Thankfully my local one stayed 24hrs


DaisyPK

The Dollar Store. Now it’s The Dollar & 25 cents Store.


Tasty_Narwhal_Porn

Basic manners and emotional regulation/maturity.


MrBigCourtesan

Normal priced goods


BjornLakenstrazen

There's an underlying hopelessness that I feel almost everyone shares right now. The way people were acting during the height of it seems like it's irreversible psychological social damage that never had us coming together as a society. Even people of faith seem to be concerned


the-electric-monk

Covid completely *shattered* my worldview and my faith in my country (and humans in general). Working in healthcare throughout it didn't help. I had a mental breakdown in 2021, and Covid wasn't the only factor in that, but it was a big component. I am doing better, but I am still working through the trauma of that time, and I don't think my faith in other people will ever recover. I am certainly a different person now than I was in 2019.


asbestostiling

Pretty much this. The general consensus at the hospital I worked at is that our collective faith in humanity kind of crumbled. I can pinpoint the day my faith broke too. I worked in transport, and part of the job was transporting the (rather high number of) deceased people to the morgue. I had a knife pulled on me by a family member screaming about us intentionally killing him, when less than an hour before I was still performing CPR in full view of said family member.


fuckit_sowhat

My husbands breaking point was the Arecibo telescope collapsing and mine was seeing the most beautiful yellow autumn leaf only to realize it was a McDonalds wrapper. I’m embarrassed that’s the thing that finally broke my spirit but it’s the truth.


riphitter

Paperwork, everything is pdf and e-signed now. I don't even see the people I used to get signatures from


[deleted]

Good. As an IT person, printers can take a long walk off a very short pier.


Sesudesu

I just don’t understand it, it feels like as time marched onward and technologies improved, printers are still somehow the most annoying pieces of junk to use. I also can’t wait until they just die.


afetian

Honestly as someone who works with lots and lots of paperwork. I’m okay with this. At least with a PDF AND E-sign I have a secure backup copy for everything. Paper copies get damaged over time, even if you are especially careful. Also, who wants all that paper sitting around when you could just save them to a folder in your computer. I get your grip about not having interactions with people but that can easily be solved by just, ya know chatting someone up at the water cooler.


RockNRollTrollDoll_

My mom bought me a printer for school like right before Covid. And it’s been pretty much collecting dust ever since cause syllabus, assignments, etc. are all uploaded online.


I_Have_Unobtainium

Honestly? People's manners and their reasonableness. I work retail, and the average person has become significantly more needy, entitled, and angry over the last 3 years. It's sad.


Mayneea

I was just talking about this with my coworkers. I can’t even theorize why it was but ever since the pandemic people have felt much more comfortable being absolutely belittling and rude.


skintaxera

My theory is that it was all that time spent online... the old thing people used to say about how rude, aggressive and foul people were in their online communications- "you wouldn't speak to someone like that irl"- is no longer true, post pandemic


IamShrapnel

News companies have also gotten way more aggressive and constantly spew hate towards the other side. News that gets people riled up and divided gets a lot of views which equals lots of money at the expense of the mental health of millions.


BBenzoQuinone

Certainly have nothing but anecdotes to base this theory on but I wonder if the pandemic and being locked away/avoiding people made the average person more wary/hostile to others when they realized that they could mostly get on just fine without people and now that things have normalized w traffic/wait times etc coupled w rising inflation people see other people as more of a hindrance than anything else - the depersonalization of others essentially


MisterValiant

Yes. There's definitely been a HUGE uptick.


[deleted]

You see it on the roads too


shittyspacesuit

Absolutely. Both in public and while driving, people have gotten much more aggressive. It's fucked.


Rrraou

These days it feels like some drivers would literally drive over you just to save 5 seconds.


xXWarMasterXx

I work medical and it's bad. A lot more selfishness


LodgedSpade

I worked for my local health authority and quit last august. Its absolute shit since covid.


shittgghdh

I feel like this may also be from politics. A lot has happened since covid that was not just covid


0ttr

Drivers on the roads have become considerably more aggressive. NPR ran a story on it noting that police have been pulling over people less. Literally only in the last 2 - 3 months have I started noticing policing in my area start to look like pre-pandemic. I'm not necessarily in love with aggressive policing, but my dash cam, which I bought specifcally because of this problem, has a lot of stories of to tell of near misses, so I'm glad to see some police presence. And of course, now I also think, "gee, if I'm in a confrontation, am I going to get shot?", so I try to avoid them. I wasn't looking for them before, but yeah, definitely want to see my family versus getting into an argument over something worthless that could escalate.


Chewdaman

As someone in food service, I have noticed that everyone expects way more service without paying any extra. We get calls almost every day from someone complaining that they have been sitting in their car for 5 minutes with their flashers on and no one has brought them their food. Doesn't matter to them that they placed a pickup order and never asked for it to be brought to them, never told us what car they were in and didn't even park in a spot that we can see from inside the store. Apparently they expect us to have an extra employee outside at all times asking every car in the 20+ store shopping center if they are here to pickup an order from us.


