Pandemic positives: the upsides to lockdown, from reconnecting with old friends and family to acts of kindness
- The coronavirus pandemic has caused widespread death and hardship, disrupted business, travel and economies and caused big job losses
- There have, however been upsides, mostly concerned with relationships and reconnecting
The coronavirus pandemic has thrown the world into turmoil, taking hundreds of thousands lives and leaving many fearing for their jobs and futures. But as we come out of enforced lockdowns and social distancing rules are relaxed, many are beginning to acknowledge that there are some positives to be salvaged from this extraordinary time.
These unexpected upsides to the pandemic might be explained by what sociologists refer to as the “law of unintended consequences” theory, mooted by American sociologist Robert Merton in 1936.
“Everything has intended and unintended consequences, both positive and negative … I use that theory to make sense of what happened to people during the lockdown,” says Professor Chan Kwok-bun, an adjunct professor at the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong.
Chan noticed that during his period of self-isolation, his normal routine disrupted, his mind frequently wandered to the past, as far back as his childhood. When friends he hadn’t been in touch with for decades contacted him, he knew he wasn’t alone in reminiscing.
“In the past few months, I’ve received messages from people I’ve not seen for 30 years, many hundreds of words telling me about what has happened since we last met,” says Chan.
