Post Covid social habits

[white Ninja]

Hey all. I’m curious to get some feedback from the men on this board.
It seems like a lot of the peeps I know within my social circle generally socialize far less now than they used to pre pandemic.

Not for safety reasons, more just because they’ve fallen into new habits and feel more ok w not being less social.

I’m wondering of the majority of the people that you know, have most gone back to socializing as much as before covid now ? Or do they seem to go out less ?

 

[milemiles]

Like Doogie I find it worse now. No clear data, and many friends are acting like it’s over and “we just need to live with it”. Really hard to navigate risk and differing opinions about what’s best to do right now.

 

[GeeBeeP]

Much less. Especially for two reasons: we're not post-COVID yet. And surveillance measures have become shitty - so we don't know whether we're taking unnecessary risks. This will suppress social interactions because the gamble is higher (or unknown). I was socializing MORE when there were better surveillance measures and health measures in place because, whether this was true or not, I thought we had some collective eyes on the problem, folks were incentivized to be more mindful of their neighbours (wearing masks, avoiding large gatherings) and this allowed me the ability to view smaller gatherings as less risky. Now, with the unknowns, it's much harder to calculate risk.

Agreed. The current situation has me less likely to socialise than I was last summer. Then we had good testing and accurate numbers to assess and judge the risk of a given situation.

 

[Newb808]

I just spent a few weeks in Mexico, and my god it was nice not to talk or think much about COVID. I stressed just a bit too much the first year and this was my first international vacation since it started. There’s more mask mandates there(most indoor areas) but most places I went were semi outdoors. One of my relatives arrived with mild symptoms that progressed and her and her infant tested positive for the second time in 6 weeks.
I have friends and family who live down there and nobody knew anyone who had been sick lately so I basically just dropped my guard altogether. Rotated through a few SPs almost daily and probably got something (hoarse scratchy throat eventually lost my voice) off one of them and then got something else (phlegm cough, fatigue, runny nose, shortness of breath, if I had a fever I may not have known as I was on dayquil and NyQuil the whole illness) after taking a flight within the country. I suspect this may have been one of the new variants but tested negative on three different occasions.
Only been back a few days and feel fine to socialize, poon, go to the gym etc.most people I know here have had it and are pretty much back to normal. I wouldn’t hang with someone who’s positive or symptomatic, or vice versa but other than that, I’m good.
I’ll add though that many friends of mine simply don’t go out or do as much and three have had their first babies so yeah there’s definitely a shift in behaviour there.

 

[luvsdaty]

I'm the same as before. I have social anxiety, normal routines I'm fine with but going somewhere different and my anxiety levels crank right up. I feel like people are staring at me,I know it's irrational but it is what it is. I tend to be a loner too.

 

[masterpoonhunter]

I found out I'd rather be having sex than hanging with various folks. So yeah, less socializing for me, more fucking.
Not a bad thing either

 

[MissingOne]

I'm triple-vaxed and generally more relaxed about COVID than I was a year ago, but some of the COVID habits have persisted. Pre-COVID we used to eat out fairly frequently, but we stopped during the pandemic, got used to enjoying food at home, and have never resumed our restaurant habit.

I used to go into Vancouver for business meetings quite frequently, but the meetings moved online and look likely to stay that way. The lack of trips to the city also means no visits to SPs, since I don't indulge in my small home town.

A massage in Kamloops a couple of weeks ago was my first visit to an SP since the start of the pandemic in 2020. It's likely to be a long time until the next such visit, not for lack of interest in SPs but just for lack of desire to take on the travel to places where there are opportunities.

Visits with friends now almost always involve outdoor activities, rather than indoor gatherings. We've not had visitors in our home since the start of the pandemic, and haven't visited others' homes, even though we still see friends quite frequently.

So yeah, things are different.

 

[Ray]

I've had my 3 shots, but still avoid interacting with people. Still wear a mask when I go shopping, as we're still in the middle of this. Avoid going out to public places altogether.

 

[Cock Throppled]

Less socializing, but I'm okay with that. Pretty much everyone I know is still hunkering down in small social circles, and visiting less. Still haven't bothered going to restaurants, and still doing take-away.