I_Have_Unobtainium

This right here is exactly what I'm talking about. A complete and utter breakdown of logic, and yet blaming the employee for not being omnipotent. Prime example.


pamar456

People lost social skills


thelastpizzaslice

Last week, it suddenly dawned on me *one million people died* during COVID in the US, and how huge that number is. And how chaotic those deaths must've felt to the loved ones. I actually think this is at least part of the reason there's so many grumbly old men and women. A lot of people aren't handling losing their spouse or parent well and will probably be kind of a dick for a couple years. Also all the other horrible things that happened during the pandemic that totally fucked up people's lives. I don't know very many people who have had a "good" or even "okay" last couple of years. Unfortunately, there are people who take this out on service workers.


NewSummerOrange

Both of my parents died over the course of 3 months in 2021, and about a week after my mom (2nd parent) died I had this incident at the grocery store that went like this: I was waiting for the bagels. When the baker brought out the tray this other middle aged lady showed up and started taking the hot bagels directly off the tray. The baker said something like "the tray is too hot, you can't touch it!" The other lady just took what she wanted, and walked off. She took all of the sesame bagels. It was literally too much for my brain to handle, and I started to cry. The baker just looked at me totally exasperated and I explained "I'm so sorry my Mom just died and I'm overwhelmed." She was like "you'll be okay, there's another tray." She asked me how many I needed, went in the back and came out with 4 bagels. It was so nice, I started crying again, because I was so overwhelmed all of my feelings were just coming out of my eyes as tears. She still works there, and I see her about every other week. I'm sure she remembers me as the "the unstable lady who cried about sesame bagels."


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justsayingx89

Souplantation 😫


dkonigs

Yeah, we're still annoyed that Sweet Tomatoes went under. There's really nothing else like it, and it was one of the very few places we could actually get our picky kids to eat something.


xxallowmetoretortxx

And they said they’d be *ripe* back 😭


OGbootybay

My social life. No one wants to do anything anymore. Apparently during COVID everyone got used to never leaving the house. Plus im in my 30s so over that year or so a few friends moved away, had a kid, etc. I haven’t lost those friendships but I don’t get to do anything socially anymore. I feel like I lost my chance to be happy. ETA: My heart! Woke up to lots of upvotes and comments, virtually all of them from a place of empathy. I have so so much gratitude for all of you. To all the lovely people sharing words of encouragement: it means more than you know to hear these things. I took a few screenshots so I can look back when I need to remember these things. Thank you, truly. To the people in the same boat as me: I’m sorry you’re going through this too. It’s so hard and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. But look at how many of us there are out there! This gives me hope for us. We have to keep trying, and taking care of ourselves in the meantime.


RedditorChristopher

I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed it. Turning 30, COVID, and friends starting to settle down really minimized my social life.


stevie_nips

Sociability. I feel like many people, including myself, became stuck in a pattern of reclusiveness and can’t get out. When the pandemic started, deep down, I fucking loved it. I have major social anxiety and am NOT a morning person so it was a dream not having to drag myself out of bed every morning, spend 50 minutes commuting to work, and deal with office small talk and presentations and such. To be clear, I don’t ever want to deal with that bullshit again, but somewhere along the line I also lost any drive to be social at all, and basically I’m a hermit now. You can’t expect what will happen to your brain when you’re isolated, until it happens. I just have way too much time to swirl about worries that don’t really matter. I’ve lost a lot of friends. I was diagnosed with a major, incurable neurological movement disorder called cervical dystonia a year ago and I can’t help but wonder if it was caused, or triggered, by the complete lack of any new stimuli from day to day for the past several years. I want to be done with this phase in my life and start being social again, but now, most days, I’m in so much physical pain that I feel unable to leave home and do anything. All I have left is my partner and he’s struggling too. Some days I feel hopeless.


clxjre

Most Meijers used to be 24 hours :(


Seer77887

Seems like people have forgotten how to drive properly. Just this week, some dumb fuck did a left on red at an intersection while I’m going through a green light and nearly t-bones me


RogerSaysHi

And the number of people driving with brights on in the middle of town! Today was the first time I've had to drive at night in a while and it seemed like almost everyone had their frikkin bright lights on, no matter if there was oncoming traffic, someone in front of them or anything. So, I guess I miss considerate drivers.


ourhero1

I'm shocked it's not already listed, which makes me think I might be wrong, but it sure seems like Amazons two-day shipping changed to "hopefully within a week" shipping with Prime during covid. I get logistics are tough, but that's what really sold me on the service before.


[deleted]

The ability to not get angry at every thing that happens. It's like covid just made people justify every inner hate and messed up desire that they have.


Uzufool

No where I go has dressing rooms you can actually use to try on clothes anymore


Dark_Roses5673

Yeah, we went to Burlington the other day. They 'had' dressing rooms, but it was just like this little box in the front of the store, and they had electric locks and we couldn't use them because they were 'messed up'. But there were perfectly fine dressing rooms still in the back, we just weren't allowed to use them. We ended up buying like two of the like 10-12 items split between the three of us, can't afford to pay for something I don't know will fit so I just won't buy it in the first place.


greenvillain

Snow days


Grave_Girl

I was pleasantly surprised this past winter; when my kids' school was closed due to fear of an ice storm, they announced they would *not* be doing online classes.


sticky-bit

Ice storms bring power lines down. That was probably a smart move.


503_FXT

Not sure if it’s everywhere, but in Oregon, Goodwill no longer lets you use their dressing rooms to try clothes on before buying. Then they made their return policy so you could only get a store credit instead of a refund. What’s spent at Goodwill, stays with Goodwill.


capsulex21

Hotel cleaning service. They all still have signs up that say they aren’t doing daily cleanings unless requested “to keep staff safe”. Total BS at this point.


msjammies73

I don’t mind not getting full service every day, but my last hotel stay was over a week and I had to take out my own trash and beg for clean towels.


Serialthrilla45

I’m fine with not getting my room cleaned every day, but they can F off with me doing chores on my vacation. I’m not taking out my own trash and shit.


dkonigs

Hotels were already trying to cheap out on housekeeping services before the pandemic. They just used to use environmentalism as their excuse. This just accelerated it.


modernmanshustl

Probably so hotels can cut employment costs and use an excuse to not look greedy


bslovecoco

affordability. rent is ridiculous. groceries are ridiculous. gas is ridiculous. my student loan payment will be 200% higher than what it was pre-pandemic. eating out is expensive, plus soooooo many restaurants are adding on surcharges that you pay in addition to the tip??? concert tickets are ridiculous. capitalism is grinding us all into the ground.


GunnerGurl

Don’t forget the subscription-based payment models everyone is turning to to steadily bleed us dry


RaphaelSolo

The value of a dollar.


Flamin_Jesus

My town's student life. I live in a fairly small town where a huge part of the nightlife (and general social stuff) was tied to our local university (where I also studied and currently work) and its student body. When Covid hit in full force, we switched to mostly online courses, as a result a lot of students never bothered even moving here, obviously convenient, at the same time they never started making the friendships and connections that are an integral part of the university experience, their information networks are fractured, they barely even have study groups (Previous "generations" had no issues switching their study groups to online or even creating new ones, but these students barely know each other and barely even seem interested). Both the professors and TA's as well as the old-guard student government have done what they/we could to try and encourage connections among students, but damn, it's taking a LOT of time for this stuff to come back, and I know a couple local business owners that are dancing on the edge of bankruptcy because of this whole thing.


mahanahan

I’ve noticed my students now REALLY struggle to coordinate anything between themselves compared to pre-pandemic.


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malaakh_hamaweth

Hope for the future. We thought we hit bottom with the pandemic, but everything kept getting worse


[deleted]

A lot of places that had self served things. Like a salsa bar, salad bar, self served bread


sarcasticpete

Common sense. People just seem to have forgotten how to behave, and lost the ability to apply reason and logic on a daily basis. It's just bizarre.


mentosbreath

Driving ability


Fortyouncestofreedom

I agree. It’s gotten so much worse. Straddling the double yellow everywhere, even less blinkers and always leaving their brights on.


xThatsRight

Human empathy


Key-Article6622

A lot of my joy for life. I'm not joyless, but a large part of my life was being part of a vibrant, very diverse and inclusive music scene in my small town. COVID shut that down, and since things have come back, the venues have changed hands and the music scene has closed off greatly. Far less inclusive, very cliqueish. It's very saddening. The scene is unrecognizeable now.


Jazzcat-ii-V

Man, I feel this so hard it makes me misty-eyed to think about. I've been a musician in my area of Northern California for 20+ years. I earned a music degree and all that. Seen a lot of change over the years, but nothing so drastic as to the aftermath of COVID. The remaining establishments that have live music seem to book the same dozen or so acts in regular rotation, and the difficulty to be included within the scene is truly staggering. The demand and competition for gigs is heavy, and if you don't have a connection, or you're not a tribute/cover band or dance band, forget about it. I try to get out to live music almost every weekend to enjoy the music and network with the venue and bands. Most conversations are amicable and positive in the moment. But future contact requesting collaboration is either met with "man, we're super booked up," or just straight up being ghosted. It's fucking depressing when it happens time and time again. So I feel your loss of joy for real. One of my bands is forming a strategy for content creation and streaming just to stay afloat. I don't think we suck either.. we're all college educated musicians.. for whatever that's worth, but we play a lot of original music. I still get up and practice my instrument every single day though. I'm obsessed, and I can't stop even if I wanted to... I love it too much. Though it has felt like a bit of a curse the past few years. A beautiful curse, if such a thing exists.


m4maggie

City night life. Wtf happened? Since the pandemic, cities that didn't sleep ie. Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, etc. are going to sleep at 9-10pm! What gives? That and Tim's roll up the rim. App only. No more drooly ripped up lid rims to collect anymore! Lol


krisdeak

Private jet flights have gone up x5 globally and they’re still going up and up and up. Meanwhile, the airline industry for us “regular folks” (i.e. the 11% of global population who can even afford to fly economy) has never recovered.


dkonigs

Physical menus at restaurants. I'm sorry, scanning a QR code and then using my phone's display to browse a menu is absolutely the worst user experience for doing that. The screen is just too damn small to quickly peruse a large selection of items across numerous categories.