 

[emacky]

Working hybrid model has helped keep me socializing with people at work. We started drinking and doing more social events in office after everyone got two shots. I've only seen my guy friends through golfing and the occasional meeting outside people's homes.

Hobby wise, I really only risked it once during only Covid. After getting my shots I mostly saw girls I was familiar with. I'm also less interested in exploring new talent as much as I use to. So if they all leave I'll probably leave, unless an absolute legend hits the scene.

I went to my first hockey game a few months ago and it was nice to feel like it's back to normal again. I still wear a mask on skytrain mostly due to habit but tend to wait for couple trains to go by so I can avoid the more crowded trains as more people take it to downtown. Not looking forward to September when it will be packed again

 

[Mr. J]

I am not one to socialize all that much, even before the pandemic started. This is mostly due to work and the fact that I don't really have many close friends in my city these days.

 

[white Ninja]

Thank you everyone for your feedback. It is most appreciated.
I have to admit, the majority of the answers were not what I was expecting. But its nice to be enlightened.
Plus, now I don’t feel as much in the minority.
Of course I’m sure nationally and globally its more mixed but it seems like its closer to 50 / 50 than I thought, and its also nice to hear peoples personal perspectives and experiences in their own words.

thanks for your openness amd honesty everyone.

 

[rlock]

I've had my 3 shots, but still avoid interacting with people. Still wear a mask when I go shopping, as we're still in the middle of this. Avoid going out to public places altogether.

I'm somewhere between luvsdaty's comment and this answer.

It sure as fuck isn't over. It takes very little to reduce risk, though there is no way to eliminate it completely.

I'm glad I got vaxxed & boosted before this happened, or else I'd have been so fucked. The restrictions got ended too early; honestly, it was them caving into political pressure from the noisy nutjobs but mostly from big business.


You know what post-COVID change will be great ? Work from home. It should become normal for certain jobs. No more commuting to an office every day just to do something you could do in your own den or living room.
Less traffic on roads, less stress from driving while rushed, less fuel usage = lower carbon emissions, and saving something like $200+ per month on gas. Not to mention the huge chunk of time time taken out of your life, with a commute turning an 8 hour workday into something more like 10. Imagine not only having 2 more hours each day, but not having to buy a lunch, not having to share a bathroom with strangers, etc. ?

People have been saying more workers should do work-from-home / telecommuting for many years; it took COVID to actually force that change to happen. Now people have seen those benefits, so let's hope it does not change back.

 

[Uncled]

I rarely even think about Covid anymore. I am 58 years old and triple vaccinated. For the past few months I have been doing everything without wearing a mask or using hand sanitizer - shopping, going to bars, movies, restaurants, seeing SPs, etc.

I sometimes wonder if I have had Covid without knowing it. There have been times where I had a scratchy throat, slight headache, and sneezing. Was it just a cold or was it mild Covid ?

 

[westwoody]

mostly from big business

Big business doesn’t want anyone working from home.
See all those office towers worth billions of dollars?
Guess what they are worth if nobody is in them because they’re working from home?

Two of my friends are now working from home. Both get a lot more done and actually put in more hours. They can check in to their “office” anytime and get stuff done immediately instead of during regular office hours.
WFH=increased productivity+better quality of life+reduced cost of commute.

 

[white Ninja]

Working hybrid model has helped keep me socializing with people at work. We started drinking and doing more social events in office after everyone got two shots. I've only seen my guy friends through golfing and the occasional meeting outside people's homes.

Hobby wise, I really only risked it once during only Covid. After getting my shots I mostly saw girls I was familiar with. I'm also less interested in exploring new talent as much as I use to. So if they all leave I'll probably leave, unless an absolute legend hits the scene.

I went to my first hockey game a few months ago and it was nice to feel like it's back to normal again. I still wear a mask on skytrain mostly due to habit but tend to wait for couple trains to go by so I can avoid the more crowded trains as more people take it to downtown. Not looking forward to September when it will be packed again

They will most likely bring back mandate masks on skytrains from Nov-Jan